Sunday Flowers

Flower Guild at All Saints Episcopal Church

May 29, 2011

Oakleaf Hydrangeas, Queen Anne's Lace, Sweet Peas, Spray Roses, Ferns and Hostas

No Man's Land

Have you ever wondered what to do with the property between your house and your neighbor's house? 

What's mine and what's yours? 

Right about now, I was wishing that I had a better picture of the 'before'. Basically our "in between area" was filled with leggy, shrubby, ugly plants - lots of it being Rose of Sharon. It may sound pretty and look pretty when its in a pot at Home Depot, but it is an entirely different beast. (No I wasn't the one that planted it.) It self-seeds - meaning...they are coming up everywhere. I can't tell you how many plants I pulled up the day I cleared the area.

 

Some time ago, my neighbor and I had talked about making a path between our houses (we are dog sitting buds and often go back and forth between each others houses). And all of a sudden, one Sunday afternoon I found my self clearing out and making room. After the initial demo, in which I unearthed some rocks - I created a border along my driveway and the bed. Next I added the oak leaf hydrangeas and then the hostas and impatiens. I also hand some left-over slate to create a make-shift pathway until we decided on a material.

Once I got the ball rolling, the neighbor decided to add some more to the bed and remove some more shrubs. (and in all honesty she was probably waiting on me to do something, since my side probably looked worse beforehand.) She marked them and I approved and now we have a flowering peach tree in the back corner and some limelight hydrangeas. In her planting...she uncovered more stone...so we've decided to use those for the path.Now, just to find time to level the ground underneath.

I've added more to my side too...so stay tuned for more pictures and the growth of our new proud shared space! Happy Planting!

Summer Wildflowers

It's saturday morning at the Alley household and I'm getting ready to pack up the car to do the Altar flowers at All Saints Episcopal Church in Homewood. I try to pick all of the flowers that I use for Flower Guild, so I found some black eyed susan's, purple cone flower, oak leaf hydrangeas and Annabelle hydrangeas, fern, hosta and pink mop head hydrangeas.

And the finished product...this one is for you Kathleen...we missed you all in church Sunday!