Thursday, February 06, 2014

A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST

No question about it, gardening can be expensive, but if we apply ourselves we can sometimes think of ways to brighten up our landscapes without spending a dime. This is my story of how I achieved a different look with no money down.

It can be very dry under a massive tree like this Spruce, so under it I chose to plant an Alpine Garden with lots of Sedum & Sempervivum (and rocks of course), but with all of the clover also under that Spruce it was not standing out as much as I would have liked. 
I turned one of the long narrow rocks on its end. Look closely and see it just in front of the Hostas at the base of the tree, still dark and covered with mud. 
(If you look closely you can also spot my Strawberry Daiquiri too - I was celebrating Canada day with a red cocktail.)

It turned out the 'stones' are actually the broken up original concrete front sidewalk to my home so they are all flat; on the spur of the moment I went with my gut and upended most of the stones, leaving a few as stepping stones to allow for weeding.  
 
Now it draws one in for a closer look.

It is not quite Easter Island or Stonehenge but it IS different enough to give one pause, and half hidden yard waste has been turned into a garden feature.
We should all take a moment to see if there are any simple changes we could be making to our gardens; no money spent, refreshed look achieved.

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2 comments:

  1. Very good idea, Derek! Looks great!

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    1. Thanks Beth, there are quite a few more than shown but I do not have pics from later in the season once they were done. They even look cool in the snow (until they get buried).

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