Landscaping project update

So, all the hardscape was finished on Tuesday (Tim of San Isidro Designs put in the flagstone and last of the granite mulch), and this is the first day that the grass has been mowed and no cars have been parked in front of the house...good day for garden photos. I'm really excited about the look and the future planting; but right now I'm happy to let everything settle in till fall while I dream and scheme.


I think it'd be nice to ease the transition between limestone block and path...I'm keeping an eye out for some found object or stone.


These square beds (4'X4') are for veggies. Right now I've just got clear plastic in there, hopefully solarizing away the bermuda grass and weeds. In the fall, I want to plant some Mexican feather grass in the granite area, and maybe some cactus next to the Pride of Barbados. Summer heat actually makes me not jump into a bunch of plant choices I might reconsider later.




All that landscaping inspired me to weed and plant this bed along the front of the house, which gets dappled sun throughout the day and some afternoon sun. The purple trailing lantana (left side) has always been there, and I added the butterfly weed, blackie sweet potato, gregg's mistflower, and vitex trifolia last week.

There's something so satisfying about the wildness of the planted areas and the calmness of the hardscape. To give you an idea, here's a before (maybe 4 years ago, with the metal edge hidden in lawn) and after, with my dog Lloyd demonstrating how much better it is now.


All the areas now covered in decomposed granite used to be a mish-mash of bermuda grass, st. augustine, wildflowers, horseherb, you name it; basically, that's the area of lawn not under the tree that receives full sun from lunch time till evening.