Here's what we were starting with last September. The area we're talking about is on the north side of our house, and is right next to our neighbor. The yard is only about 30' wide here, and was totally shaded by mature trees. It was so dark!
So the first thing we did was bring in a tree service to thin out the canopy, get limbs off of the roof, and lighten up the area. The tree service spent an entire workday here, and took care of many, many trees around our entire property. This was a job that we knew we had to hire out, there's no way we could have done all that work ourselves!
Just having the trees thinned out was a step in the right direction, but my vision for this area went much further than that. I want to create a woodland-style shade garden here. So my next step was to bring in my trusted landscape contractor to remove the concrete sidewalks. (The work they did for us was actually much more than just this side garden area, but for this post we'll just talk about this part.) The crew used a Bobcat with forklift attachment to lift the sidewalk pieces out one by one.
The crew then laid a pathway made of Pennsylvania field stones. The path starts at the front porch, goes across the left side of the house, turns toward the back yard and leads to a circular patio area in the back yard. This project took the crew about a week. In that time, they removed the concrete, re-graded this area to keep rainwater out of our basement, buried lines for our downspouts to drain into the lower back yard, laid the footer material, laid the pavers, and finished the area with a thick layer of mulch.
Whew! By the time this was all done, it was mid-November, and it was time to turn our attention to the inside of the house for the winter. The yard remained a vast mulch area all winter.
As winter turned to spring, I started researching and planning and drawing out ideas and making lists for the plants that we would install here to make our dream of a woodland shade garden come true.
As the temperatures warmed, the yard began to come to life. In this area, we discovered that the entire area along the side fence was completely covered in wild onions and wild garlic. This was a surprise, and I must admit, not a happy one. We tried pulling them - of course the greens broke off and left the bulb in the ground. We ended up just digging them out. I'm sure we didn't get them all. The bulbs are small, about the size of a peanut, and there were SO MANY of them! We'll be working on getting these out of here for years to come, I'm sure. Do you have any ideas about how to effectively remove them? Please let me know!
The next step in our transformation was to have a fence installed. To be honest, this was not part of my original vision for the yard. But after we had the stonework done in November, we adopted two adorable, feisty, high-energy dogs who need a back yard to play in. So over the winter we waited for the ground to thaw, and in spring we got the fence done.
Now, we live in a historic district, and so I had to get special permissions and follow specific guidelines regarding materials and styles, etc. I wanted a white picket fence, but didn't really want the maintenance involved in a wood fence. So I applied for a white vinyl picket fence. The historical commission would not approve vinyl as a material. So, even though it's not my first choice, we decided to go with wood. Our other option would have been to use aluminum railing type fence, but I was concerned that our dogs might squeeze through it, and also, it felt more formal than I wanted.
We did hire this job out, too, but if you are comfortable digging post holes, this is a solid DIY opportunity to save some money. Because we had a long fence in the back yard to install too, we opted to hire this out.
From this point on, though, the transformation has been totally DIY. Before I got too far planting things, I wanted to get the fence painted. It took me a few sessions to complete (I think 4 or 5 sessions, really). But it was a very zen-like activity, and completely gratifying to see such a pretty area coming together. I did two coats of exterior latex paint with primer included. (The photo below shows the fence after one coat of paint.)
Next comes the most fun part of this project - the plants! I bought my plants from a few different places: a large commercial nursery, a small family-owned nursery, and the big-box home improvement stores. A lot of the plants I bought were on my "must have" list from my armchair gardening over the winter, and then of course a lot of the plants jumped into my cart on their own and I have no idea how that happened! :-) You can see the complete collection of plants on my North Side Garden Pinterest board.
We started by purchasing 17 shrubs to provide a solid backbone to the garden. |
Placing the shrubs for privacy and for pleasing effect. |
Shrubs, hostas, astibles, and other shade perennials - all still so new! |
Now that the area is planted, the only thing left to do is keep everything watered, and pull a few weeds here and there. I must admit - the vision for this garden has changed over time, mostly because of the fence that we added for the dogs. Now that we have the fence, the vision is more "cottage garden" and less "woodland garden". But that's ok - it's good to be flexible and roll with the punches.
This year the garden is still somewhat empty feeling because the plants are all so young. But over time, I'm confident that things will fill in nicely. Gardening is an exercise in patience and hope, isn't it?
The roses and other plants near the fence lend a cottage vibe to this garden. |
The plantings are still new and young, but time will take care of that. |
Filling in as the summer moves along. |
Hannah and Lulu LOVE the new yard! |
Shrubs, perennials and annuals all working together. |
Mid-summer flowers on the new hydrangea. |
Pretty side garden |
The yard is now "Home Sweet Home"! |
I hope you enjoyed seeing our North Side Yard Transformation. It's been a big job, but it's created a wonderful space for us to be outside enjoying the weather, playing with the dogs, and feeling at home in our new surroundings.
Have you transformed a garden area in your yard?
Do you have questions about how to re-work your garden space?
Please leave a comment, let's chat!
Curious about the rest of our yard? Come join me on a quick walk around our 1/2 acre property on our June 2016 Yard Tour:
See how we set up the side porch for relaxation with the pups and a good cuppa joe:
And while your'e here, why don't you check out our Empty House Tour? See what our house looked like on the inside on the day we moved in back in August 2015:
Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest to get more tips and information about relaxing in your yard and garden.
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Linking to:
Metamorphosis Monday - Between Naps on the Porch
Monday Sunday - That's What Che Said
Make it Pretty Monday - The Dedicated House
The Scoop - StoneGable
Your yard looks so nice! What a wonderful place to relax and just enjoy the outdoors. Your dogs are adorable too! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, thanks for stopping by and leaving such kind words. We do enjoy the new side yard garden so much - morning coffee, evening relaxation - it's a great space for us. The dogs - oh my, they're the best! :-)
DeleteThanks for saying hello, hope you'll come back soon.
Your home is adorable and you've done such a great job on your landscaping. Read several posts and my you both are making great progress. Our Ginger is always trying to get in my gardens and do believe its a losing battle. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteHi Cathy! Thanks for stopping by! Your Ginger is sweet looking but yes, keeping them out of the gardens is a never-ending battle! The side yard garden basically belongs to our dogs, and several plants have been hit hard! But we love the pups, so there you have it. :-)
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