Ever look at a garden project and just think “no way”?  Or maybe the project is there, patiently waiting for your attention, yet the thought of tackling it is a bit overwhelming?  Well I’ve had those thoughts!  Lots of them.  That might be because I have grande plans for our garden!  But nothing is going to happen if I don’t get started on it.  It all happens with small steps.

Dreams are a good start. I have dreams about what I would love to see for my garden some time in the future. I also collect pictures in gardening books and magazines.  I recently (as in last night) came across a picture that I saved from years ago.  My 12 year old daughter actually laughed at me, since the garden is seriously amazing,  and she thinks I might be a tiny bit crazy!  There are three pages of pictures of this garden.  It really  is beautiful!   I love it as much today as the day I first saw it.  The design fits nicely with  what I have been planning for our garden.  Now to just get my husband on board!  One tree, shrub, and flower at a time!

The pictures below are before and after views from the front of the house when we first moved in (you can see some of our moving boxes!)  and the two work-in-progress gardens that are, well,  still a work-in-progress.   What you can see is (a big mess!) weathered cardboard, seaweed, and turned over grass from where the boxwood was planted.   In September we placed the cardboard and newspapers where we wanted to kill the grass.   Yesterday  I laid down more thick layers of newspapers  before putting down the soil, just as a precaution, to keep grass away.   That garden already has a small Japanese Maple tree and a hydrangea (I don’t know the variety, unfortunately) and some Allium which I planted in October, so I haven’t seen them in their glory yet.  You can also see some tulips coming in to bloom.   This week I was also working at the front gates.  We planted a couple of Hostas there last year, but this year I’m hoping to give them some attention, and hopefully some more plants to keep them company.

I hope if you have a big garden project which you’ve been avoiding, that you’ll be motivated to dig in and get started with it!

Happy digging,

Dana

Here is the bucket I used to move the topsoil Patrick delivered to us.  I should have taken a picture of our desperate wheelbarrow – we are in need of a new one!  But for me, it was easier to work in small batches (both mentally, and physically!).

This is the front of the house garden in progress.  The potted boxwood plant was just placed there to keep newspapers down.  It is patiently waiting to be planted.  Not all of the grass was covered with cardboard originally, which you can see peeping out.  I managed to cover about 1/3 of the garden with topsoil.

Pretty hydrangea.  The picture above shows more of the covered rock wall, through the Hawthorn, ivy & brambles!

Two Hostas live on the left. They aren’t visible just yet.

The water main cover is in this garden.