The beginning of the front gardens

If you have ever had any experience with the soil we lovingly call 'black clay' you will know that when it is wet it has the consistency of potters clay and when it is dry it has the consistency of a concrete wall.
When it first rains you can not work in it and if you wait too long after the rain it has dried and you can't work in it....there is a miniscule time period between the two.
Also, my time out front is limited by when the sun makes it's ugly appearance from behind the large pecan trees and fills the yard with it's firey self.

One month ago the north side of the driveway looked like this. Gardening tools at the ready.


It isn't finished by a long shot, I still have to go back to the Rosemary you can barely see at the bottom of the picture and down to the sidewalk on the other side of the Canna's. The two small fence pieces are protecting two squirrel planted Oak trees from kids playing in the street coming into the yard after an errant ball and a clod foot mailman who is talking on the phone while walking his route and not paying much attention. There is an Evening Primrose planted between the two trees.


Today I got tired of looking at the empty uncompleted plot of bare ground, besides the plants were become root bound sitting around waiting to be moved.
Until they start growing and blooming it will be hard to tell one from the other, but besides the Primrose, I planted a white Summer Snapdragon and a marigold - both left over from filling some pots. Two Boltonia asteroides var. latisquama 'Masbolimket' JIM CROCKETT, basically an aster that is named after the former host of the PBS program Victory Garden and three red Valerian.....for starters. I have several more waiting.


I have also gotten a small start on the other side of the driveway, digging up around a squirrel planted Pecan tree and a couple of regular Canna's I stuck out there two years ago simply because I had no place else to put them at the time and a couple of Indian Hawthorne bushes moved from the back yard last fall.
I planted a bunch of Cosmos seedlings that really needed out of their beginner pots.


I am not going to the sidewalk on this side yet. I have hopes of a raised rose bed somewhere in that area.

 

Gosh when you say you're going to do something Toni you certainy don't hang about do you? You've certainly made a good start on the front garden and I know that before too long it's going to look just as good as your back garden does. I'll look forward to the next set of piccies as I love to see how new gardens progress.

 

Thanks all for liking my new garden beds. Waiting to be planted are Coreopsis, Maximillian Sunflower, two Cardoon, Golden Rod, Mexican Mint Marigold and several Blue & Black Salvia.

I do use compost, that is about the only amendment you can add to black clay that won't cause problems. There is a product called expanded shale but I can't afford it so I will stick with compost. And actually after the black clay has been dug up, compost added and mulched it will stay relatively workable.

The bed in the last picture is covered with shredded cedar mulch. We have to use mulch in our dry summer conditions to keep moisture from evaporating. It helps cut down on the week growth too.