The next work we did was at the end of the front walkway which meets the curb of our sidewalk where there was an overgrowth of ivy. The picture really shows the distinct contrast between the crowded bushes on the left of the house and the right side of the house which is a result of the Summer Garden Project #1.
To continue this minimalist garden theme, we wanted to remove the eye sore from the front of the house. The ivy took over a large portion of the front lawn, covers the steps onto our walkway and was an overall distraction to the aesthetics of how we want the garden to look like.
A closer look at the enemy…
The other side of the walkway.
This has to be least enjoyable garden project thus far. Ivy is a resilient plant which has an extensive underground root system. Here is a link to a little bit more information about Ivy (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg358).
Some success! This is what the Ivy looks like under the leaves after pulling it out of the ground.
My tears of joy quickly becomes tears of sorrow when I realize all that hard work only resulted in less than a square foot of ivy removal. When removing ivy, ensure that you use the big black contractor bag or other durable disposal bags. Ivy can grow almost anyway, by placing it in the traditional brown lawn bags may allow the ivy to rip through the bag and expose the ivy to untainted part of the lawn.
It took the woman of the household about 4 hours to pull this amount of ivy from our lawn. The man of the household took about 30 minutes to pull out the other half of the ivy to include removing the extensive root network that goes in about a foot into the ground.
It took the woman of the household about 4 hours to pull this amount of ivy from our lawn. The man of the household took about 30 minutes to pull out the other half of the ivy to include removing the extensive root network that goes in about a foot into the ground.
Pulling the ivy is not the only thing that must be done. Dealing with the strange bugs, dead and rotted ivy pieces, leaves from years past and hidden garbage are just some of the joys of this project. The root removal requires a little bit more ingenuity and a reason to make a trip to Home Depot!
This helped cut hours of back breaking work into about 2 minutes of fun with the Honda F220AN 130 RPM gas operated tiller! (http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/products/modeldetail.aspx?page=modeldetail§ion=P2TL&modelname=F220AN&modelid=F220AN) This $900 tool cost only about $45 for an all-day rental.
Before the fun can begin, we need to outline the work area to till in order to aerate the soil and remove the deeply embedded ivy roots. I used a power cord as this can be easily adjusted to outline curves and frame the area to be worked on.
Another reason we used the orange power cord is because we had a can of orange spray-paint to outline the work area.
Don't forget to remove the wire before tilling...
Time to have some fun. By far, the best part of the project. Just remember to stay within the lines.
Now that the fun is over, now it’s time to go back to work. We cut into the ground about 3 inches around the border of the area. The depth was based upon the stone we were going to lay around the area. We evened out the soil and planted the first plant just to center our planned layout. Then we laid out weed guard, which is a black cloth-type material that you lay over the soil to prevent weed from growing out through the mulch but is permeable to water allowing water to get through to the root system of the plants. I used brick to hold down the weed guard as a tucked the cloth into the corners between the soil and the walkway.
This is where the learning curve came into play. The first garden area, we followed the directions and suggestions made by garden books, forums and blogs. We laid out the weed guard, marked with our orange spray-paint where the plants were to be placed, cut through the weed-guard and dig up the ground in order to plant the perennials and annuals. You will see how difficult that task can be when you feel the material that the weed-guard is comprised of and trying to do the previously mentioned steps. It was painfully annoying to cut a small hole, working with a hand trowel through the relatively small hole to dig up the dirt and place the plants in the area.
For the second half of the project, we opted to excavate the holes prior to laying the weed-guard down. Once the guard-guard was done, it was pretty easy to feel for the holes in order to cut the respective slits in the weed-guard in order to plant.
As for the aesthetic work on the garden, we used a granite-esque looking stone that was 4 inch by 8 inch. It is perfect for outdoor projects for creating walkway, garden patio or decorative borders, as we have opted for. I placed the stones against the cut in the ground and used a rubber mallet to straighten and level the stones. Using loose dirt, I poured it between the cut and the stone to straighten the stones and ensure it remained flush against the cut.
Once the border was completely laid out, I covered the area with regular mulch.
Closer view of the right patch.
Panoramic view of Summer Garden Project #1 and #2. Summer Garden Project #3 will be to tackle the last of the older bushes seen in the left side of the house.
Before even thinking about Summer Garden Project #3, I’m just going to stand here in the middle of the street and enjoy the fact that Summer Garden Project #2 is completed!
