Fenceline Garden
Leading by example
This client is an elected official who wants to demonstrate the benefits of using native plants in the landscape. He asked me to design a space with multi-season interest to replace a grassy space next to a wooden fence. The space is visible to everyone driving along the street and to the children who walk by to catch the school bus. We agreed on a design featuring colorful native perennials for pollinators and evergreen shrubs for winter interest. We also incorporated a stone walkway through the middle of the design, inviting neighbors into the space and hopefully sparking ideas about what they could grow in their yards.
We started with a monoculture grass lawn, which provided very little benefit to wildlife. The space is now planted with perennials which attract bees, butterflies, and birds.
First Year Color
Summer Peak Bloom
The owner removed the lawn, amended the soil with compost/manure and laid a layer of landscape fabric, topped by pine straw mulch, to hold in moisture and keep weeds at bay. Black Eyed Susans were among the first perennials to bloom in the newly planted space.
Stone Walkway
One way to keep landscaping costs down is to incorporate found materials. The owner wanted to install a walkway, inviting neighbors into the space, but purchasing stone can be expensive. He opted to collect local stone from a roadside cut. White cones of hydrangea bushes arch over the path.
Attracting Pollinators
One design goal was to attract wildlife to the garden. These red coneflowers not only attract butterflies seeking nectar, but the dried seedheads will provide a food source for the local Goldfinch population.
A thick layer of pine straw mulch helps give the space that finished look