Garden Paths #2

This is the view from the patio area of the round cement stepping stones that lead through the perennial bed. This view is looking into the rhodo that borders the small Japanese area. There is a Sanguinia Canadensis, a soldenella at this side of the path. On the other side of this rhodo, the new moss garden begins.
This is the view from the patio area, of the old cement sidewalk that runs along the other side of the garage. Between the garage and the sidewalk I have a bed with a small geranium, a clematis and a grape on the corner, some oriental poppies, cyclamen, and a few other perennials. On the other side of the old sidewalk there is the fig tree, a strawberry tree (its an arbutus), some minature roses and other perennials. The round cement stone path leads through the new perennial bed past the rhodos, primulas, etc; from the steps that go up to the back to the old sdewalk. You can see the germander and the firethorn at the end of this photo, where the sidewalk turns to go around the back of the garage or past the holly tree into the grass area where the apple tree is growing.
This is the view of the old cement sidewalk behind the garage from the other side. You see the trunk of the eucalyptus leaning over towards the garage. Germander and iris in the foreground. Next to the garage there is a bed with Galium (sweet woodruff) with a velvety leafed lace cap hydranga. At the corner of the garage there is a yellow flowering winter Jasmine and a white sweetly scented jasmine vine. As you continue towards the vegetable garden from this sidewalk you walk between a tall fire thorn and a holly tree. There is a yew and 3 hedging cedars along behind the germander and the irises. The iris do not get enough sun to bloom well. They might do better when the big tree is gone. Our screening from the house behind us will be gone, though also. Hopefully the hedging cedars will grow quickly. I should feed and water them more. Today, I have been clipping the firethorn and holly tree back quite radically to make room to walk between them without getting any prickles from either tree.
As you turn the corner around behind the garage the chip path turns into the old cement sidewalk that was along this garage. The garage was on the property when we bought it. It was an added attraction for Pat and his car storage, of course. We closed in that back door and the window of the garage and combined the two bays as one open area with a big door on the front and a walk in door. The old black compost bin sits on the spot where steps went down to the old entry. You see the rhododendron on the corner of the garage, the big fern just the other side of the compost bin, and the old cement sidewalk where I have allowed the moss to grow. The leaning tree trunk is the huge eucalyptus that is going to have to be removed someday. Next to the rhodo, I have taken out a pin oak that was too big and leaning to the garage for light. Since then, I have let 3 trunks grow from the stump of this oak and have been training them away from the garage. They have lovely Fall color as do the trees across the path from them. Also across the path from the rhodo area there is a large Japanese cedar with brown/green colored needles. I have 3 Saskatoon berry trees along the fence line across from the compost bin. These do not get enough water or attention and I am considering replacing them with more hedging cedars when the eucalyptus is taken out.
This is the wood chip path leading into the woodland from the driveway, on the west side of the garage. The bleeding heart is at the corner of the garage. The plants in this little srip under the eaves of the garage are in bloom in the spring and have just finished blooming as this photo is from June 16th. On the other side of the path there is a cedar hedge between the neighbors and our property. Their kitchen window looks across our patio area in front of the garage and so this hedge is tall enough to screen our patio and deck area from view. The hedge goes along the driveway up to where our house ends, making that whole side of the house more private.
The people do day care in that house. Just recently they have set up a basketball hoop along their driveway which is next to ours except for the 5 foot strip where I have my hedge. I guess this noisy from the bouncing balls is going to be a permanent thing, as these kids are not the kind that outgrow this ball hoop, as they did on the other side of us. Ah well!

The path photos from today's post were taken on June 16th. All the woodland area needs cleaning up. I have started a bit of cleaning up this morning with the clipping back of the holly tree and the firethorn. I initially went out to prune back the wisteria that is in the corner of the vegetable/herb garden. I am trying to train this wisteria into a single stem kind of a tree, since it really does not have room to ramble. The neighbors seem to resent it decorating their fences. :-)). I also took some of the lower branches off the English oak and deadheaded most of the spent blooms off the lilac. I topped up the pond.