Monday, August 10, 2020

Soften the Edge

After completing the stepping stones in the stroll garden I was very pleased. However, the one exception is the corner foundation along the garage wall and in the front of the garage.

As you can see in the image above, that corner is very sharp and the cinder blocks look awful. This has been a problem for years, but rather than paint of cover over the foundation, I decided to just try and hide it with plantings - I'm cheap and trying to save money.

The corners have always been a problem, especially the front. I used to have potted plants here, but they require a lot of attention and hand watering.

The small triangle of pea-stone near the top left of the first stepping stone is actually a major problem. That entire area is full of a two-foot layer of crusher run gravel that was used to protect the driveway when a camper rolled in and out of the pre-garden area in the past. I can't plant anything here without removing all that stone and amending the soil.

I decided to place a Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hush Puppy') in this location. 

The grass like well drained soil and will enjoy the full sun the plant will receive in the first half of the day. If it does well, it should grow as high as 30 inches in height and 24 inches wide over time. That should be plenty to hide that corner and soften the edge of the foundation.

After digging out most of the gravel and amending the spot with two large bags of planting soil mixed with fertilizer, I finally planted the grass.

 

It looks wonderful, and if I did the amending well, this plant should thrive in this spot. Only time will tell.