The southwest corner

     In my last post I showed how I built a seat in the southwest corner of my back yard.  I really should have showed the following photos first, as it shows where the seat fits in.
     The stones are weathered limestone, and I found them in a banquet hall that will soon be demolished.  The last two photos show where they were located and my neighbor and I removing them.  Some were quite heavy, thus, the dolly to carry them to my truck.

Building a seat

     This summer I was able to get several tons of weathered limestone from a building about to be demolished.  So, I decided to use it in two places in my gardens, the first being in the back left of the new lawn area and perennial gardens I recently built.  In the midst of several of these stones I built a seat.  I am sure I will never use it--as I am not the type to sit anywhere for more than a few seconds.  Too much to do in my gardens.

Busted!!

     It's time for a hiatus from my back yard projects.  About 20 years ago, I built a planter out of antique pavers in my Sunken Garden.  I made a big mistake of filling it with ground, and two winters ago the frost finally won, breaking apart the planter in two places.  So, this summer I tore it apart and rebuilt it, this time filling it with rocks, not ground.  Live and learn.

To the back

     The back of the lawn is on the west side of this big summer project.  Contrary to my first plan, I decided to add a narrow walk between the lawn and a low terrace made of boulders, upon which I would plant Vinca minor.

On to the north side

     These photos show the new bed along the north side of the lawn.  I planted Festuca glauca (Blue Fescue) grass in the oval bed and Vinca minor in the larger bed, basically extending what was already growing at the edge of the lawn.

Planting the groundcovers

     The entire new planting bed between the back lawn and the walkway will have ground covers underneath the higher perennials.
     The first two photos show Lamiastrum galeobdolon, or Yellow Archangel, being planted on the west end.  I dug the plants up from my many beds of it.  It likes shade, but it will tolerate some sun, as will appear in this spot.
     The next two photos show Lamium maculatum, or Dead Nettle, planted in the middle.  It, too, likes shade, and was dug from other areas of my gardens.
     The next two photos show Waldsteinia ternata, or Barren Strawberry.   It likes sun to part shade.
     The last photo shows the entire planting bed from the west end, looking east towards the house.