Here's the first major day of planting. It was raining off and on and I had to fight hard-packed clay and bermuda. Now I have to lie on a bed and whimper to tie my shoes.
There's some purple perennial groundcover of which I forget the name at the moment, Snowball Vibernum, Burford Hollies, Rose Glow Barberry, and Golden Hostas (added after pics).
I found this picture that shows how the bed looked around 1949. Lots of evergreens and a snowball vibernum back in the corner...
I thought this was kinda cool, I unearthed this pic of my grandfather taken around the time he was building the house. Since this was early-mid-1940's he must've started the beatnik look!
Thanks for sharing your pics, Tim. That's a really neat project you have undertaken. So, you're sprucing up the house your Grandpa built? What a cool thing. It's good to see you posting.
Linda P
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten.....
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Thanks, Linda!
The family connection makes it extra fun. I have many pieces of furniture that he made over the years as well and it's all going in the house. I love everyone's creativity and enthusiasm on this site and it only adds to the pleasure of a project!
Tim
I really appreciate that, though it's been so long since I've done this level of yard work that I ended up wrenching the heck out of my back, so no more intense work for a couple of weeks probably.
Tim
A couple of boxes of wine and you'll be as good as new. Love the old pics. Your granddad looks like a really coool guy. About that pic of the little girl standing in the water. Is the house on a flood plain?
Oh so sorry you messed up the back! I like that stuff called Capzasin-HP....Just use gloves to put it on....But it has no smell, and it is nice and warm....Plus, half of a Darvocet helps, too.
I was going to say something about that little girl in the flood too....wow!
Thanks for the advice about the back. I'll try anything as I have to roll onto the floor and grab a table to get out of a chair right now. Yeowwww!!!
I'm anxious to keep working and I'd love to post more pics, thank you!
He passed 25 years ago but Grandad Ward was a really fun guy! Paul's Valley is as the name suggests in a valley and used to have terrible flooding problems. However that was somehow solved many years ago and I haven't heard about a flood there in my lifetime. Talk to you soon!
Tim
Been crazy around here so I haven't had a chance to check in. I found some good-sized Japanese Red Maples on sale at Lowes so I picked one up and put it with a couple of spreading yews on the other side of the steps. I thought that the JM would add some extra color and some height to the center of the front landscaping. I'll submit some pics for your approval later this week when I get some extra time. Any tips on how to care for the Japanese Maple?
Thank you!
Tim
Old earth dog wrote:A couple of boxes of wine and you'll be as good as new. Love the old pics. Your granddad looks like a really coool guy. About that pic of the little girl standing in the water. Is the house on a flood plain?
Wine is good!! I had some this morning at 10:00 A.M.
My husband gets so exasperated with his car restoration work sometimes but says beer helps him focus better!!
There's a saying that housework, done right, will kill you...I don't know but what the same holds true for yardwork!!
I'm not sure, but digging up new beds is about the closest I've ever come to killing myself!
Tim
"No, don't do it!"
"Get away from me!!"
"Now listen son, you've got too much to live for....now very slowly give me the hoe and the sharpshooter."
Here's a bad picture taken with a cheap camera of the latest purchases above mentioned. I'm going back out to cut a new flower bed around this and add pine-needle mulch, maybe add an edging of mondo grass.
Here's last summers before and after patio pics. Not much of garden yet, but getting there Much smaller scale than all the beautiful ones I've been admiring the past days on this post! Love to see them all!
