Monday, April 16, 2012

another front yard project

front yard spaces

like amy, i have a semi-neglected front yard. in my case, it's because our back yard gets much more sun, so i've focused more of our efforts there. when we moved into our house two and a half years ago, there were already some decent garden spaces carved out, but it's clear that the previous owners and i have different gardening styles! in our front yard, there are two beds just in front of the house that are mostly a variety of hostas, and some red-colored landscaping rock that i cannot stand. i vow that this year will be the year i finally clear it out! i'm not a big fan of the hostas either and am slowly replacing them with other plants. i've planted a lot of tulip bulbs there as well, so it's really pretty in the early spring.

current front yard garden

closer to the sidewalk, our house is on a very small hill, so there is one garden bed on one side of the steps up from the street. i've spent the past two summers slowly replacing the hostas in this space and adding some perennial flowers and herbs (st. john's wort, chives, feverfew, and echinacea). i also seem to be in a losing battle with an aggressive spreading weed that is trying to take over the garden (any ideas what that is? or suggestions on how to fight it? i've tried ripping it up by the roots, but it just keeps coming back!)

front yard garden potential

my big project for this year is to dig up the other side of this small hill. it's partial shade, so that limits my planting options, but i'm confident that i can fill it up without too much trouble. because it's on a hill, i'll need to do some kind of minor terracing to prevent erosion (there were some attempts at this on the other side, but it's not done very well. i'm working on improving that as well). i'll probably just use some bricks that we have in our garage.

i have some plants in my overgrown backyard that i plan to move to this space: rhubarb (we have a rogue one growing in our raspberry patch!), borage, comfrey, bleeding hearts, yarrow, and a few grasses. any other suggestions for a partially shady hilly spot? bonus points if they're medicinal or can be used for dyes :)

i'm really excited to add this new space and spruce up the front of our house. and i love that amy is working on a similar project and we can check up on each other's progress as the summer moves forward.

10 comments:

  1. julia i love that we are working together on this and how similar our front yards are too with the slope and all! i have been working hard and can't wait to show some of the progress. your plans sound great!! this is going to be fun:)

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    1. yes! i'm excited for us to keep tabs on each other's progress :)

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  2. has it really been two and a half years???

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    1. i know! crazy how time flies, this is our third summer in this house!!

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  3. Hello xx I have just discovered you lovely gardening ladies xx I am on the other side of the pond , as they say ! But you seem to have a similar climate to me here in Suffolk, England xx just to say... Sweet cicely for shade? And sorrel? And alpine strawberries might be especially good for holding up the slope! Ps also have just discovered that hostas are edible! So you could eat your way thru them ! Very much enjoying your words and pictures xx Nicola

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    1. thank you so much for your sweet words, and your suggestions. i love the sound of alpine strawberries! i did read last year about eating hostas (you're supposed to cook it kind of like pak choy or something asian, right?) but didn't try it. have you tried them?

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    2. speaking of pak choy, why not do multiple terraces and plant some asian greens in with your herbs? I find that they're pretty, do well in filtered sunlight, and grow easily from seed. I like to eat them, but really, I do think they're so so pretty. oh, and fennel? Not the bulbing kind but the perennial herb is edible and a great butterfly plant that comes in green and bronze. Adds nice texture.

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    3. great suggestions melissa, thank you!

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  4. i was thinking the same thing as amber! 2 1/2 years?! woah, lady!

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  5. I like the uphill landscape of your front yard. If that is my front yard, I’d love to plant it with small shrubs, like Hydrangea, in the upper level. For the lower level, I want to it to have a lush green lawn, then I’d like to add some stones on the tip of the hill to create a fence. ->Jeremy Beauregard

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