You may recall that when we moved into the house the backyard looked a little like this:
That’s a little depressing. A year into our residence here, things are looking a bit more cheerful. You’ll remember that last fall I built my little “folly” in the back corner to house some of my herbs.
I also carefully re-seeded the lawn so it was no longer black.
This year I decided to take it a bit further. The grass has decided to take over the little white stones between the lawn and the patio stones, and I decided I’m going to let that happen. Gren gets very picky about stepping on them and I have to admit that barefoot they’re a mite uncomfortable. And the weeds were trying to take over the spaces between rocks in the spot between the patio stones and the garden bed. Rather than let them win, I decided to take over that spot myself. I had enough weeds to deal with in the garden itself, after all.
So I dug up all the little white rocks and used them as border material to raise the height of the bed a bit. Then I filled it with soil. This aerial view shows you what I now gave myself to work with.
I also weeded out the actual bed so that I could be sure that everything growing in there was supposed to be there.
Then I went to the plant store. I limited myself to just one bag, because I was walking and because I didn’t want to drop hundreds of dollars. But it WAS a giant IKEA bag that I limited myself to. I purchased mostly herbs but I did get a few perennials that I love, like ivy, astilbe, and hens and chickens.
Then I went at it and planted them all! I tried to be strategic about where things went in terms of how high they got and how much sun they needed, so we’ll see how that works out. Everything is still alive at this point, and I’m quite pleased with the results.
My garden is finally starting to be the sort of place I like to sit in and gaze at. So it’s getting there. Plus now I have all these great herbs available for cooking. The only problem is that when I send the Pie out to the yard to harvest some he often comes back to tell me he doesn’t know which plant is which.
So that’s part two of this project: plant markers. I started out with some neon craft paint, fine brushes, and some smooth river rocks.
Then I started labeling. It was harder than I thought to get the paint to function in tiny text but I did my best. It doesn’t help that my penmanship totally blows.
Now I have a nice little marker to tell the Pie what’s what, and also to help me remember where things are buried after the winter is over.
Eventually I got tired of dealing with the paint and I switched to a metallic Sharpie, which worked extremely well.
Everything in its place! I can’t wait to watch it all grow!
Looks fantastic!!
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Very nice job, love it! I did a similar post about my landscape redo, though work!!
http://pearlsandsportsbras.com/
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It’s really coming along, it’s a great space! I love the painted the rocks, too. 🙂
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Your garden is very pretty and just you wait a few weeks and it’s going to fill in beautifully and I love the river rocks with the names of the plants. Looking forward to future posts to see how big everything has become..
Take care and happy gardening to ya, from Laura 🙂
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I know, I can’t wait for all the empty spaces to be filled with big happy plants! Fingers crossed I don’t kill them in the interim. 🙂
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I LOVE IT! Well done you – and what a good idea with the stones. I must try that, as I forget almost IMMEDIATELY where I put things.
Go Ali! xx
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I love the stone idea everything looks wonderful. What type of grass seed did you use? just a tip for the mint. I planted 3 types of mint in my garden and had to dig it up and plant it in pots because it spread out and tried to take over the other plants.
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Hahah, yeah mint is a killer weed in that way. Fortunately I’m planning for it to take over because I make tea from it so I need a whole bunch. I tried planting it in garbage areas last year (like behind my air conditioner) and surprisingly it didn’t come back this year which was a shock.
The grass seed was actually something I picked up at the grocery store that said it worked well for sun and shade and was coated with fertilizer so you can use it in poor soil. I have to seed the lawn every spring because a corgi wandering around on it all winter leaves some bald patches but it’s definitely easier every time!
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I think I just over did it this year with chocolate mint, peppermint, and spearmint. lol I like to cook with it and make tea so I thought I would cover all my bases and the mint covered everything.
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I *almost* got chocolate mint and I’m still debating it. Currently I have peppermint, spearmint, catamint, and lemon balm.
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Bee balm is great too for an earl grey tea. The chocolate mint is ok in tea but better in coffee. I use it as an extra kick in dessert recipes.
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Hmm, good to know. I do love bee balm. Maybe I can find some …
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Love it! It’s looking good in the garden! And I love the stones. It’s something I have thought of myself a few times (when I finally get around to gardening) It’s nice to see that idea in use somewhere.
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It looks beautiful 🙂
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What a beautiful summer project!!
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Looks great!
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The stones are a great idea! I love how many herbs you have managed to squeeze in 🙂
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Thanks! I’ll squeeze in as many more as I can, too!
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Yay, dirt therapy! You are doing fantastic with your space – I know it is hard when a good bit of it needs reserved for the dog to wander about and forget why they are outside… usually when we are in a hurry…
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Totally. The fact that we’re renting also means I can’t rip up ALL the grass but I’m tempted…
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It is pretty! Love the stone markers. I am sure the gardens will grow beautifully, and you will have wonderful herbs to use all summer. Keep an eye on that mint, though, or it will choke out all else.
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Mint IS definitely a noxious weed when you don’t want it to be. I’ve corralled most of it in the same place so when it starts fighting for dominance it can fight with itself!
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Sounds like you have it figured out! I stick to a big pot for mine, and it seems to work out OK.
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Your garden looks great. I like the idea of the stones..:))
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Love it!!!
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