The Fence Made Me Do It!

And So Begins Another New Garden!

I can hardly believe it -- it's happened with so little obsessing -- but suddenly I'm halfway through a new front garden. Not that I had much time; the several hundred plants potted up during fence construction were getting mighty ornery and demanding new digs. What astonishes me, though, is how much the new fence has dictated this landscape design. Then again, how could it not; it's not only the dominant feature in my yard, but on my block...

Below is the new garden in progress, looked at from more or less the same angle (don't let the first pix throw you). It's a bit confusing still, but will make much more sense a few weeks from now (at least that's what my best buddy and chief collaborator Jay Miner tells me). Essentially, everything that was grass is being turned into patio, a series of overlapping squares and rectangles made up of dark gray concrete, old handcut brick (scored by my tree guy, John Buttrell) and groundcover (pee/poop pads for Della, if the truth be told). The plants will huddle around the patio, but that's a long few weeks away.

Details to follow, but here's the story thus far:

High Tech Landscape Design Spray paint is used to delineate the patio grid; the design only barely exists on paper.

Friends Start The Frame 1x4's now follow the grid, and will frame the brick, concrete and green floor.

A Design Emerges The grid is filled with gravel and for ten brief minutes, the garden looks clean; notice the long bed running through the middle? Stay tuned for a dry bed of tumbled brown glass.

Two Weeks From Day One If you pour it, it will rain. That's the first of the concrete pads under the black plastic, which the guys finished pouring two hours before the rain.