gardening before and after, part 1

May 9, 2011:  The walkway from our driveway to our back door (which is our primary entrance) was once surrounded by azalea bushes on both sides.  Several years ago, the bushes closest to the house died.  It was sad.  So, we Dan dug them up and we began to use that area for other things.  Some years we planted flowers, some years we planted vegetables, and some years it just sat there looking ugly.  It sat looking ugly for most of the last year.  I got tired of that and bought some flowers to throw in it this Spring.  I walk down that sidewalk all the time and I wanted to see something colorful and pretty.  I started by picking up a few hanging baskets to add to the older rosemary and chrysanthemum that survived winter (still bloomless).  Then I picked up some cute petunias, marigolds, lavender and mandevillas.  Hey, let’s throw in some herbs: rosemary, basil and mint.



Well, those just fill in the empty (and some new) planters and give a base for the new wrought-iron trellises.  We needed more.  So, we added three bags of wildflower seeds and a roll of hay/straw netting to act as a mulch.  It is usually used for growing grass, but we thought we would experiment and see how it would work with the flowers.  Plus, it would make it look a little nicer until the flowers came in.  See the before and after:



Dan and I have always loved the aroma of lavender, so we added a beautiful swatch of it to one of our pots.  I have heard it isn’t easy to grow, so it is also an experiment.  But, in the meantime, it is beautiful to gaze at and run our fingers through as we walk by…just to add the fragrance to the path.



I had a little helper, too.  But, Stripey is not the most sociable cat.  He doesn’t miss many meals, either.



I will be posting more "after" pictures:)

"Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew. 

 Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants." 

 Deuteronomy 32:2