Landscaping Project

Before:

Our lawn was in bad shape upon moving in (in contrast to the house which was in great condition). The above picture is a pretty good indication of what we inherited (with the exception of the marking paint). After drawing up a plan and soliciting a quote to get the work done, I decided that I'd do it myself as a learning project. Scroll to the bottom of the post for the 'after' picture if you want to skip the boring stuff.

I quickly found out why none of the previous plants had done well--our "soil" was actually a combination of rocks and clay. Part of this project was simply amending the soil with compost. Additionally, I wanted to extend the beds around the front, so I started by removing the sod in these areas. If you look closely, you'll be able to spot the elusive wildlife of the Kuhre's front yard.

The next step was to install the stone edging along the perimeter of the sidewalk. This gave the walkway a more 'framed' feel and also allowed me to raise the beds. I set the stone edging in about an inch of sand to minimize future movement. What's the trick to getting your course to start and end in exactly the right spot?--prayer. But seriously, it was difficult to match a multiple of the 6" width of each stone to the various lengths of sidewalks.

After that, I backfilled the areas that were excavated. I don't have a good photo of this, but I actually brought in a couple yards of screened topsoil to raise the beds. The last step involved choosing a few plants that were either native or adapted to life here in Pennsylvania. We ended up going with a couple of blue junipers, a nandina, a holly, and another I can't recall at the moment. Whenever I teach a class about greenbuilding, I always pose the question: "Who watered plants before humans came along?" It may seem like a bizarre question, but even more bizarre is the answer--No one! Water hungry plants aren't good for the water bill, my health, or our local water source.

After:

And there you have it! Melody is planning on planting annuals such as flowers and mums depending on the time of year. The grass even looks better now after some much needed rain. You'll have to visit to get the whole picture--our cherry tree had beautiful blooms this year.