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As
soon as we installed the fence I knew that we had created a wonderful thing.
True, I missed the open, park-like feel of the composite yards. But what
we had accomplished was even greater. We had "grounded" the house to the
land and given the land an architechtural element to bind it to the house.
This structural addition also increased the potential backdrops for flower beds.
Above
you see the East Fence Line, after the fence was installed and before I cut new
flower beds. Below is the plan. It may seem silly to plant around
the clothesline poles, but I saw them more as features for the garden than
as practical laundry driers. In fact, they're set so far apart that no amount
of supports could keep the clothesline from stretching and sending our laundry
to the ground!
Below
you see the
west fence line, including the other set of clothesline poles already planted
with wildflowers. I've included Globe Thistle, pastel Yarrow, Matricaria,
Rudbeckia and Tansy. The semicircle bed on the fence contains three Buddleia:
White Profusion, Lochinch and Back Knight. To the left of the poles is a
kidney-shaped bed I carved out to accomodate a struggling Purple Leaf Plum,
which has since died. To the right of the poles is a patch of Peonies--one
of the few plants, along with the plum, resident when we bought the house.
To the far left you can just see the two pine trees protecting the corner of the
fence--my very special place.
The
More You Garden, The More You Grow.
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The Yuccas came
from my Brother's yard. They had been planted by the previous owner between
the sidewalk and curb, but the city decided they had to go. In spite of
repeated digging up, they persisted. So Dan and I spent a day with my Brother
and his wife digging up Yuccas and saving them for the transport. This is
where they found their new home--in the spot left vacant by the now deceased Purple-Leaf
Plum tree. It is my hope to expand this bed and create a small mini-ecosystem
of succulents (behind the yuccas you see Sedum Autumn Joy and a Spirea shrub).
Hens-n-Chicks have been added as well as Lavender Cotton, but the squirrels found
the Hens-n-Chicks to be a tasty morsel. I hope the plants survive to
bloom one day.
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