This year's front yard

The front yard has been evolving since we moved in. This year's changes were influenced by some sewer pipe work we had done. We lost two junk trees (yea!) and a forsythia bush (booo!). We also had the misfortune of loosing all the topsoil on the west side of the yard. All that was left was thick, orange colored clay... every gardener's nightmare. Here is what we put in...

I figured it would just be a waste trying to amend the soil, so I replaced it. I scooped out rows of crappy clay soil and replaced it with a mix of top soil and mushroom soil that I purchased from Hillside (our local nursery). 

We have buttercrunch heads, leaf lettuce, muslin, broccoli, peas, tomatoes, cilantro and two blueberry starts.

Close up of the peas. I hope we got

them in soon enough this year so they

won't die before it gets too hot.

This is the east side of the yard. The left bed used to be our vegetable garden. There are still some veggies in there, but we are trying to transition it totally over to a flower bed. Still in there are two peppers (one banana and one jalepeno), herbs, rhubarb and some potato plants that came up on their own.

All the grass you see in this picture did not exist this winter. It was just a big dirt hole. Erika decided to make this her pet project. Determined to make grass grow in our compacted, clay soil, she read many books and on-line articles on the art of grass growing. I helped out with the design, but she worked the magic that made grass grow. The one big weapon she had was the straw mats that you can purchase at just about any place that sells lawn care products. They were a little pricey, but worth it in the end. They kept the seed moist and protected from birds. It's still a little patchy in spots, but in a couple of years I think we are going to have a sweet, lush, walk around in your bare feet and love it kind of lawn.

Here are some pictures of some of our favorite plants...

Phlox hoodii, common names: carpet phlox or creeping phlox.

We put in about three of these in the terraced bed. They'll fill in and look really good in a few years.

I love hostas. My favorite is the type shown here, with a medium green foliage with lime green edges. There is something about the delicate, elegant aesthetic they give to a landscape.

Hydrangea macrophylla normalis, common name is lacecap hydrangea. We inherited this beautiful specimen from our landlord. The flower it produces is more subtle and graceful than the typical mop-head hydrangeas that are more popular.