Can't Mow Between Fences, Created Pachysandra Ground Cover Bed

This is the 'after' photo at the start of the following season when things have had a chance to grow in a little bit

My neighbor got a new fence for his dog (and so I don't have to look at his yard) but it's too close to my fence so a lawn mower doesn't fit between. After weed wacking it a few times, I knew he wouldn't help take care of it so I went ahead and devised a plan to turn it into a huge groundcover bed using Pachysandra even though half the space between the fence is technical his land. Here's the process I used and some photos along the way.

To plan out the overall shape of the bed, I used a hose on the ground to create a gentle curve. Then I used an edger to create a line along the hose, and sprayed Round Up on the grass to kill it. In previous beds, I lifted the sod and flipped it over and tried to create the bed that way, but the grass ended up growing through the sod - so this time I just decided to kill it and put topsoil and mulch over it.

Not all of the grass died completely, so I used vinegar as a touch up because it kills the grass just as well as the Round Up and it's way cheaper.

Planning out the shape of the bed with a hose helps visualize the gentle curves, then I edge along it to create a hard line in the ground. Some people spray paint or sprinkle flour to create a line to mark the edge.

I was really lazy with this bed and after the grass died I didn't do a whole lot of amending the soil or tilling, I just dumped some topsoil over the dead grass and added some mulch. I spent about $72 on the Pachysandra plugs - if they weren't so expensive I would have gotten a lot more to create a full look, but I guess I can wait a few seasons for it to really fill in.

I love this photo, it's a little bizarre to kill off such a big patch of grass when I spend so much time and energy trying to keep the grass alive, but I like the contrast and the clean line I was able to create.

Here is an after photo trying to get the same camera angle. This was taken immediately after installation so the ground cover hasn't had a chance to grow in at all. I've been wanting a Buckthorn Fine Line for a while so I used that as the accent plant in the middle of the bed.

Even Chris came out to help! Photo evidence!

I didn't even realize until I looked back at this photo from about a year ago that the Buckthorn Fine Line has actually put on a good 6-8 inches of growth since I put it in. The photo at the top fo the page is the most recent.

This was right after install, and before the neighbor's dog took out a few trying to dig under the fence (eye roll emoji)

Extended Dry Side Bed and New Gaura

I finally got around to finishing the side bed on the dry shade side of my house. I took a couple divisions from Hosta 'Libby' because they grow so vigorously, and bought a Japanese spurge that hopefully will fill in the area nicely without becoming a nightmare. I gave it plenty of room to spread out, and maybe it will become the bed edge all on its own. Fingers crossed!

Pachysandra terminalis - Japanese spurge
 

I enjoyed my Gaura lindheimeri BELLEZA™ Dark Pink that I put by the utility boxes so much that I tried to go back and get more. I was only able to find this Gaura lindheimeri 'Star Pink' which I guess is close enough. I put it in the back to fill in the back full sun bed a little more. This bed is starting to become a hodge-podge, but maybe when I start to see what does well and what I like, I can thin it out or do more repetition of the good stuff rather than having one of each.

Karalee® Petite Pink Gaura lindheimeri 'Star Pink'

My Parents' Early Spring Yard Featuring Helleborus et al.

Took a day trip to Dayton to do a little pre-Easter family time and spent a good part of the day outside playing 3 rounds of Easter egg hunts with my nephews and talking plants with my dad. Here's a few of the photos I took of their yard - I don't have the specific variety names for most of these but I can describe them in general.

A variety of helleborus were in full bloom, these "lenten rose" lived up to their name since we're in lent right now I think. I should probably get one for my yard since they make great evergreen leaves and large perennial blooms when everyone else just has crocus and daffodil.

So, in addition to the great helleborus show, here are a few other notable features that caught my eye:

Coral bells holding color all winter, looks like they even put out some new leaves this Spring, bright lime green.

Winter aconite babies spreading like crazy (Eranthis heymalis)

Pachysandra ground cover flowering, or Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)