First of the grass to go!!!

The weather is getting warm enough that I get to work outside in my new little garden. It's hard to decide just where I want to work first because I have lots of things in my head that I want to do but  my back just needs to hold up.  When I first bought the place one of my friends said she  imagined it wouldn't be very long before I dug up all the grass... I laughed and said oh no I won't do that but I can see it probably won't be very long before I am digging up all the grass.

 

 I am starting with a small strip along the back fence. Very heavy ugly sod and lots of rock and it's a sort of a useless piece of greenery.  It would be hard to mow and so I'm digging the sod out piece by piece and planting shade plants. My original plan was to fill in with perennial   geraniums as a ground cover but it is a very shady spot at the base of this fence so I have been adding bulbs and spring flowers that do well in the shade such alliums hellebores etc.  

 

 

 

 

I do have two bins of geranium cuttings rooting though and will use some of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My big project in the front were to humongous junipers.  The one on the right was about the size of a queen size bed. It was growing into the house on over the sidewalk. the one on the left was just about as bad and growing into the steps and over the walk on two sides. With Juniper's I like to turn them into trees.

 

it's a bit tricky trimming them back until you find the main trunk.  I always hope to find a nice curved one which I did with this one.

 

It was harder with the second one because it was so huge and I probably took off too much on top but I can shape it as it grows. it not very interesting now but I will keep working with it.  All that grayish area around it is the ground that it covered.  Now I can fill it with spring perennials and bulbs.  It is pretty ugly now but will be beautiful I promise. I've already planted dwarf iris, daffs, alliums, hellebores and two kinds of clematis in front of the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was another huge low-growing juniper at the back of the house that was about 15 feet across.  I want it out completely.  The main bird feeder will go in this area.

  I had cut and cut and cut on this and still haven't found the main stem it's going to take me all summer to get it out of there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday we went up to the farm and I dug peonies, rhubarb and a few shrubs plus I'd gathered   up all my marble stepping stones and some of the whimsy  stuff from the garden.  DH wanted to take it all to the dump......no way.  When he starts using the dump word I just implore him to trust me....it's all a treasure even though it is rusty, crusty, and covered in lichen... right????