We collected this beautiful sandstone from the pastureland of Ken's 97-year-old grandfather and made a border all along the back fence, encompassing the three native prairie gardens. Besides looking nice and tying all the flowerbeds together, we hope the stone will serve as a barrier to keep the wild things out of the lawn and the weeds out of everything. We pulled a LOT of weeds last year, the first real year of growth in the garden, but we're pleased with how much the native grasses and wildflowers have overtaken the weeds this year. Of course some people might think a lot of what we have growing is weeds! We've taken the attitude that if it's pretty, we leave it until it isn't pretty any more, or until it takes over something we like better. I had to fight to keep my husband from pulling out the snow-on-the-mountain that's coming up. We let three grow last year and they got huge with deep, deep taproots. But oh, they were pretty! I'm hoping he'll let a few stay this year, too.
Sandstone border for the gardens
Front Entry in Autumn 2006
My dad built this flower cart and gave it to us as a house warming gift. I've enjoyed filling it with petunias in the spring, mums and pumpkins and Indian corn in the fall, and Christmas decorations in winter. It makes a nice "landmark" to direct visiting friends to our house, and of course, it's special because Daddy made it.
Front Porch Sittin' Summer 2006
The plants in this pot mix (beautifully designed by Lori Johnson of Hesston Plant Company) were still too pretty to throw away at the end of the season, but too big to bring inside, so we planted the whole mix, just as it was in the pot, in a wet corner of the backyard where only moss grew before. We added some of Grandpa's sandstone and the result is so nice that we've dubbed the corner "The Moss Garden." It's a favorite spot in the yard. I think the only thing that didn't survive the winter was the Diamond Frost (Euphorbia). The Creeping Wirevine, English Ivy, Creeping Jenny and Gaura are all thriving in the soggy corner by the fence.
Where it all started: a fenced in yard, a "cold" tub, and a dream . . . June 2005
When we moved to this house in July 2005, the backyard was a "plain vanilla" fenced in plot of grass with a nice deck and a hot tub that was really a "cold tub." My husband envisioned a beautiful garden with native prairie grasses and wildflowers. We offered the hot tub to some friends in exchange for them hauling it away (a more than fair trade), took out the bald cypress in the middle of the yard (because, according to Ken, it was right in the middle of our football field!) and he rolled up his sleeves and started in. Two years later, the yard is still an experiment with lots of trial and error, but we're enjoying the journey.
