The South Walkway

We started yet another new project.

For those of you who are keeping up with the happenings here (or in some cases what’s not happening here), you probably realized that I’m not the type who starts a project and works diligently towards it’s completion before starting the next project. 

Oh no.  My short attention span doesn’t allow for that.  So, instead of doing said project which should take about let’s say a month to finish, I start it, get about a third of the way and then start two other projects.  Given the amount of things that need to be done here this means at any moment in time there’s at least three or four projects underway.

At present we have The Garden Shed Re-do, The Dining Porch, and The Courtyard in progress.  Not to mention the ongoing maintenance and I had planned to get the garage under control this summer.  Then there are at least a dozen other things that I want to do or that need to be done which I haven’t even mentioned.

With that said, here’s the new project.  This photo is taken from a small porch on the south side of the house just before the house renovation. At the end of the walkway the gate opens up on to what was the old drive that was used prior to the renovation.  Across the drive is the entrance to the Vegetable Garden.  Notice the hedge.  Isn’t it lovely?  It was a really nice hedge until C had it cut down. Hedge killer!  Which is strange, next to food, wine, The Real Housewives and me, hedges are on the top of the list of his favorite things? 

It’s interesting the individual roles and responsibilities couples gravitate towards.  Somehow I’ve assumed the role of Housekeeper, which is why my house is always in need of a cleaning.  I’m clearly the only one who lives here that understands how the dishwasher works.  I’m in charge of the laundry, which I’m obsessive about.  Nothing lays around this house for longer that a minute before it’s tossed in the washer.  And, the Netflix list is mine; which is why C is subjected to so many shitty movies.

C manages the bill paying because I clearly don’t know how to write a check and the concept of online banking is over my head.  Taking out the trash is a task I fail at, but he manages it quite nicely.  He’s makes all the computers, television and phones function. And, he manages the DVR; which is why I’m subjected to so many shitty TV shows. 

Oh, and he is chief hedge trimmer.  This is why the hedge in the above photo no longer exists.  It was a variegated Privet hedge.  It was over 7 foot tall and to maintain its height and the elongated oval shape, it needed to be trimmed every other day.  Well, maybe not that often, but seriously if it was not trimmed at least once a month it became out of control.  And if it went passed a month, it was almost impossible to get back in shape without a five men landscaping crew. 

After every time he cut the hedge, C would rant on about how much he hated it. 

“I’m going to get that bitch yanked out of here,” he says all sweaty and covered with tiny bits of variegated leaf material. 

“No, it’s too fantastic to remove,” I would protest.  “Besides, do you realize how empty that space would be and it would take forever to replace it.  No, that hedge stays.”

In order to save the hedge I decided I’d take an equal role in hedge maintenance.  After a couple of times of that monster whipping my ass I changed my point of view.

“Fuck this.  That hedge needs to go,” I declared completely scratched, bleeding, sweating and arms uncontrollably shaking from holding a giant pair of trimmers for three hours. 

Then two sections of the hedge died.  There was the sign from God we needed.  C couldn’t get to the phone fast enough the call the landscaping crew.  Days later a truck with five guys and a bunch of chainsaws whacked that baby down and hauled it off in about an hour. 

And we stood horrified staring down the garden walk.  The hedge had not only provided structure for the yard, but it also was the dividing line between the front and back yards.  And most importantly it provided complete privacy.  Now there was nothing on the left side of the walkway gate, which looked really stupid.  On the front side of the hedge the gardens are heavily landscaped.  The back side of the hedge is open to large areas of grassy lawn.  Without the hedge worlds collided. 

We spent last winter trying to figure out how to fix the issues.  I had two more landscape designers out. But, like all the others before them, they come, we discuss the problem at hand and the need for a master plan, and then I never hear from them again.  So, I’m left trying to figure it out on my own. 

Now, right or wrong we agreed on a plan and have moved forward.  Of course it’s not finished.  I got the edging down and the plants in.  Yet to come is the mulch, a second gate and some fence panels.  I’m about a third of the way finished; which means I’ll get back to it at some point!

The view from the side porch about 4 years ago...

After the hedge destruction, we put up a temporary fence ...
there needed to be some type of stopping point! 
The fence was bad feng shui...

Same view today... minus the hedge and fence...

This is a space to the right of the walkway - the darker area in the above photo ...
It over looks a formal boxwood garden ...
wouldn't some outdoor sofas be nice...

Here's the start of the replacement hedge...
evergreens and roses ... it doesn't look like much yet,
but just give those knock roses until next year and
they will have completely filled in and be about four foot in height. 
They're pretty much the same as weeds in this region...

This is looking from the front entrance, down the main walk. 
It intersects the side walkway. 
The old hedge stop the site line to the back of the property...

Same view w/the fence...

Here's where a new gate will be ... bordered by the new evergreens and roses...
There will be a cobble stone pad...

This is the first set of matching gates at the end of the side walk...
the ugly weed & gravel area looks across the
old driveway to the second set of gates at the vegatable garden entrance...

Were going to extend the white pea gravel from the garden across the old drive...

That's a cat...his name is Bandit...he can be yours if you want...
warning...he's the biggest pain in the ass on four legs...

And just for fun...here's the view from the third set of gates at the
'under - construction' garden shed,
looking back through the garden...you can see the house in the distance...