On the South side of our property is a narrow strip of land just wide enough for a walkway. When we purchased the house this area was a dirt strip. We tried planting grass there and it did fill in, but I got the inspiration to turn the area into a Zen garden as a surprise birthday present for David last summer.
David’s brother Jon was visiting at the time and we spent 2 days clearing the area and pulling up the freshly planted grass while David was at work. Jon and I didn’t get the Zen garden finished in time for David’s birthday. Jon went back to Virginia and David and I put in the plastic edging and rock path together.
Home Depot had a sale on lavender, roses, and star jasmine which I planted. My next door neighbor gave me some geranium and nasturtium starts along with two little apple trees and an avocado tree.
In the end the garden turned out to be much more cottage than Zen so we now call it our Secret Garden. You can’t really see it from the street and the only other person to enjoy it is our next door neighbor.
We plan on putting a little contemplation bench out there to better enjoy the space.
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Nice job on the garden. Fruit trees in such a small space would be perfect for espalier.
Your garden path is excellent! I especially love the arbor. You mention that it came from a kit and you made it yourself…care to share where you got it and how much it was? (I’m on the east coast.) I have been gathering garden path photos for a while and love your arbor, so any details would be much appreciated. We are hoping to renovate our house sometime before this winter, and a charming garden path would be a nice retreat from the construction mess we know is coming…!
Thanks muchly and keep up the good work =)
Leah
Leah,
Hi! We have really enjoyed having a quiet spot during all these months of restoration. In California we can be outside year round and having the garden has been a great stress relief.
I purchased the arbor from The Cedar Shoppe (http://www.cedarshoppe.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=20). It looks like the price went up a little from $122 last summer. We attached metal stakes or spikes to the bottom of the arbor and stuck those in the ground to stabalize the structure (that didn’t come with the kit).
Best of luck with your restoration !
heather
Heather and David,
The garden is beautiful. I didn’t even remember what it looked like until I saw the pictures. You are so artistic and creative. You must love what you are doing.
What are those climbing flowers in your Flickr set? I’d love to have some for my trellis.
My favorite part is the corgis!! =)