front yard garden update

people, we did it!

there is definitely a long way to go with our front yard garden, but the big project, the one that was my biggest garden goal of all for this season, has been accomplished! last weekend, on our extra day off for memorial day, jared and i spent the better part of the day digging up the grass on this hill in front of our house (this is what it looked like just a few short weeks ago!). i used some bricks that we had inherited with our garage to create a makeshift terrace, and then spent the rest of last week and this past weekend putting in some of the plants that i'd bought at that plant sale about a month ago (boy were they happy to get in the ground and out of their little tiny pots!). the plants from the sale that i used here were: poppies, anise hyssop, violas/johnny jump ups, french sorrel, various columbines, and a lavender. i also transplanted a bunch of plants from elsewhere in our yard, including borage, yarrow, chives and garlic chives, and phlox. i filled in the rest of the empty spaces with kale, chard, amaranth, and the small bare patch at the bottom has some assorted wildflower seeds planted there (i'll put mulch over it once the seeds have sprouted). i used 7" gutter spikes to secure some of the bricks in place (hey, i am married to someone with a degree in physics afterall!). some of the plants that i put in this garden say they need full sun and this is definitely a part sun spot. i put the ones i was worried about (poppies, lavender, anise hyssop, and phlox) in the sunnier spot, along the steps, and everything else might just be a bit smaller than it would in full sun. but i think they'll all do fine. i'm a  bit worried about how this will all hold up when we get a big rain...will all my mulch and dirt wash away? but i know that once the plants get rooted in over the next few months, it will hold the soil in place much better.

i know everything looks a bit bare now, but most of what i planted here are perennials and they'll fill out over the next few years. and this is something i keep trying to remind myself. i have time. we don't plan to move from this house for a very long time, if ever, and i take comfort in knowing that i don't have to overhaul the entire yard and garden space this year. i try to set realistic goals for myself (notice that we also got those rain barrels installed too? garden goal #1...check!) each year and make progress little by little, while still working towards making our outdoor home a beautiful, productive, healthy, and delicious space for us to enjoy. i try to remind myself of the time i have when i get overwhelmed about all of the garden spaces around our house that i'd like to improve or change. little by little. i have already made so many adjustments and changes over the past two and half years and i know that each season will bring more projects.

while the big hurdle of the front yard is completed (for now) i do want to keep working on the other beds up front here. mostly, i'd like to remove many of the hostas. i pretty much pawn them off on anyone who will accept them, and i think later in the summer, when perennials start to go on big sale, i'll find some more plants to replace them with and send an email to the citywide gardening list-serv that i'm part of for people to come take the hostas off my hands. i know i'll get a good response.

so, what do you think? i'd love to hear your thoughts