It’s done. Finally. The front yard patio and garden that Jon and I set out to renovate four long years ago is finally finished and done. Jon was there to help oversee the laying of the patio stones in 2020 — we watched the action safely distanced, from the living room window.
The front patio, with its True Blue Connecticut Bluestone pavers, has looked great ever since.
The view from the patio, however, has not been so great. Neglected during the pandemic, the garden had become an overgrown free-for-all. Rambunctious star jasmine and lusty Japanese anemone duked it out, and a volunteer native California fern was now way too big for its britches.
Last year, a new railing was installed on the stairway — that’s a plus. But, it now blocked access to the garden from the stairs onto the old lava rock pathway. The original path began at the staircase, wound its way over to the magnolia tree, and curved back to the stairs. Now, the new railing was in the way, and you had to stoop under it and crawl onto the path.
Obviously, the path needed to be rerouted. And so, last winter — before the big California rains — the garden crew tore the garden apart. They removed the existing rocks and all the plants, keeping only a few irises, the bower vine that was growing on the fence and the star magnolia tree up in the corner. The crew then reversed the stone path to give access to the garden from a small set of Bluestone steps at the far end of the garden.
The garden crew marked out the placement of the new lava rock pathway. In this photo, you can see the new Connecticut Bluestone patio and the new Bluestone steps — complete with a safety railing. Photo by Barbara Newhall
When this year’s heavy winter rains finally stopped, the gardeners had to wait a few more weeks for the soil to dry.
Finally, two weeks ago, the new plants were delivered, and an unruly garden was tamed at last.
More about the patio work at “Our New Patio — We’ve Added Another Room to Our House.” Read about the backyard renovation at “When a Widow Laughs: Or, A Backyard Work-in-Progress.” More about the side yard reconstruction at “Fixing Up That Homely Old Side Yard — At Last.”
Wow. I see that I’ve gotten a lot done — some of it with Jon’s input and some all by myself since his death. I’ll say this: these projects have kept me good company in his absence.
What an undertaking. It definitely has a plan now and is pleasing. I do miss the kind of wild lushness that had to make way for the new.
Not to worry. Stuff grows in that front yard. It will get lush again pretty fast. Some of the earlier plants were just too big for the space– the native CA ferns and the star jasmine, which just would not behave. Also a CA native aster that was prolific but messy looking — a weed, actually.
Looks beautiful, lots of love went into this yard
I love looking at it. Lots of flowers blooming in front, side and back yards. My dilemma — which ones to pick and bring inside and which ones to enjoy from my deck and windows.