The Wild Time Border

The "Wild Time Border" is the name I gave to the front garden that borders the street. Initially I imagined it as a more Shakespearian "wild thyme" garden. But it turned out to be a repository for any debris drivers felt like tossing out of their car windows; thus "wild time." (The old Sugar Maple in the center of this photo came down in the fall of 2021 and the Pagoda Dogwood on the left is doing poorly.)

Luckily we knew from the get-go that the city actually owned the first 14 feet of our property; typically the sidewalk area. So we planted things we could easily replace should the day come when the city arrived. That's been pretty much the last nine months since the first crew came to measure and mark the street for the roadwork. This is how the garden looked in late June (below). One of the crews damaged the curb on the left and so that was replaced which meant the bottom strip of garden along there was removed as well. 

We're almost at the finish line. At the end of the first week in September, the crew filled in all the spots where equipment had been digging in our front garden with lovely topsoil. 

These guys were very pleasant and asked questions about our garden and the ground cover Geraniums. 

Next we put in a sign and hot pink flags to alert the next team that we did not want grass planted in our space.

The tall stick with the ribbon marks the access to the water line. We left the marker in place in case they need to know that location again.

Mark immediately got a load of cedar bark and we spread it over the new soil to protect it from washing out in the forecast rain. Luckily the initial rain was more like a mist and we worked right through it spreading the mulch. 

We then spent a chunk of the weekend and into the next week replanting the area. Mark had dug out all the Hostas and Hakonechola macra grass in the area where they were going to dig in June. I stuck them in my stash of plastic pots that big plants and shrubs had come in. They've been sitting in the shade since then; getting watered when it rained or I remembered them. They were so huge when we removed them that we broke them into sections in order to make the job manageable. Rather than put them back in the ground as big plants, I spread them around so it will take them a while to fill in again. I didn't want to have to turn around and divide them again next year. 

We hadn't quite finished replanting this area when the next stage of the project hit our end of the street.

Multiple loads of gravel were spread and graded to get the roadbed ready for paving this week.

I told Mark I thought we should plant the replacement Geranium macrorrhizum plants on one foot centers. He was shocked and said that meant we would have to put in a good 300 plants. This is where he started and he clearly was planting much closer together than my suggestion. 

Since half the front garden is planted in big root Geraniums, I continued the planting at one foot intervals if not closer. Those plants are so easy to pull out and we had so many available that it seemed silly  not to fill the space fairly heavily if we had time and energy to do so. It looks like the rest of this month is going to be nice and warm so I may get out there again and fill it in a little more. 

What the big root Geraniums look like right after they're pulled out. Easy to see where they get their name.

They were supposed to start paving the street this morning but it's raining. I want the project finished but I am happier to get some needed rain instead.

Comments

[Old Lady Gardener]

So nice to see a post from you and get an update on the street project. Looks as if they did a beautiful job! And so have you two! Doesn't fresh mulch look wonderful? You're rolling into the home stretch. Glad you got a bit of rain :)

[Elizabeth]

Even with just the mulch, the front looked great, but I bet you can't wait until your re-transplanted hostas and grasses take hold and fill in. That was a big job, even with the very nice condition the city left for you. I don't remember -- will there be a center island again? The long shot of your street is beautiful, all that green and all those trees. All neighborhoods should look so welcoming. Nice to hear from you again. Take care of yourselves.

[Barbara H.]

Happy to see the update and glad the work crews were so thoughtful and helpful. I'm pretty sure you and Mark reciprocated in your own ways. I bet it won't take long for all the newness to wear off and the garden will look like it has always looked that way.