Sellars Baseline

OK, Here is my baseline. (comments are below the photos)




















Alright, here is the front walk. All the monkey grass was free from a friend in G'boro and the boxwoods are from the house I grew up in. Nice to have a little heritage around. That dogwood planted at the corner of the house is kicking it. It is the best of the four we bought and I am not sure why. The jasmine vine growing up near the front door needs continuous watering. It is under the over hang and doesn't get much. Two years later we had hoped it would be bigger but it is getting there. Those are Otto Luykens between the boxwoods and the jasmine. They are great plants.




This is the front of the house. You might need to click on this to really see what is happening. The area on the left side is where we are going to focus some attention to next year. I have some Anise bushes planted that should block the neighbors. (nice people so I hope they don't take offense). I got a ton of vinca from a friend. You can see it growing around that tree in the middle and the slope on the left was planted this year so it will be covered by next year. I am going to put some daffodil bulbs in with it. I planted a few loropetulums and winter jasmine where the slope levels out. The right side is a big bed full of azaleas and one more dogwood that is the least prosperous of the bunch.






This one is from the front door. You are see the tabla rasa area to the right behind a nice Red Bud that is starting to take off after being moved a few times. The house came with about three Azaleas in the big bed near the middle. I moved two more from the back and the rest cost me $2.50 at Lowes (score!). The majority are of the 'George Lindsay Taber' variety. You can also see how jacked up the lawn is looking.




OK, so if you walked down the driveway and look to the left into the backyard this is what you see. This is C's areas. Herbs and flowers (girly girl things Matt). That is a River Birch in front of the deck. It has really taken off this year but sags big time in the rain. We had some in G'boro and I was never a fan because of the number of small branches it drops once it gets big. My mom talked me into it and I think it looks nice. (in a side note my mom, a real estate agent, has always said that when you buy a house you should plant a vine over the front door and a river birch near the deck. As I drive around and see houses that I like, I realize they have both.)



As you walk down the path towards the deck and turn around you get this view. There are more anise bushes in the back in front of the utility boxes and some East Bay Lingustroms around the River Birch. We wanted to do Otto Luykens but couldn't find anyone who had them cheap. That is rosemary that separates the walk from the bed.






If you stepped up on the porch this is the back yard view. Pond is kicking it. Gardenias in the circle in the middle with Azaleas and peonies. The circle to the right is full of forsythia. You walk between two dogwoods to get into the backyard.




This is a closeup of the back of the house. Off to the far left are the three crepe myrtles and hawthorns I bought at Broadwells. They are all doing real well.





So if you walk into the backyard and look towards the house you see this view. To the right behind the bench and sandbox you will find a bunch of hostas, a viburnum (I love this bush), butterfly bushes and some wax myrtles to act as year round foundation plants. We will start filling in the empty areas over the years but have no idea what with. On the left side you can see the rhododendrons and Spring Bouquet Viburnum that we planted two years ago.

I didn't show the far back wall which has green aucuba, a Japanese Maple and some Leyland Cypresses. I also don't have a pic of "the hole" which I think needs a post of its own.

All the plants are following the standard sleep, creep and leap adage. The two year old stuff is just starting to jump while the fall plantings are chillin'. If you want to see everything that is planted look here.