What Comes Next

This summer brought about a leap of faith.  I've been a Purdue Master Gardener since the fall of 2007.  As part of our training we are obligated to give back to the community by volunteering our time, effort and knowledge to groups around us.  I've been blessed over and over to have been able to assist many organizations large and small.

Now it is time to take all of my years of training and put it into practice in my own business.  Why did it take me so long?  I liken this to being a new physician, would you want one who just graduated from Med school, or would you have more trust in one who has real-world experience through practical internships?  I've completed my 8 years of internship and I'm Open For Business.  Hanging out my Shingle!  

Now Accepting New Clients.

Thanks, just needed to say it out loud.  

  

I will always be grateful to my first client.  The Stires/Lee home.  Amazing young couple that have been working on the interior of their home.  The exterior was overwhelming to them.  The main focus has always been to just keep the overgrowth at bay.  Just doing that exhausted them.  This is where I stepped in.  

We discussed a plan of action, listening and setting their goals.  Together, we learned what they wanted to see when they pulled into their driveway.

I took a minute and learned what her favorite flowers are, and that YES she would like to be able to spend time cutting flowers and enjoying plants that bloom.   I learned that he wanted the planting beds larger and they both want flowering trees.
We had a few things to tackle.

First was the obvious dead trees in the front lawn.  I started with the removal of a very old cherry tree and then next a large maple.  Both had been deceased for years and just needed removed.  

Then I tackled the Vinca vine.  I'm not a fan of vinca, it is a quick and easy ground cover, yet it has it drawbacks.  As you can see from the pictures above.  During this time I found that there were several other plants that were trying their hardest to reach sunlight and pull nutrients from the earth.  Rest well little ones next summer will be much better now that the Vinca has been removed/destroyed/conquered! 

They also had a very large, beautiful, Colorado Blue Spruce which, unfortunately, had been planted way too close to the front porch and walkway.  The tree, while lovely, made it difficult to navigate the pathway and was actively blocking the home.  Feng Shui came to mind when looking at the removal of this tree.  It was definitely blocking our Chi. 

Before we departed there was one more "tree" to be tackled.  In the side yard was a Barberry that had become a huge thorn in their side, yes Pun was intended!  A few minutes with a chainsaw and a pick ax and their side-yard is again a yard, freed from the oppression of this monstrosity.  

Unearthing this front lawn revealed rocks, LARGE rocks everywhere.  At one time, I'm certain that there was an amazing landscaped bed in this front lawn.  Unfortunately the Vinca didn't respect those boundaries.   After the mulching was complete I put a small edge border along the driveway to keep the mulch from washing away during rainstorms.

A note regarding the before and after of this picture.

 I took the before in late July, and the homeowner added a few plants during the summer.  A choice was made to see whether the Coreopsis would revive next Spring, or will it need replaced. The goal is for this bed to have a 3-stage planting, spring - summer and fall flowering.  The removal of the old timbers, and replacing with a rounded border is to give the same flowing of the beds closer to the home.  

Next comes planning for the Spring plantings.  Placement of flowering trees, and adding more perennials and a few additional bushes.  A beautiful cutting garden will go in the space between the driveway and sidewalk. Our homeowners will be welcomed home with color, rather than kept from their door by the needles of the Blue Spruce.  

Big plans also in play for that wonderful spot vacated by the monster barberry next Spring (sorry, no spoilers here)!

Feel free to share, I'm here local to Indianapolis and planning new planting beds and fall/winter clean up for clients.