The Front Walk

I finished laying the stones for the front walk today. It was a long process, but I'm pretty happy with the results. It needs a couple of minor adjustments that John will help with, but it's basically done. I also ordered Mother of Thyme seeds and am going to attempt to grow it over the winter and then plant in spring between the stones. I figure if the seeds don't take I can buy plants in the spring, but it's worth a shot to at least try to grow them.

I also got my first and larger order from van Bourgondeon yesterday. I was pleased with the quality of the bulbs and plants and got everything planted yesterday. My next order is supposed to arrive tomorrow, and that will wrap up this year's gardening season for the most part, with the exception of watering, leaf raking and major mulching. I planted 2 varieties of crocus, grape hyacinth (muscari), Blue Drumstick Allium, Starfighter Lilies and Casa Blanca Lilies. The bare root plants were two Phlox Laura (purple with white eyes), a Raspberry Queen poppy and a Scarlet poppy. The new order will contain two types of daffodils, two varieties of tulips and some hardy gladiolus.

Overall, it was a very productive week for front landscaping. Here is a before and after of the walk as well as some additional after shots.

More Shrubs

I picked up a Hydrangea Paniculata Limelight on sale at the overpriced nursery on Thursday. It was $25 for a nice looking shrub that is now flowering with great lime colored blooms. It's supposed to turn white and then pink (already showing some signs of pink) as the fall progresses. I got that planted today to the outside of the front walk.

Elyse also gave us a rhododendron that had been left near her mailbox for at least 1 YEAR. Someone apparently dumped it there with the rootball wrapped in plastic and it's managed to survive. It's huge but doesn't have very many leaves but lots of leggy limbs. I thought it could be a mountain laurel but now I'm leaning more toward rhodie. And it has blooms on it for next spring! Amazing. We planted it near the road and watered it well, so we'll see if we can give it a shot at life.

Also started the tedious front walkway project. Positioning and leveling each stone takes patience and time so it's going to be a slow moving process. John pulled out lots of good sized stones today and positioned them so I don't have to lift heavy field stones at least. I'm planning to work on this tomorrow and throughout the week.

My first (and larger) order of bulbs and a few perennials from van Bourgondeon is supposed to arrive Tuesday. I really think they pushed out the shipping too late but am crossing my fingers everything will be healthy and good quality. That will determine if I'll ever order from this company again, since they've been frustrating to work with so far.

Here's the new Hydrangea Paniculata Limelight:
Note how green it is next to our yellowing grass...

The Rhododendron or Mountain Laurel:


The center island cleared of a couple of overgrown evergreen shrubs, the creeping juniper and a few other transplants. There's a new Blue Prince Holly planted there as well as some perennial strawberries: