From the Sperry Garden – October, 2007

This area of my back yard slopes down to a dry creek bed. I really never expected poorly draining soils to be of any concern here, but, as things have turned out, they have been. Even my favorite Persian ivy groundcover struggled and I finally decided it was time for radical changes. All of our groundcover plants are now gone. I left those that had climbed high onto the pecan trunks, but they’ll be modified as we work our way through these improvements.

You’ll notice a section of garden hose coiled up along the walk. You also see a walk I laid in place 12 years ago. I have about 250 of the old street pavers from the early 1900’s that were left over when I put it in. I’m considering using those pavers to make a small, rounded patio where the hose is. However, that’s just one option at this point. I’m still thinking. I wanted to show you how you can use garden hose for more than just carrying water.

Good landscapes are works-in-progress. They’re really never completely finished. I thought you might enjoy seeing these changes from the front end, before they really get started. I’ll show you how it all turns out once I get it just a little farther down the road.