@beautification
@jerry
@lelandhome
We are meeting at the Stonegate entrance to spread the dirt around the white board fence. As mentioned is last nights impromptu board meeting, this area can then be used to plant some daylilies.
Please bring shovels, rakes, and other tools to help spread the dirt.
This is a good first step in helping to beautify our entrance for all to enjoy.
Thanks for everyone’s efforts.
See you on June 1st at 6.
I didn’t take the opportunity to measure that area, but ideally anything we plant needs to be spaced 2 feet apart in all directions, and away from the fence by the same amount. Live and learn…we were supposed to live here for 5 years, so we stuck plants in the ground and never thought we would still be here 35 years later. I got sick one long summer/fall and couldn’t keep the shrubs trimmed. Big mistake. We ended up with a boxwood hedge that is too high. Steve’s the agriculture and horticulture educator, but the landscape is Connie’s job. If I am laid up, things go wrong.
I don’t think we have room for more than 2 or 3 rows in front of the stone fence. Boxwoods at Lowes are cheap but small and easy to handle but have a small root ball so water, water, water. If I’m estimating in my mind correctly, I think we can push it to a second and possibly third row. For this year, we can swing the arborvitae and maybe the boxwoods if we get them from Lowes - if they still have any and we keep them watered. I am guessing we can only put 3 boxwoods in front of the fence (if allowed to grow, they will get 5’ x 5’). You’ll remember the existing boxwoods are grown up against the wall and crammed together and that’s ugly. That’s because the two-foot rule wasn’t use and that is a big no-no.
The biggest mistake people make is trying to cram too much together to make it look best right away, but plants (hopefully) grow, and like my case, one summer is all it took to take 3 boxwoods on each side of the house and 3 azaleas to get out of control and become a hedge that’s too high and a ball of azaleas that I can’t cut off the walk or driveway any more than I have or I’ll kill the plants.
I get the feeling you guys don’t trust what I’m saying and keep deferring to Barb Mantle. I’m sure Barb is well educated in the knowledge of gardening and landscaping, but I’m not a novice by any means. I was a King’s Garden Center for 2 boiling hot hours, scoping out plants they picked out for us. Lowe’s doesn’t have all the varieties, and often, I find what they do have aren’t the best for Kentucky, are invasive, are susceptible to disease and pests, etc. I don’t buy those. I’ve been to the moon and back with our yard’s landscaping more than once. I’ve tried to force things to grow in places they shouldn’t and failed. I’ve tried to plant things not meant for our zone and failed. There’s rules to follow, like always plant in odd numbers…3 plants together, not four, 5 plants together, not 6, etc. Then, there is a tag on a plant - follow the directions. I research a plant that I introduce to my landscape before I willy-nilly go sticking it in the ground. All the plants I talked about at the meeting, except the uprights are dwarf, so they need only 2 feet between. The bigger the plant potentially grows, the more distance the plants need between each other. Nothing is maintenance free. Water, fertilizing, shaping and mulching are necessary.
This part of Kentucky is Zone 6. Plants can take temperatures below freezing. Read the label on the plant. It’s a good idea.
Thank you so much Sheila for taking pictures while top soil was spread at the entrance! Things are just getting better all the time 
And…thanks for the cookies!!!
