Friday, September 25, 2009

LOOK WHAT'S BLOOMING -- MY END OF DRIVEWAY GARDEN

It's Fertilizer Friday with http://tootsietime.blogspot.com/


I've wanted to plant something cheerful at the end of my driveway since I moved in. But all that grew in my "soil" of shale and building lot dirt were these awful Indian bamboo. You cut them down, they grow up just as quickly.



Regardless of that, I took the plunge last weekend. This is what it looked like when I went to tackle it.







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I've hacked and pulled and cut, and here's what I'm left with.



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And here's some what I have to plant; they've been sitting around since last spring!





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Man! What hard work it was. I used the pick to break up the ground and pull out some of the larger rocks. I used the shovel to dig down the first 6-12" (which would be filled in with topsoil). Then I began to lay out the garden stone.




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And here it is, finished to-date. There's a Hosta at the back, a Forsythia bush, a small Spirea, a clump of Dianthus , some wild Geranium on the far left, 2 small sedges in front and a couple of colorful fall Mums. I'm going to bring in another load of gravel to finish the lower parking spot off from the driveway.





I'm debating on whether to add another layer of garden stone and raise the bed a little. And I also have to come up with an idea to warn the winter snow-plow that there are garden stones that he should not run over!! What do you guys think??

17 comments:

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

Wow! That looks wonderful. You did an excellent job and it sure did look like hard work. Flowers just make me smile!
Blessings,
Kim

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

It looks wonderful. You have done another beautiful make over. Thankfully every nook and cranny around our house is filled and I no longer have to do those things and thankfully I was younger when I did them too. Have a great weekend!

Darla said...

Great job!! I guess you could put up a couple of other birdhouses or a cute sign to warn the snow plows..

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Kudos Girlfriend. It looks marvelous. I sure hope you got all the roots of the invading plant. Watch for little sprouts to pull next spring. Some things just won't give up the ghost!

Lovely job and have a wonderful weekend full of blessings!

Millie said...

What a difference! It looks very good.

Beth Dunn said...

Your birthday will be here before you know it--enjoy your weekend. xoxo

Nata per sognare said...

Ciao Sandy,
you are welcome if you want to partipipate of my blog candy.
Wonderful garden.
Angela

aliceinparis said...

Good job! What a lot of work. Looks great and will look even better next year:)

Unknown said...

WoW that is fantastic!!! You really knocked yourself out! I could be so creative!!!

Erin said...

That is so pretty...you did a fabulous job. As for the snow plow guy, what about those inexpensive tall lollipop-looking stakes with the red reflector on it...two of those would do the trick, but wouldn't get in the way of your plants and you could snatch them right up as soon as the snow left.

Tootsie said...

you had a huge job....and you did it beautifully!!! great work...and what an improvement!

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

Having used a pick axe several times on my hard Georgia clay, I know how much work that is! I think it looks great!

Manuela

PhilipH said...

Pretty and neat. Or pretty neat! Both terms apply.

Lots of hard work but the result was very well worth it. Congrats.

Linda said...

Awesome job. How about some more of those reflective markers to warm the snow plow drivers?

Terra said...

All your hard work paid off and this is lovely. Forsythia and spirea are two of my favorite bushes, and I have a mum that rust red color.
How will you warn the snow plow guy? We don't have snow here, no I've no helpful suggestions for you.

Rebecca said...

I think it is fantastic! You made a gigantic improvement! You should be SO proud of your accomplishment. Some friends delivered a pile of rocks to us yesterday. If it weren't so darned chilly and windy, I'd be outside right now lining them up as border for one of our flowerbeds. Meanwhile, they sit in a pretty picture on my garden blog today :)

CB said...

Wowza that was a lot of hard work but so worth it. It really turned out so lovely!! I bet it feels good to look at those beautiful flowers and know you did it yourself. Good job!

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