Projo Garden Blog

In August, we put in a sandstone patio after many years of just talking about it. It took about a week with my husband and I helping the contractor, who would otherwise have been working alone. For edging, we used rectangular-cut granite stones that we'd found and gathered together around the property in Exeter over the past several years. We were recycling them, although their original purpose will have to remain a mystery. The steps were cut from granite by our neighbor, a stone cutter.

Now that it's finished, however, we have to think landscaping before winter gets here. Last night, our contractor stopped by to ask what we wanted to plant around it and in the process he introduced me to a wonderful site that offers a really simple way to evaluate plants for a project. It belongs to Holly Ridge Nursery in West Kingston, Rhode Island. What I liked best about it was the graphic representation of each plant's traits. I have found the search for the right plants to be mind-boggling thus far, so I plan to explore this site tonight to hopefully finalize my choices before making a sketch for him.

I'll be pulling in a variety of perennials I've nurtured over the years, which are currently scattered everywhere in the yard. I may even pull in the peonies, with Steve Szydlowski's help. Mature herbs, also scattered about, will be moved in to occupy the small plot right in front of the porch (you may be able to see it in the picture above, in the back, where the mums are) to form a kitchen garden I've been wanting for years.

Take a look at the patio as it is today and I'll upload another photo later on so you can see the before-and-after progress. That could take another couple of weeks.

More to come (with any luck).

Comments

karen anne said:

I'm having trouble finding the "graphical representation" of a plant's traits? Thanks...

Link | September 27, 2007 8:19 AM
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Beth Heaney said:

Check out the bottom of the page where the alphabet links are. They'll take you to the plant you want to research. It's a very nice service!

Link | September 28, 2007 2:40 PM
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