Hellstrip progress
There is progress on the hellstrip! I dug up, added compost, planted divisions, and then added black mulch to a curvy shape within the hell strip.
The eventual plan is to add some large pavers or bricks along the road side, for people to get in and out of their cars without having to step into the garden. I'd also like to add a "pad" of pavers to the area where I have to put my garbage cans for garbage day. I'd also like to add a row of lavender alongside the sidewalk to match the lavender on the other side that is there already. I planted many grasses of varying heights from divisions. I'd like to plant some other tall, "wispy" plants - salvias, Russian sage, and the like.
Once I find all the tags, I'll be able to list what I bought for here, and do my best of identifying what divisions I planted.
I didn't do everything at once because I didn't want to spend too much money on it right now. The plants are all divisions from other parts of the garden. I did buy a few new plants, and mulch. I'm trying my best to not plant things too close to each other -- one of my many faults.
The hellstrip history, in brief, is that it had a horse chestnut tree that died from within. The city cut it down after it spent my first eight years here dying. Then it took them another 3.5 years to grind out the stump. Once the stump was ground out, and another tree planted, THEN I could start spending time & treasure on the strip.
The "grass" in the strip is the worst mix of weeds and bare spots you can imagine. The soil is extremely compacted. The grass is more a collection of weeds. Some really dense clover offers the most green to one area.
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| From the office window. You can see the lavender strip on this side of the sidewalk. I'd like to match that with the hellstrip side. I added the course of bricks as a divider between my neighbor's portion of the hellstrip (upper left). Not really liking that. I may take them out and just let the bed end there. |
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| The "before." |
Excellent job on your hellstrip! I'm sure it will grow luxuriously and be really beautiful. I usually use splits from my yard or my mother-in-law's when making new beds too. I bet pavers instead of bricks would look nice at the end, like a walkway to the street.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to see what pavers are available at Mr. Seconds (a local hardware/home depot like store with overruns and other "unsellable" merchandise). They're cheap. And so am I.
ReplyDeleteYour Hellstrip progress are really great. I hope it will grow luxuriously.
ReplyDeleteI definitely love the after...can't wait to see it grown in
ReplyDeleteIf you want pavers and want to conserve materials as well as money, check out Buffalo Reuse. There store usually has an assortment of natural stone, salvaged brick, and salvaged cut stone.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder. I've not been there in a while!
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