I'm going to start on a flagstone walkway in front of my pond. This weekend I'm going to haul in all the gravel, get it spread and compacted. I've already hauled out all the red lava rock and aggregate steppers. This is one of my last major projects. Once that is done I can just start filling in the blanks.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1067851}}

Wow, your picture looks marvellous. Your project is more ambitious than mine (but then, I am in my 70's and doing it alone). I plan to build a cement block wall about 2 1/2 feet high around the bed at my front door. Take out all the present muddle of plants,put in fresh soil and new shrubs. I was planning to cement the blocks, but understand they can be just "locked" in place. Can't wait for good weather, so I can start. (I refuse to be a"little old lady" just yet!)

Good for you westgate, I just hit the big 70 myself last year and I refuse to think of myself as an old lady. This kid is still going strong and planing on ripping out a whole section of the garden and redoing it this spring. I'm always looking ahead to new ventures in my garden, the anticipation of what they will look like when finished keeps me young in mind and heart if not in body.

If you don't mind my asking, are you on the mainland or the island/s? I'm classed as zone 8 but I think where I am it's closer to zone 7 most of the time.

A......

Good for both you gals!! You are inspiring! I'm not quite up to you yet but not all that far behind and sometimes the amount of effort involved in maintaining and continuing to develop my garden seems overwhelming. It's very invigorating to know there are some of us "mature" females out there who just keep on truckin' and making their gardens more and more beautiful.

I am not planning any projects at the moment as I am currently in a job search and the possibility of relocation is looming its head. But if relocation IS on the horizon, it will hopefully provide an opportunity to develop a new - and this time, definitely lower maintenance - garden.

There is gravel on three sides of the house, but one side, the most used, is grass that turns into a mucky mess every winter. So I would like to put paving stones in the grass, or even dig out a path, put down landscape fabric, and make a gravel path. I think the paving stones would be easier and a bit better for mowing. Not too exciting but I would be happy not to have muddy feet (me and dog)all winter. By the way, I am not young either (65!) and am trying to make the garden less work. Is this possible?

This is what i am doing right now, thinking and researching what to plant in one empty corner where i planted last year daphnee "Summer Ice". I want to plant something that will look great in all seasons and will not require a lot of maintenance.
Any ideas?
Anybody knows what lilac will look nice next to daphnee?
One more project in progress, this is winter sowing. Planted several micro greenhouses and put under the bush. Will see how good they germinate in spring.

Re my location, I am on the Sunshine Coast, north of Vancouver, B.C. I am at sea level, which may account for the 8b zone. I have scaled down with each move, and now just have a regular, city lot. Big enough for me to handle comfortably. Just wish spring would come!

By the way, I am not young either (65!) and am trying to make the garden less work. Is this possible?

You bet!! There are various ways of 'retrofitting' one's garden to make it less work. Eliminating fussy plants and replacing them with those that are low care and do not require frequent pruning/dividing/deadheading is one approach. Paying attention to watering needs and grouping plants that require similar attention together is another and there are various easy routine garden chores that will reduce maintenance as well. It's a bit hard to get too much more specific without actually seeing the site, but you get the idea.

Novita, if you send me your email address via my GW member page, I'll email you a handout I've prepared for seminars I've done on low maintenance gardening, together with a plant list. Hopefully that will help get you thinking about what changes you can easily make to reduce the amount of work and increase the amount of joy your garden brings you!!

gargengal, could you email me as well your handout on low maintenance gardening? I'll email you my email address if you want to do this. thanks

Well, I have many willows that need to be pruned, was going to do it this weekend but just read the weather forecast saying snow tomorrow, then a Big Freeze down into the teens. Supposed to prune willows when dormant but after the freezes. So I'll keep waiting. The catkins are already forming but temps in the teens will halt them. Drats, just last week it really felt like spring.

At least the birds are happy with all the feeders / baths / fountains / bungee gyms. Very entertaining in winter. Now we have frolicking visiting squirrels too. Have so much to do after the freezes are over ...

galcho, I'd be happy to. Since it needs to be sent as an attachment, I can't do this by using the GW email feature. But if you email ME directly, I can send it back :-))

btw, they are just Word documents, nothing fancy, and pose no security problems.

What great projects you all are planning. I wish you all the best.

I think I'm going to concentrate on developing an herb garden, with plants that have excellent flavor (for cooking).

Thanks for all the great replies.
Daphne in Tacoma

Thanks for your offer, GardenGal, I sent you an email.
I have been planting quite a few shrubs, hopefully less maintenance, and I redo beds one at a time, concentrating on low maintenance. I also have to be stern with myself because although I say I want less work, I also adore a lot of plants that require work, so I have to work on myself as well! It's a conundrum!

I'm working on planting some fruit trees that I purchased from One Green World and setting up some burms so they can get watered from my greywater laundry tank. Also I just finished building another lasagna garden and another raised bed for herbs made of cinder blocks with garlic planted in the holes of the blocks.

boxofrox,

Where did you buy your gravel/sand/flagstone?
I'm planning to create a small patio, wondering where we can get gravel/sand and also paving stones with reasonable price in Seattle area.

I would really appreciate to hear if anyone else know any good store, as well.

Thanks!
-b

bonzgirl,

I have been shopping for just the right color to fit my scheme so I have been to several in search for the right stone at a competitive price. Because I am doing more of a natural path type thing, I am limited to those suppliers who stock what they call stand up. They are really large pieces and can be set on gravel or sand. You may be able to get buy with what they call patio which is much more readily available. Not knowing where you are, here are the places I have considered for the flagstone......Rock Mountain which is out between Redmond and Fall City, Terazzo which is up north at Smokey Point as well as in Factoria off Richards Road, and Dowell which is in Kent. The gravel and sand is available at most places like Stoneway or Miles or Carpinitos or Pacific Topsoils. I rented a dump trailer and hauled my own because I had to get creative on where I dumped it but you can also have it delivered.

In case you haven't gotten far enough in researching price and quantity yet, here's kind of the rule of thumb that I've discovered. The stone is sold by the ton and it's roughly 100 sq feet per ton with the normal thickness of somewhere between 1-2". The going ton price for sandstone or quartz is +/-$400 and the going price for Montana Bronze or Three Rivers is +/- $550. You can also buy the stone at the home despots or other like box stores but they charge you per stone :-(

I am currently planning a pleached tunnel of fruit varieties. It will run in an East to West direction and span my walkway from the sidewalk to my front door. I haven't gotten very far in the planning. BUt the trees will be purchased on March 8th, so I better at least decide on the tree varieties.

So far I know:

The minimum height and width should be greater than my front door. I would like to maximize the number of varieties planted. However, I think that each arch should be a matching pair of trees, Otherwise, things might be goofy looking. I don't think it will look too goofy if different arches flower at different times, but it will if two halves of the same arch flower at different times, and produce different fruit.

If I need support for the trees spanning the walkway, I may need to look into the city ordinances. I think that there are maximum height limits, especially in the front yard setback.

I am thinking that the arches closer to the sidewalk may look better if they are larger than the others. I don't want the tunnel to feel claustrophobic.

I need to leave enough room between the arches so that I can access the top for pruning. I think that I will need to be able to pop my body and possibly a ladder between each space between arches.

I am thinking of apples or pears. Personally, I prefer to eat pears, however, apples seem to be the most common fruit available in the market. Also, apples seem to have a wider variety of flavors and shapes. The idea of alternating the two fruits appeals to me, however, I think it is a bad idea. I would like the arches to support one another, and plan to graft branches across the sides to do this. If I alternate the fruits, I can't graft between neighboring trees.

When I look at the dwarfing rootstocks available, the pears produce larger trees, while apples have some really drawfing rootstocks available. Since I need a height of probably 8 feet anyway, I might as well use pears. Perhaps later, I can plant apples in a project that doesn't have this height requirement.

Anyone with experience on either pleaching (espalier) or fruits, feel free to give me advice.

boxofrox,

Thank you SO MUCH for all the information!!
I'll call them to ask price/delivery tomorrow.

We may also rent a truck to carry gravel/sand since it's not much space to fill anyway...

Thanks again!

-b

b-girl,

You are more than welcome. Let me know how it goes. Momma is making me wait till March for mine so I went to Raft Island today and bought 8 new roses instead ;-) I'm alternating shrubs and climbers all the way down a fenceline.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1067853}}

Hey bonzgirl,

Did you ever get your flagstone? I got back from Az late Thursday, got a plate compactor yesterday and got it all compacted this morning. I'm going to look at samples this AM but haven't made a decision on color. I'm curious to hear if you picked one and got it in or not. If so, any pics?

I am in the process of replacing my street trees. The crowns were quite rotten on them so they had to come out. Friends of trees will be here in 2 weeks to plant new ones. I have lawn there now but would like to replace it w/ lower maintenance plantings. I am interested in plants w/ low water requirements once they are established. It will be several years before the new trees grow enough to make it a shady site, so sunny it is for now. I like the variegated pachysandra... would like to tie in spirea that I already have in my front (no lawn) yard. I'm not near a corner but visibiity is an issue for backing out of driveways for me and my neighbors. I have grasses, barberry, the spireas, mahonia, misc. evergreens, and euonymous in front now. I have lots of daylilies I can divide and move out here. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Well I'm 36 and have help when I need it from a great family of hard workers and creative gardeners, so I'm nowhere near as impressive as some on this thread, but I like to share so I am.

This year I created my first raised bed garden after gutting a 10+ year weed infested dog run. It looks great and I haven't planted anything yet. I will start planting early March.

I also built two potato bins that I'm proud of and just cleared an area of my yard and put them in the ground. Now I can go up 3 feet with my taters.

These projects are done. My new projects I'm planning include bringing water to my garden area with a switch and 30 feet of PVC pipe, and building a deck. That won't be until spring though. I've been busy enough with the garden setup. I don't know how to post pictures here so I'll link to my site.

Exciting times!

Here is a link that might be useful: Look around to see everything I've discussed...

I really don't have a big projects in mind but do have several smaller ones.

I need to plant all of the bulbs I bought mail order and potted. I like to plant them when in bloom so I can match colors and not dig up bulbs already planted.

I need DH to finish the bubbling column rocks and weatherproof my greenhouse and finish the pond in it. I'm not handy with tools and I have fibromyalgia and can't do heavy lifting.

I have a few plants to dig up and move and a few to plant that didn't get done last fall.

I need new chairs for the side gravel patio around the fire pit. I also need a weathervane for the cupola DH built on top of the shed roof. He needs to get siding on the shed too.

Well, after telling you my plans for a block wall round the bed by my front door ..... it's done, piled high with top soil and planted! (And I didn't have a heart attack). But those blocks don't come cheap, and with the top soil and delivery costs, it'll be a while before I do it again. However, I am very proud of it! Hope all your projhects have gone as well.

Well, after telling you my plans for a block wall round the bed by my front door ..... it's done, piled high with top soil and planted! (And I didn't have a heart attack). But those blocks don't come cheap, and with the top soil and delivery costs, it'll be a while before I do it again. However, I am very proud of it! Hope all your projhects have gone as well.

westgate........no pics?! Would love to see some!

boxofrox,
You mind sharing the name of the plant with the lavender flowers that's next to your boxwood? I have a similar area lined in boxwood and have been trying to decide what to put next to it. I really like your design.

annz,

You mean from the "Home for New Roses" link ?

If so, that is verbena. The shrubs are actually Hinos, was going to do boxwoods but needed too many so did the azaleas at about 1/4 the price on sale and now I get loads of color in spring to boot. The verbena and geraniums were a first year experiment and neither are in there anymore. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to circle the fountain with, am playing with several ideas.

Thanks box.....I'll probably still try them for color since this area I'm considering is a SW exposure and I need something that likes heat! It'll at least look nice while I continue to work on the 'final' design.

BTW, my major project this summer is to acid stain, or either tile, the long walkway from the back deck to the driveway. It has some huge ugly spots from fertilizer a gardener was using nearby. The fertilizer didn't really do the worst damage...........it was when the same guy decided to clean it with muriatic acid!