May hedging

This is a view from our driveway along the path that goes across the top of the garden.  The hedge on the right side is made from the boxwood clippings and is slowly filling out.  The top left is a low cedar that covers the bottom part of the big pink tree peony  The vase has arabis in it.

This is a shot of the lovely hebe in full bloom and the hedge is now trimmed.  This hebe is currently the star of the front garden.

This is the honeysuckle pilea along Parmar's side, with the new cedar hedge behind it.  These cedars are going to be good screening from all the cars in the driveways, all the blank lawn area and the butchered trees across the street.

Shooting from the thyme circle upwards to the top of the front garden through the alliums to the hebe.  The thyme circle is in bloom, but there are no bees.  I need to do more weeding in this area.

The magnolia and the big tree peony are in bloom at about the same time this year.  They are nearly the same color and sit across the grass path next to the entry way.  They are putting on a fine show now.

The peony, closer.

I spent about 10 hours clipping the hedges.  It actually goes quite fast with my little battery powered hedge trimmer.  After doing the top hedge and the side I mowed the grass, front and back.  The crocuses leaves were beginning to brown, so I took them down also.  I dumped these hedge clippings and lawn clippings on the back woodland path.   There are no pictures of the honeysuckle hedge that runs along the street side of the large cedar hedge.  This honeysuckle is really ratty looking.  I really should dig it out and replace it with boxwood clippings.  Maybe this Fall, if I have time.  In front of the ratty little hedge, the daisies are coming into bloom for their show time.  I also clipped some of the big cedar hedge and took a couple of wheel barrow loads of the cedar duff and clippings to the woodland garden path.
It was rainy yesterday, and I had laundry to do.  In the afternoon I went over to Royal Oak mall, and picked up a few books, other stuff, and of course, two more six packs of annuals.  All of this exercise over the past couple of weeks, as well as a few late nights spent on Megashot had played me out entirely.  Last night I slept from 8:00 pm to 9:00 this morning.  I tweaked photos, and transplanted the little annuals today... nothing too strenuous. 

Hedging and paths

Shooting from our driveway up the grass path, at the trimmed hedge. You can see the garden hose that leads to the slow drip for the plum tree. The peony tree is about finished blooming.
This is the stone path that leads through the central part of the inner front garden. It has been relatively easy care for the past 12 years since I first installed it. It has become overgrown with clover and other weeds. I am digging it up, putting a layer of new paper down on the base, covering the newspaper with sand and setting the flat found fieldstone rocks back. The base was clay before. I will want to add some of the clay back to the top sand, and then cover this mix with pea gravel. I have been weeding a bit along the edges, as I go along redoing the path. I have finished about 1/4 of it. I have been working at it for the past 4 days. It was heavy going at first, but I am making better progress now. The largest stones sit in the middle, spaced for convenient stepping. When I made the thyme circle I put down a newspaper weed barrier... 12 years ago also. The thyme bed does not have the weed problem that the stone path has; so I hope this works for the stone path, now. I had my garden scissors out there for cutting open bags. I am so annoyed as I seem to have misplaced that scissors. I would hate to find it again by stepping on it.
The lupines are in bloom and looking nice. Last year I had a few plants of peloric foxgloves growing with the lupines. There are none this year. I suppose the heavy leaf mulch might be a deterent to the germination of the foxgloves. The lupines are next to the new little cedars along Parmar's side of the front garden.
At the corner of Parmar's property and ours right by the street, I have planted a purple plum tree. This plum produced fruit the first year, but not since. I consulted with the people at Cannor Nursery. They advised me to give it some fruit tree spikes and keep it watered. Planting a fruit tree in this high traffic area is not a very good idea as the roots might get compacted. I have put the garden hose out to the tree area and have it on a very slow drip. I have given it fruit tree fertilizer spikes. Yea! There are small plums on the tree!
This is the little honeysuckle hedge that runs along my side of the property with Parmar's strip of grass to complete the 'frame' of my garden on their side. There is a strip of grass across the front by the street to further the allusion of a frame.
This is shooting at the grass path and hedge from Parmar's side of the path. The gold spot in the hedge is what appears to be a dead boxwood plant. Mrs. P. has had a workman painting and whatnot at her home over the years. It is my suspicion that he dumped some toxic material on this plant. If it does not green up by the Fall, I will take it out and put in a new little cutting. It looks rather unusual, as is, though. I have planted some cedars next to the little hedge. They will add some screeening from their driveway. Their front is just lawn with small strips of beds around the edges with a few small trees. Their property is on the corner. So these cedars will also screen from the street.
This morning I clipped the boxwood hedges along the top of the front garden. The grass path is approximately 4 feet wide. The grass will need attention this year, as it is full of weeds and moss.