The 5 Year Garden Plan

I know what you're thinking.  Why did we buy this crazy house?  It certainly wasn't because it was going to be an easy renovation.  And it wasn't because it had lots of amenities we were looking for.  But it had a big yard, which is incredibly rare in this area.  

'Before' yard

Which is great, because I love gardening.  I saw a meme recently that compared typical hobbies for women over 50.  I'll never be coordinated enough to play pickleball - but I love to garden.  And when we were told by some long time neighbors that the yard originally had beautiful gardens, I wanted to make that true again.  This will be a long term project - I'm calling it my 5 year plan! Let me share our year 3 status.

Here was our starting point.  There were a few nice elements, like this low stone wall that helps terrace the slope.  But most of the yard was simply a blank slate.

Before - I love the stone wall that helps terrace the sloping yard

Before - The yard was a blank slate!

To get started, I took the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens class to create a plan (to see the full plan, click here).  Here is the garden design that we're in the process of making a reality.

Garden Plan - to be executed over 5 years

The first year we created a few plant beds and installed some bushes.  But we were so busy with the house renovation, the yard didn't get a lot of attention.  But even the little bit of attention the yard  started to look so much better! 

Spring Year 1 - The iris and poppies all came with the house when we bought it!

Late summer perennial border - Year 1

Year 1

Year 2, we stepped it up a bit.  We installed a deck to provide easy access to the yard.  And we added some  planting beds and bushes.

The deck got built, which provided a great way to get to the garden from the house

We also started my 'Secret Garden' - a section of the lower garden that I want to make its own garden room.   We started with planting beds and bushes, that I hope will grow big enough to shield the garden from the house and street.

This is the start of the 'Secret Garden' for the lower part of the yard

For access to the Secret Garden, we created a rustic staircase of rough granite steps.  The team from Tammaro Landscaping was incredibly patient as I agonized over their placement!  

This year - year 3 - the secret garden is starting to take shape.

The biggest to-do project for this year was to add the stone patio.  It was a big job, we ran into lots of ledge rock that had to be pounded out to provide a stable base.  But it was so worth it!  Such a wonderful living space!

We used some of the ledge rock that they dug out to border the patio

Now that it's done, I got to expand the perennial border and get it all planted!  We've added a few chairs and a fire stove, so we can enjoy it on cool evenings as well.

And with those changes, the garden design is really taking shape.  I planted azaleas at the top of the stone wall, with the goal of creating a colorful hedge as they grow larger.

There are so many changes to the house and yard! 

The view from the street is starting to take shape.  I didn't want to plant anything that would get too tall to block the view of the water and lighthouse.  But I wanted something more interesting than grass and a couple of plants.

And the view from the house has gotten a whole lot more interesting! 

We have 2 more years to complete the garden plan - but for now I'd like to sit back and enjoy it a bit!    

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