I’ve been delaying my update hoping to finish this project but I’ve stalled again. I have included an updated diagram, since most of the plantings are so small as to have little impact at this point – thus the two flats worth of annuals I’ve plugged in to give us – if the sun ever comes out – something to look at. Details on current dilemma follow pictures…
I moved the path when I realized that it was taking up valuable real estate in the sunniest part of the yard.
To date I’ve invested in some topsoil (though it never seems to be enough) as well as a mock orange, Japanese anenome, two shasta daisies (a fond memory) bee balm and three lavender for the hot spot around the rocks and up against the retaining wall.
At the cottage I have an abundance of wild geranium, iris, primrose and hosta that I can move over at an appropriate moment. I also plan to get an old-fashioned (tall) bleeding heart, as was suggested by a GardenWeb contributor. Meanwhile, I am repeating my mantra: I must be patient.
The bricks in the path are leftover from the patio, and all were donated by generous friends redoing their own patio area. I decided to use these for now, knowing that I will likely replace them with something a bit less structured ‘in the fullness of time.’
I had planned to fill in around the pavers with bark mulch. But now I am rethinking. I rather like the contrast provided by the grey path, and in light of comments received noting that bark mulch tends to shift around quite a bit, I am considering small rock. It might look a bit like a dry stream bed, particularly if a few large flat stones replaced the brick stepping stones. I can’t decide if this would look good, or just a bit twee. Discuss?
If I was going to use rock, it wouldn’t be much more trouble to shovel it up from the beach, since I don’t need a large amount. I’ll be at the cottage with the kids this weekend and will explore the viability of this idea then. In any event, Cottager is away, riding the Camino de Santiago, and I am loath to move rock without his muscles. I must be patient.