I had one half of the front of my home landscaped this past week. The pros did a fantastic job, and it looks much better than it has for years.
My family has lived in the house for decades, and back in the early days we didn’t have much greenery in front, but the biggest plant was an out-of-control azalea bush. It eventually died and was dug out. My parents decided to replace it and line the front with ferns. The idea came from a few perennial varieties which grew happily and stayed green year-round on both sides of the steps leading to the front door. If those would last, why wouldn’t others?
The variety they chose, unfortunately, grew like kudzu over the walkway, and by September they reached over three feet high and choked any semblance of order to our front. One positive thing is that the front was nearly always green.
In the fall, the yellowed remains of the ferns would be ripped out and trimmed down with a weeder, but the network of roots beneath the soil was unbreakable, so pruning or thinning out was out of the question. The ferns became a nebulous, unwanted squatter.
Until this past spring, when I gave the okay for landscapers to tear up everything and install new plants. They took out the ferns and dug down deep to pull the entire carpet of roots. The old clusters of perennial ferns remained on my orders. My attachment to them was too strong, and they brought joy to the front yard.
This week, the crew came and added the new plants. I also found that I have a responsibility to water them daily for two weeks to establish their hold in the soil and keep the warranty valid. This morning, I set out to start watering, but I found that my new hose came with an attachment which doesn’t do anything gently, such as lightly sprinkling new shoots. This meant I had to go out for some accessories. I came out of the mega store (you know the one) with a hand sprayer and an extended wand.
I’ve never used a wand before when doing anything in the yard, so it will be interesting to see how it works. For the next fourteen days, I will take on the role of the little old lady tending her garden early in the morning. It will be worth it for the plants to take hold and enjoy the rest of the season before going dormant in preparation for a resurgence in the spring of 2024.
Plant ahead to plan ahead, I always say.
Next year I may do the other half of the front. It contains the last of those squatter ferns and a crazy japonica with tendrils that project in fifty directions at once, but lovely flowers (in the local school district colors) and greenery come with them. By then, it may be time for the past to go with them.
I’ll keep you posted.
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