Gee, I think your path is lovely, just as it is, and the garden is wonderful. I'd be happy to have it!!

Nancy.

I agree with Nancy! It looks great! Im thinking allysum would look great , itll creep up to the edges, then you wont have to sweep the mulch back in. I also like pink evening primrose, itll fill in between plants as well. Your hydrangeas are so pretty! Are they endless summer?

I agree and think it looks pretty, too! I would just go ahead and plant right up to the edge, so the flowers will tumble over it somewhat.

You could plant thyme or scottish or iris moss to soften the hard edges. Any plant that drapes over the slabs would be nice. Arenaria for one produces nice flowers. Thrifts are also wonderful.

If the concrete is something that you want to change, if you are creative you can add pebble mosaics on one or two of your concrete slabs. There are many kits available now a days to make this project easy.

However, I like your old concrete walks. If they bother you, you could add smooth pebble stones to fill in gaps too. I'm referring to pebbles about 1 to 2 inches large not pea gravel.

Ianna

Wow! You made me feel so much better about my concrete. I was thinking about it some more, and I think it's original to the house, which was built in 1912. The reason I think so is that there are three houses in a row that are identical (mine is in the middle) and all three have the same exact curved walkway. They do have a certain patina about them at 98 years old.

In the backyard they stretch about 75 feet in a straight line with only grass on one side, so that's an area that needs more work Thanks so much for the words of encouragement and the suggestions!

Yes, the hydrangeas are "Endless Summer" and they live up to their name, blooming profusely and continuously last year. They looked nice next to the Lantana "Chapel Hill Yellow" too, which I am hoping will winter over. It's supposed to be hardy to zone 7, and I am on the border but the winter hasn't dipped to single digits yet.

Thanks again for your thoughts so far!

Lisa

I think it is lovely too Lisa. I like iannas idea of planting things to drape over slightly. A few medium/small ornamental grasses, like Festuca 'Elijah Blue' or Carex 'Frosted Curls' would look very nice sweeping over the edge too.
CMK

I love your concrete walkways. I second the idea of using flat large pebbles with it- you could widen it a bit here and there with curves of dark cobbles or pebbles laid in a bit of concrete (so that they wouldn't move) but then put some dirt between them so small plants like creeping thyme could spread through.

Renee

Your walkway is lovely! Personally I'd keep the concrete. I like the suggestion of creeping thyme or moss at the edges simply because they can take some foot traffic and in that sense you would be widening the walkway a bit, whereas plants that drape over would actually make the space narrower. I also like the suggestion of the smaller ornamental grasses sweeping over the edge, maybe placed as accents. Your photo really has me craving spring!

How about nasturtiums? Mine always creep onto the sidewalk, and if they get in the way, it is easy to gently direct their stems another direction. They are simple to start from seed. Pick up a packet at a dollar store and push the seeds into the ground. Cheap & easy!

I do a lot of this 'over-edge' of plants next to walkways, as we are in an urban area. I have over 15 beds divided up by concrete pathways, patios, etc., so I work on softening all those hard edges.

This is one bed in our front yard, a 'before and after':
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This is a sunny south-facing side yard. The planting area is 18-inches wide on the left, and a mere 12 inches on the right. You'll notice on this composite photo that only a few plants spill over the edges. It really doesn't take much to soften the edges of a path.
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Here's the last pair of 'before and after' - this is a shady, north-facing bed where I put all the plants that tend to be thirsty (we're in the 3rd yr of drought here).
Before:
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and After:
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Note that I'm in a relatively frost-free zone, so you'd have to sub plants that will work in your area. HTH!

What I notice in the first photo is that the walkway is narrow. Lisa, I think you've done a very good job of softening a narrow walkway. Jk's is gorgeous, but it is much wider, and that would of course impact what can be planted in your own space.

Jkom, Your yard is breath taking. Can you described the plants you have in your front yard.

Wish I could grow the plants you have in your side yard but my zone wonèt allow it. Too bad.

Nothing for me to add, except I agree with all; it looks great as is and planting closer to the concrete would solve all problems.

JK, glad you posted these pics again. What a perfect example they are of softening the edges.

Lisa, great job as everyone has said. You can't do much about the width of the sidewalk but you have done great trying to soften the edges. Stop being so hard on yourself! LOL ;)

Jkom, I love the picture of your front yard as well. You capture my color favorites perfectly with all the purple, orange, orangey-reds and silvery grays. I am with ianna. Could you tell what the purple and silvery gray plants are in your garden? Thanks!

Lisa33, I also love the walkway and the plants you have already. I would actually try not to plant inbetween the pavers because the seams are not very large. But I would continue to plant near the garden edges, but not so much that it narrows the already narrow walkway. I would consider some sort of stain, not too dark, but possibly a very washed out color (maybe coordinate with your house) or some sort of earthy color, just to take away the concrete look, if you wanted. I am not familiar with products but I know there are a wealth of supposedly easy concrete stains.
If you didn't change anything, it still looks beautiful!
Laurie

Because lisa33's photo is tightly focused, it's hard to see how the narrow beds fit into the whole garden. Based on just the short section we're seeing, what strikes me is the lack of height and not enough contrasting foliage. I'm a big believer that foliage is 75% of the garden interest, because flowers are so fleeting (even here in CA, lol).

Now, this is a very difficult thing to pull off in a narrow bed. For one thing, plants tend to 'lean' into open pathways, making it necessary to clip back or stake upright to keep the walkway clear.

Here is a series of photos of the narrow beds on the south facing side, from 2003 to 2005. I think it shows how a progression of heights with a mixture of foliage texture and colors, adds much more visual interest.

Jan 2003:
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June 2003:
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Feb 2004:
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April 2005:
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June 2005:
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Thanks for the praise on the front yard! I'll try to figure out a way to overlay the plant names on the photo.

Hopefully this will work and people can read the plant names. This was a Spring 2006 photo:
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Both lavendars are now gone, sadly, as of last month. They sprawled in the rich compost and didn't like summer water. There's two compact roses, a pink and a dark red, along with purple osteospermum and a couple of compact silver lavendars, to replace them. The profusion of orange CA poppies on the RH side was temporary (they continue to reseed profusely in my garden beds); a large shrub lantana 'Peaches and Cream' replaced them as a permanent evergreen perennial.

In the early/mid summer, the blue agapanthus, pink lantana, and pink and white glads show up. The Lavatera olba "Aureum" puts on a spectacular show of 3' long spikes of hibicus-like bright lavendar flowers, really stunning.

Thanks Jkom for the plant overlay!

lisa33, any chance you can post a photo showing a more long-distance view of your narrow beds? I agree with louisianagal that planting between pavers doesn't usually work with a narrow path, although thyme will take some traffic. But it won't take a lot, and requires a sunny site.

It looks like your house is a light blue, which is a good color for backdropping plants although the chartreuse-y tones I use a lot of (we have a fair amount of partial shade so it brightens up those areas) wouldn't work so well. Some would, but you'd need to be careful about specific tones. But pink, purple, and white blooms, plus dark green or red leaf tones would all be perfect, with maybe more yellow-toned leaves/flowers - I'm thinking feverfew, for example. The colors of both flowers and foliage would be beautiful against a blue house and complement other plants as well:
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Another idea I've used for certain areas is using tall planters to add instant height to plants. I usually do it for really tender perennials - we do get some frost here although not much.

For example, this is a 2' tall planter that would look gorgeous against a light blue house (it's dark blue with light blue streaks). It was on sale for $15 so I snapped up a couple. One holds an orange erysimum (wallflower). This holds a draecena, some mint and a silver lamium. It would be perfect in a narrow pathway to add some height:
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BTW, that's common variegated sage at the foot of that planter - if you have sufficient sun it's a nice little plant for folliage, has surprisingly pretty purple flower spikes, and is very cheap (at least here) to replace every year. ALthough the 'experts' say to never mix variegated plants, I do it all the time. Some of my prettiest combinations have come about through side-by-side variegated plants. They add a great deal of color and texture interest!

HTH!

Thanks so much for all of the input. Jkom, your home's transformation is breathtaking! You've touched on one of my goals for this season and that is to add more foliage interest. I am looking to add some more plants with silver/gray foliage, chartreuse foliage and some variegation. My front garden is a very tight space, so I've focused on plants that both bloom and have nice foliage. However, I notice in retrospect that most if it is in the mid-green to dark-green palate. I will also follow the suggestion to plant closer to the edges.

I posted some pictures last year, so please forgive the repetition (although this is from a little later in the season). Here is a longer view of the terraced beds. The beds are each roughly 3+' x 24', so it's tight. I terraced the space last year (it was a sloped lawn). So, it is all new last year, and I am new to gardening (loving every minute of it!).

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The house is actually not blue. It is a relatively neutral color scheme. The first story is a natural stone color and the second story is white. The front porch has a moss green standing seam metal roof. So, I don't think there is much concern about anything clashing. It is still very much of a work-in-progress, too. I bought the house in late 2008 and have restored the entire interior. I just started on the exterior last summer. So, I still need to do some painting of trim, shutters and front door, but my intention is to choose colors that let the garden stand out without competition.

Thanks so much! I appreciate any and all suggestions!

Lisa

Lisa, those are beautiful terraces! Out here stonework is very expensive so most of us use concrete blocks or bricks instead. It's really nice to see such classic cottage-garden materials used with good workmanship.

I think what strikes me from your newest photo is there doesn't seem to be much change of leaf size amongst your different plants. Maybe the composition would be stronger with fewer types of plants punctuated by something with strong upright large leaves?

Imagine, for example, how a clump of calla lilies, both in foliage and form, might add visual interest:
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Now, IÂm not necessary recommending callas. For one thing, those big leaves fall over if not staked, and once the soil warms up, theyÂre gone! IÂm just using the idea of an upright/vase-shaped, 3Â plant with a definite architectural impact to contrast with the soft, billowy plants you currently have.

Again, my bias is to contrast, something that takes in height, size, color, and texture. Especially in a small bed, it adds interest as long as thereÂs a consistency to the planning that avoids chaos.

Good luck!

In my posting above, my mind went blank in one of my many 'senior moments', hehehe. The phrase I was looking for was 'dynamic tension' - the contrast between the soft/billowy/small and the big/sculptural/bold elements. You don't need a lot of contrast, too much will tire the eye out. But you do need some, and I think that's maybe what's missing in your plant compositions.

Thanks so much, Jkom. I'll have to give some thought to what might lend that dynamic tension without being outside the old-fashioned look I'm trying to create. For my front garden, in front of my old house, I'm trying to stay away from anything that looks too tropical. I'm having a hard time thinking of anything old-fashioned that would work in my zone, has large leaves, and will do best in the full sun that this area receives. Any suggestions from anyone would be great.

I've planted a number of additional things this past fall that will at least add some verticality. I've planted bearded iris, red hot poker, hollyhocks, Prince of Orange poppy, some peonies, etc. I'll be interested to see how it all comes together this year. It's so much easier to make decisions about composition when the plants are full-sized vs. just a tuber or root division...LOL.

I also plan to add some plants that will cascade over the walls (posted a separate post about that a little while ago), and climbers/vines to climb up the posts of my porch

It's definitely a work in progress, so your input is very valuable. I'm learning so much.

Thanks again,

Lisa

Jkom, I responded yesterday but alas my response disappeared for unknown reasons. Anyway, I wanted to say that I love the front yard. You've chosen the colours thoughtfully and carefully contrasted the cools with the warms. I love it. I do agree on your point of dynamic tension which is something I've been doing to my own garden. However I have been following the New Wave movement style which is coming out of Europe. I certainly wish I could recreate the side yards in a pseudo-tropical scheme but not in this climate. it gets too expensive.

Lisa, - the idea dynamic tension exists in old fashioned gardening. Gertrude Jekyll certainly employed it in her gardening style. (Tall plants in the back, mounding smaller plants in the front; colour comparisons (hot-hot, cool-warm, pastels); foliage contrasts. So for example a form of tension is created by colour contrasts, if you have a cool garden, then you've employed plants of blue colours, but if you'd like to spike it up a bit, add something yellow. Or if you like a hot garden, choose yellows, reds, oranges... Or to create a contrast in forms of shapes, say you have a yard full of lavenders and so that foliage is silvery and spikey -- then you add a hydrangea in the middle with a large leaf and umbrell shaped flower.. there is contrast and tension.

So dynamic tension is just a new term to describe practises we already do and understand. It's something I've observed in art too.