A week or so after we decided to clear decades of debris over on the north side of the property. it's all done. The good news is we have a weed-free, level piece of property that is graded away from the house, seeded and ready to sprout green shoots of grass. The bad news, as I discovered when I put the sprinklers on, is that the whole side needs an improved watering system. We have a break in the main line that's probably been split all summer; we just didn't see it because it was hidden under all the holly, juniper, weed mess that was there before and the one sprinkler on that zone is knackered - more water pores out of the bottom than the head. That goes for the next head down too. Thanks to the extra-long hose we purchased earlier in the season I can water the entire area from the other side of the gate, but that's just temporary until super-sprinkler guys can run me a new line with some cute pop-up heads. Superb landscaper tells me to wait until spring and have them do it when we do the turn-on but that was before I realised we were watering big holes in his newly created lawn. (As he reads this blog, he's probably learning about it, just. about. now!). Anyway, let's recap:
Monday August 31st - at the start of the day: a stumpy, McGrumpy, mess of tangled roots
mid-day: tons of topsoil, a bobcat, a roller and a lot of manpower 
5 PM: looking over the fence after the prep-work is done.
It's amazing how much better this is. Firstly you can appreciate the house even more - it's not closed in by the shrubby border. Secondly, the property looks so much bigger, which in a sense it is - we've increased the space by about an eighth of an acre. Lastly, I can skip down the path with the dogs and not be attacked by prickly, allergy-producing bushes, and that's a huge bonus. Also, the fence guys will be able to get in to repair/re-fence the area, the borders have been laid out and the landscaper is lobbying for a pergola to go in the north-east corner...
Now I can either wait for Spring to begin planting or go see what is available in the half-price section of the nursery. Which do you think I'll do?
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Almost a Home Run
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5 comments:
The clean slate is the most beautiful sight in the world.
What is your vision of the space?
For us with the front yard, we came up with purchasing what we had to have now. 50% off is a huge savings and the plants/shrubs will be fine. We decided to then wait for spring to purchase a few more, and then one more time in summer since we are going with natives. For the rain gardens and landscaping it must have a 4 season interest doing some now and the rest later will give us that opportunity to fulfill that.
I say do some now and some later if you are doing it yourself.
Michele
Oh, I feel a bit jealous right now! But only in a good way :-) you are very lucky to have so much space to get creative. I would love to have that to make a little garden or something.
I agree with Michele
A garden can be the most exciting before you plant a single thing. The possibilities are thrilling.
I'm just relieved we got through the "oh, no we made it look worse" stage with only minor hand-wringing
Wow. It will lok great. You have a fun project ahead.
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