Dirt Simple by Deborah Silver

July 8, 2009 · Filed under design, history · Tagged "Emerald" cedar, boxwood, hydrangea "Annabelle", hydrangea "Limelight", path

I just found the most amazing garden design blog.  Deborah Silver is a very talented garden designer.   She says its “Dirt Simple”, but I would have to disagree. Every garden she designed I loved, but I especially loved hers.  The fountain that is in her header is in her own garden and it is lovely.  I can just imagine coming home after a hard day at work and sticking my feet in. And if someone is pouring the drinks, even better!

 

I took a garden design course at George Brown College, last fall, and my project was to design a new walkway to my front door.  When our house was originally built the front lawn went all the way to 4th Av W., and a laneway ran on the north side of the house to the stables behind. Over the years, the laneway became a street and the owners sold off bits and pieces of the land, including the portion in front that went down to the street. This means my front door is facing my neighbour with the garage behind the house.  Everyone that visits comes to the glass back door.  It is quite disconcerting to be standing in your knickers and hear a knock on the door, (and not only for me!).

I need to make an inviting path that will lead all the way from the driveway, along the side of the house, to the front door, and make an uninviting and unnoticeable entrance to the back door.

Our one day path

In my garden plan at college, I designed a peagravel path, edged with a boxwood hedge.  There were Emerald cedars spaced rhythmically along the path, and between them was Annabelle hydrangeas.  I chose the Annabelles, as there were 4 or 5 already planted beside the house and they were quite happy.  That is until I read an entry on Dirt Simple.  Deborah had a similar hydrangea and boxwood lined path, but she used Limelight hydrangea instead of the Annabelles.  It look amazing!!!

I actually went to the food terminal in Toronto today, and bought 2 shrubs. I am going to plant them against the house and trial them for a year, Deborah says they are very easy to grow. We have already planted some of the Emerald cedars on the north side of the path.  The south side still had the original shrubs in it, 10 foot tall mockorange, the Annabelles, a struggling forsythia, and some spirea.  These will be a battle to dig out as they have been planted longer then I have been alive.  Hopefully, next summer I will have made some progress on this and will be able to share it.

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