Recently someone posted a comment in our post, Bye-Bye Lawn, asking for an update. This gave me the nudge I needed to get back on here and post again, it's been a very long time. I may have been very quiet for a long time, but that sure doesn't mean nothing is happening.
Here's a brief update with some photos taken a few weeks ago. Hope you enjoy!!
The Front Yard
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| Our front yard
I particularly like this picture because you can see a bit of the contrast between our yard and the two closest neighbors' yards.
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We added a neighbor garden this year. Here it has been mostly cleaned up for the winter, but this summer it was jammed with basil, parsley, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, green beans and okra. People were a little shy at first, but by the end of the season the garden was getting harvested regularly by neighborhood visitors. We're definitely doing this again next year, and I now have a better idea of what to plant.
The Backyard
The backyard is getting well established and we continue to introduce more perennials. There's a gravel driveway under what you are looking at in the pictures. As the soil is built up and the gravel begins to break apart underneath we add perennials. Hopefully the gravel is loose enough now that the perennial root systems can get down through. I think it is.
At the back of the yard in an area that didn't include a gravel driveway we installed a pond about 15 years ago. This spring we replaced the pond liner that had begun to leak. At this time the pond ecosystem is getting reestablished. We are still getting plenty of wildlife visitors and the plants are reestablishing nicely.
The only remaining big project left to do is remove a strip of English Ivy on the North side of the house and then planting the area with native woodland plants. Hopefully sometime this winter I can get out there and remove ivy so the area is ready for a spring planting.
I'll keep you updated.
