We have been very busy this spring at Crest Avenue removing and replanting several of the ornamental evergreens and a large ornamental grass. We moved the arborvitae, boxwood, China boy and China girl holly, pyracantha, soft mound compact holly, and several other plants. All this in preparation for extending the patio and adding a new fence next to the patio. One of the first things on our project list was to move this large grass from the front yard. Read on to see how that went and how we used this grass in a completely different way in the garden landscape.
In the early spring, we started in this area in the front yard. Very sad and downtrodden. The first task was to dig out this large ornamental grass. It has been in this location for several years and had a well established root system. It was no easy task trying to remove it.
The first thing I did was cut it back to a manageable size. For ornamental grasses, I let them go through the winter with the foliage from the summer still intact. It turns brown as we receive frost, but I think it is lovely to see in the winter. In early spring, I cut them back to allow new growth.
As I said above, removing this was quite a difficult task. The root system did not want to yield to the spade shovel. And, as you can see, the ground was quite dry. A little time with the garden hose and sprinkler would have made this a lot easier. Be that as it may, I was finally able to remove it in three sections. As soon as the grasses were out of the ground, I planted each of them, separately, in a temporary spot until I could figure out what to do with them. And then, it came to me.
I decided to put them in these large green pots. I have had these pots for several years now. I use them to grow tomatoes. I use them as a temporary place to hold plants until I can figure out where to put them. But this year, they are going to hold the ornamental grasses. And clearly the grasses are quite happy here.
It worked out perfectly. We had three pots and three grasses. I lined them up on this cement slab that runs between my house and the house next door. They look very elegant here and I think the neighbor is very pleased with this look too.
Be sure and come back tomorrow when I will show you what we did with the area in the front yard where the ornamental grass was originally. I am very pleased with how it turned out and I hope it will inspire all of you to get creative in your own yard.
In the early spring, we started in this area in the front yard. Very sad and downtrodden. The first task was to dig out this large ornamental grass. It has been in this location for several years and had a well established root system. It was no easy task trying to remove it.
The first thing I did was cut it back to a manageable size. For ornamental grasses, I let them go through the winter with the foliage from the summer still intact. It turns brown as we receive frost, but I think it is lovely to see in the winter. In early spring, I cut them back to allow new growth.
As I said above, removing this was quite a difficult task. The root system did not want to yield to the spade shovel. And, as you can see, the ground was quite dry. A little time with the garden hose and sprinkler would have made this a lot easier. Be that as it may, I was finally able to remove it in three sections. As soon as the grasses were out of the ground, I planted each of them, separately, in a temporary spot until I could figure out what to do with them. And then, it came to me.
I decided to put them in these large green pots. I have had these pots for several years now. I use them to grow tomatoes. I use them as a temporary place to hold plants until I can figure out where to put them. But this year, they are going to hold the ornamental grasses. And clearly the grasses are quite happy here.
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| We have a few small weeds starting to pop up along the cement. A good dose of Roundup will take care of that in short order. |
Be sure and come back tomorrow when I will show you what we did with the area in the front yard where the ornamental grass was originally. I am very pleased with how it turned out and I hope it will inspire all of you to get creative in your own yard.
