It just so happens there is a high grassy hill from which I can look down upon the big picture of my front garden. The dashing flashes of color recede into the green from so high up and can not interfere with an assessment of the bigger picture.
What do I see?
Moving from west to east I see the need for a new fence. The rustic I don't mind. It is the dilapidated that bothers me.
The fence is one of the major permanent elements in an otherwise herbaceous and seasonally ephemeral scene. A few conifers have been planted, but it will be years before they gain stature.
All of this space is a utility easement. Any trees planted, even if small at maturity would be potentially susceptible to herbicide spraying from utility contract workers with poor plant ID skills. Plus this rare expanse of full sun and level ground in the mountain forest must be utilized to best purpose.
The roadside vegetable garden makes the most productive use of this space.
I can see a mid level evergreen hedge row of sorts composed of mixed conifers on the down side of the crest of the hill at the back of the vegetable garden. This could bridge the height between forest and meadow and add a backdrop to the colorful vegetable garden. In winter it would serve as a sign of domestication in the wilderness.
The morning shaded, east end of the roadside vegetable garden remains in wildflowers and will likely stay that way. The vegetable garden is big enough for now. I can see a couple of small rounded shrubs on the right side towards the point formed by the curved shape of the land and the straight line of the fence as an interrupted continuation of the hedge row. Perhaps there are a couple of the dwarf Weigela florida 'Minuet' that need to be bought and planted.
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3 comments:
These pictures were helpful! If you keep the plant life under control, does that minimize any likelihood of the utility exerting its rights over your property? One would hope...
Uncle Ernie is too cute.
Chuck that is my hope. We remove all tree seedlings and kill off sprouting tree stumps they have already cut. I hope too that as it begins to look more like a garden the crews contracted by the utility will think twice before spraying. Maybe a few signs might help.
That sure sounds like an ideal idea for the plantings. What kind of fence are you contemplating? I think that a split rail fence looks awesome, especially for that region. We had the split rail--it zig zags down the line.
I always wanted one & I can say that I at one time had one. Loved it.
I found also that once I planted things under power line they didn't bother it unless to trim limbs from trees that endangered the power lines. I even kept the side of the road mowed that ran along our property line. Everybody in the neighborhood knew when I was there.
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