Comments on: Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop – Entrance Gardens

By: Claire, Plantpassion

Claire, Plantpassion — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:31:32 +0000

I planted a wildflower meadow on the verge outside my gate last year, no more mowing for me, and the spring crocus are just appearing with muscari to come. my posts were http://plant-passion.typepad.com/plant_passion/2009/06/have-you-got-space-for-wildflowers-in-your-garden.html and http://plant-passion.typepad.com/plant_passion/2009/06/wildflowers-in-a-small-space-update.html

Wonderful, Claire – a great solution for a troublesome site. Thanks for sharing the links.
-Nan

By: Jay Chua

Jay Chua — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:11:30 +0000

wow..beautiful. Thanks for sharing Nancy.
I live in the city, and this is something a city man always dreamed of..retired and live in magic kingdom like this

I am particularly fond of the green garden entrance. It also gives me some ideas on how to re-design by backyard.

Thanks Nancy, and look forward for more beautiful garden, yard pictures + postings

Jay Chua

Thanks for visiting, Jay! I’m glad you found some ideas for your own yard.
-Nan

By: Matti

Matti — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:00:24 +0000

Wow, 2nd to last photo…anybody know what those tall weeping conifer trees(?) are? Matti

I don’t recall, Matti, so I’d hoped someone would chime in with an ID. If anyone does, I’ll e-mail you the info.
-Nan

By: Jayne

Jayne — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:35:11 +0000

Great post Nan, We have a typical suburban home with an open front yard and a fenced in back yard. We haven’t been in there long, but I’ve done some work on the large foundation bed that the builder put in. You can see what I’ve done here: http://jaynescountrygarden.blogspot.com/2010/02/working-on-weekend.html

Thanks for the link, Jayne. Your project may have turned out to be more complicated than you expected (as tends to happen with gardening projects), but you must be very pleased with the results.
-Nan

By: Gail

Gail — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:29:32 +0000

This is a great topic. I’ve been wondering just how I can utilize a gate or entrance to this garden…It’s a suburban lot and as such has limits so the posts shall be mined for ideas! gail

I hope you find some inspiration, Gail. Maybe you’ll share some as well? C&L certainly appears to be a welcoming place to visitors.
-Nan

By: Cameron (Defining Your Home)

Cameron (Defining Your Home) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:54:52 +0000

Great topic and I look forward to seeing what is posted.

Visitors have to walk through our cottage garden to get to the front door. I think I’ve already covered this (ad nausem) with last month’s on fences where I showed the two gates in my front cottage garden, which is our entrance to the gardens. I do have one more gate in a vine-covered arbor between the fragrance garden and the pool, but that’s hidden away from the front entrance.

We are doing a makeover of the guest parking area. I’m no where near writing a post on that one until spring gets here and I can get to work. No one uses the guest parking until our family parking area is filled up, so I’m converting it into a garden (permeable paving instead of solid paving).

Cameron

Quite right, Cameron – your post Garden Walls and Fences works perfectly for this month as well. Your new project sounds very intriguing. Maybe you could write it up at some point and come back to leave us a link?
-Nan

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:38:22 +0000

I think I can jump in on this one! I really like that last picture of the green grass pathway through the rustic fence with the weeping trees. It just invites you in to the garden. Where did you take that photo? That's from Cady's Falls Nursery in Morrisville, Vermont. They have gorgeous gardens and even more amazing plants. -Nan

By: Frances

Frances — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:09:24 +0000

Hi Nan, this is a wonderful idea for posts! While we have notebooks full of gate shots and drawings even, and ideas swirling, we have no gates. But we do have entrances, although they do not get the attention or design they deserve. I look forward to seeing inspiring posts that might help correct that.
Frances

I look forward to seeing what we get this month too, Frances. Hopefully some of our readers can pull something from their photo archives. It’s tough finding good subjects for this time of year.
-Nan

By: Sylvia (England)

Sylvia (England) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:25:58 +0000

Great topic Nan, we planted two conifers either side of a new front path when we moved in (10 years ago) but they have overgrown the path. Middle age spread? Soon the postman will have problems getting between them, especially as they have suffered this winter and branches are sticking out! I wish I had planted Irish yew which can be cut back. Gates are not allowed – unfortunately as I love gates. Looking forward to seeing the posts.

Best wishes Sylvia (England)

Your story brings back memories of the two arborvitae that flanked the front door of my childhood home – a lesson in the consequences of poor plant choice if there ever was one. But it’s just so easy to forget that cute little plants can quickly grow up to be monsters – unless, of course, they are very rare or expensive, in which case they are likely to die within a season or two.
-Nan