Wednesday, May 5, 2010

See A Little Bit of Lawn! Lots of Garden

18 years ago we started the garden. It started out a typical landscape for a 1929 bungalow.  My goals were to have  garden paths made with the local pink limestone, paths that would meander through the whole garden. And to remove most of the lawn so that there would be a garden.  I said, “Just think Ted, you won’t need to mow very much at all”.  But, while I myself laid down most of the stones in the yard, he and I had to “mine” them out of the country and haul them home and unload them.  When we were gathering the rock, he definitely thought that mowing was an easier alternative.  But, good sport that Ted is, when I would say: “Ted you know what would be good?” He would laugh and say “One more load!” And off we would go with our picks, shovels and metal bars. Ted was the muscle!  Well, all the paths are done. Raised beds are made and we have just a little bit of lawn. Today I mowed the lawn in front and back. It took me about 10 minutes.  The sweetest thing is our 1940’s electric lawnmower that belonged to Ted’s grandfather.  I love this little mower. It starts by pushing a little button and it is so quiet. Ted says it is because it has a plate with little blades that just hum.  No gasoline fumes or noise. I had at one time one of those push reel mowers, but it didn’t cut up the bits of branches that fall from the trees.  Here is my very small, non-chemical back lawn:




We have this little circle of lawn in front of the pond.  I took this picture this afternoon. Spring is just starting. Today I trimmed a lavender plant. I take the cuttings of aromatic herbs and put them into the fire pit. Nice. Up front is a cotoneaster.  The birds plant them around the yard. This one I shaped into a fan.  PS: May 6, 2010 This morning it has just started to snow/rain.




Here is the other little bit of lawn. The mock orange is barely greening up.  When removing lawn and making a garden it is very, very important to remove every bit of grass root.  A bit of grass will grow and travel through your gardens.  Don’t skip this detail.




This is a view of the border that lines the walkway up to the porch.  The lawn stays mostly squared off like this.  I dug a little trench around the lawn and filled it with pea gravel. That keeps the lawn in its place.   Peonies,  a rose, lavender and coreopsis,  are beginning to awake from their winter’s rest.




This is also in the front yard on the other side of the sidewalk. There are 4 squared off pods with a square in the middle. I have a 4th of July rose in the middle of the pod. By having a pattern the area shows some design in the winter.  In the raised bed on the right hand side I plan to grow eggplants and peppers. We have a school across the street from our house.



Near our sidewalk I have a circle garden rimmed with a gravel and limestone path.  Behind it is the previous picture. I put little rocks under this round flat rock.  See the turtle?

29 comments:

  1. LOVE IT! A lot of hard work I know, but well worth it. Your gardens are lovely to look at. Great job!


    Melody

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  2. Good for you for getting rid of lawn - it's vastly over-rated. Yours is the first South Dakota blog I've visited. We're a Zone 5b here on the north shore of Lake Ontario. But just 30 miles to the north would be a 4b - a world of difference in a very short distance. Do you get snow cover? When is your first frost free date - ours is this w/e, although we don't put basil in until June 1.

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  3. Hi Gloria, your garden is so neat. I am sure Ted is contented now and can rest well. Your turtle seem happy in its new environment. hehe

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  4. Your yard looks wonderful. Cool turtle. jim

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  5. Lovely garden scene, so orderly and eye catching. Is that a fire pit I see in the middle?

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  6. Melody, Thank you - Yes, it was hard work, but work I love. I was 18 years younger when I started so I am glad my garden is at this stage.

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  7. Barbara, Yes, we get winter here and snow cover. Our first frost free date is May 15th...but it is safest by June 1st. Then we usually go straight to hot and dry.

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  8. Andrea and Jim, Thanks for the comment. The turtle is neat. Someone actually thought he was real :)

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  9. Linda, thanks - yes that is a firepit. I love trimming woody herbs like sage and lavender and putting them in the firepit.

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  10. Gloria, your yard is just fabulous! I really like all of the rocks. Your spring is starting, and mine is ending. I hope frost doesn't harm any of your lovely flowers. Everything is so picturesque.

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  11. Wow, Gloria, this looks like a lot of work.
    And, it looks like there is a whole lot of exciting things growing right now. That is so exciting.

    Annelie

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  12. Just love it !!!!! Such hard work and patience . awesome

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  13. You have the perfect amount of lawn. I wish we could have one small patch in our backyard for my kids, but it just won't grow. You have put so much into the design of your garden, it was worth all that mining and hard work for sure!

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  14. I can comment again - I should have contacted you through Blotanical but thought that you had disabled them. I would love to get rid of my back lawn and have the rest in gravel beds but I don't think it would be agreeable to the rest of the family. You've got a great back yard Gloria and I see a firepit there too - cool beans! and what a lovely view from your front door too looking over those flowerbeds of yours to the scenes in the distance.

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  15. Hi Deb - the snow didn't seem to bother anything. We are a bit behind in the season. Usually by now the crab apples have been in full bloom. The buds are barely opening.

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  16. Annelie, yes it was alot of satisfying work. The funny thing is I really never had a "real" plan so I would change whole sections when I would get these "aha" moments.

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  17. Tribalcime, Thank you! If I could do it again, I would have put more narrow junipers around the perimiter. I still might just add 1 or 2 more.

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  18. Hi Sunny - The stone turtle is fun! I admire your stone sculpturing abilities and art. As you once said we love our rocks in this part of the country. These round flat stones came from a local ranch. Some of them have what look like clam shells imprinted in them.

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  19. Hi Catherine, a little bit of lawn is just right. Your garden is so beautiful. Will it not grow because you have lots of rain in your area?

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  20. Rosie, you have a keen eye. I had to look at my picture again. We have lovely hills around us. Our town is only about 5000 people. There are ranches around us. The closest city big enough to have a mall, McDonald, Walmart is 60 miles. But only 10 miles away is Wind Cave National Park. The deer, antelope and buffalo.

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  21. A Garden of ThreadsMay 7, 2010 at 12:47 PM

    Cheers to you for getting rid of most of your lawn, it is over rated. Your gardens look lovely now in early spring, in full bloom they must be beautiful. I do see the turtle, neat idea. Have a wonderful weekend if possible, with this weather.

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  22. Jen, Garden of Threads, Thank you. Our weather is cold and windy. I went out this afternoon to do "dandellion patrol" with a stocking cap and a coat. Brrrr

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  23. I love the turtle, too cute! I was going to say that yesterday, so I'm glad your comments hiccup has been resolved! Your garden looks lovelier each time I see it. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who has had a circular lawn. It was the first we installed at our previous house...and for weeks, until the hard-scaping was put in, I think our neighbors thought we were crazy, and trying to attract aliens or something :P Just bare dirt...and a green circle!

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  24. [...] See A L&#1110tt&#406&#1077 Bit &#959f Lawn! Lots &#959f Garden | A Healthy Gardener [...]

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  25. Clare, Curbstone Valley Farm. How funny! It only made sense to me to have a circular lawn in a rectangle yard. That way you could plant all around it. Thanks to my husband we have the bit of lawn we have because in my enthusiasm I might have kept on digging. But, now I like it especially with the quiet mower.

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  26. I did see the turtle, even before you pointed it out. :) Boy, talk about a house with curb appeal! I simply love what you've done with the rocks and stones. Well done, Bond/e girl! ;) (I like the new name and look!)

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  27. Hi, Gloria!
    I popped over to see your new blog. Love the name. How were you able to switcheroo everything so easily??? Looks great by the way.

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  28. Hi Kate - I found this site, a tool that converts wordpress to blogger. It was really nifty.
    http://wordpress2blogger.appspot.com/

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