Landscaping...

This has been a busy week for me--continuing to landscape our cottage. I have all these great ideas that swim around in my head, but it is hard to actually make them happen sometimes and that is generally because they take hard work and time. I am sure you have a lot of great ideas and plans that are the same way.

This week I decided to spruce up the outside of the cottage. It always looked so sad and forlorn on the side where the steps go up to the house. I wish I had taken a before shot, but you know how that is...I was so busy doing I forgot to take a before photo. OK, I found a couple from when Bob was putting in the underground gutters. 

 It was kind of a  no-mans land under those steps and I just couldn't think of how to make that whole area look better.

Then I thought about putting in a tree and after talking to the friendly folks at King's Nursery, I purchased a Japanese Cherry [no fruit, just lovely pink blossoms] and this is what I ended up with.

 Cherry tree to the left with bags and bags of mulch and a rock border to keep the mulch from washing down the hill.






Here it is from the downhill side. I will add some more ferns and such as I have time and money, but I thought this was a good start. I figure I can add flowers later, but for now, I am pretty happy with my work. I have to say, I hauled most of these rocks, armful by armful from down hill where Bob and I had tossed a bunch during construction. It about wore me out, but I figure it was good exercise and I earned a lot of Weight Watcher's Activity points in the process. A win-win all the way around. 

I added some ferns to the  hosta and  lilly of the valley I planted under the stairs last fall

So, after this was done, and I planted 4 blueberry bushes, 2 raspberry bushes, a false indigo, some lemon thyme and a plum tree, Bob reminded me that we had another pile of rocks down by the cabin. And,  you may not know this about me, but I  LOVE rocks. So, I got my trusty wheel barrow and Bob and I loaded it up and then unloaded at the house. This is my fancy wheelbarrow.

Seriously, it is so much better than a regular wheelbarrow. I just put it in 4 wheel drive, spread the tarp over the cargo area and load it up. Bob and I put about 5-6 loads in there, and then I drove it uphill and then we unloaded. I had enough to finish off the front of the house. [Notice the blossoms of the cherry tree in the upper right corner next to my red wheelbarrow? I am going to love that tree!]
 Here are a couple of before shots of the back of the house. See the river birch in the middle and the Forest Pansy Red Bud [with purple leaves] further down?







The bushes are holly, boxwood and blueberry. And, I put a low growing lilac on the corner.There are raspberries in the tub with comfrey and creeping phlox around it.







 This is the after photo, the side  of the house with the rock border.

Here is the back with the border. You can see why I was glad I had my fancy wheelbarrow, can't you?

Bob had other jobs to do.  He wrestled with the tiller to till up a nice flower bed for me to plant wildflowers.  This is about the only ugly place at the farm, right next to the telephone pole. I planted a Red Twig Dogwood bush that my sister gave me by the guy wire and also some day lillies and a falst indigo that my friend Linda gave me in that area. The rest will be seeded with wildflowers.




He also mowed and had the place looking great!

Lovely!

Take care,
Jill