More New Landcaping - Couldn't Stop

Because the ocean side of our yard turned out so well, we asked Ron to continue on and perk up the front side.

Over the years many of the plants and grasses in our front yard had grown so much that they were crowding each other out. 

First Ron added another bed alongside the driveway and then removed most of the plants from each of the existing beds.   Then he transplanted some of the these plants into the new bed.  The front yard really needed a few large trees so he and I visited the local nursery and chose several unusual evergreens and a few colourful deciduous trees.



Ron placed a substancial granite rock near the entrance of the driveway.



For additional impact we chose the two largest pieces from Ron's load of driftwood.  He placed one piece in the garden at the far left side of the yard and used some of our existing plants to fill any empty spaces.





And then he placed the other piece of driftwood in the garden at the far right side of the yard.





Now when I look from the house out towards the estuary, across the street, I look through a much nicer and more interesting landscape.




Ron has a great eye and knew exactly where everything would look its best.   We really appreciated the fact that he was willing to work with many of the plants we had rather than spending a fortune on new ones.

 

We have something to look forward to when we return home in the spring.  I know we are going to really enjoy all the changes.

 

Landscaping Changes at 1061 Surfside Drive

We’re back at Casa Que Sera, safe & sound one more time.

Last year we left our old van down here and flew back home.  It sure was nice this year to arrive in a day rather than the five and a half days it used to take us to get here.
  

This past summer, like every other summer we've spent at Surfside Dr., Bruce did his best to produce a lush green lawn on the ocean side of our yard, but by July each year the soil would dry out and and the grass would turn brown. We have very tight watering restrictions in our neighbourhood. 

So a month before we leaving for Mexico, we decided to have all the grass removed and replaced with Old English-Style paving stones.  We chose three different colours and had them arranged at random.  The combination of tan, walnut & charcoal pavers blend well and complement the different colours found in all the small stones on the beach.  

We kept all my beautiful Rugosa roses, hydrangeas and beach grasses because they are about the only plants that will survive the salt air.  These colourful plants make a perfect border alongside the paving stones.   The only other plants we added were a couple of tall grasses which hopefully will still be alive when we return home.

 

Our landscaper, Ron Schuler, travelled to a beach about an hour north of us and brought back a couple of truckloads of very large pieces of driftwood.  All the driftwood pieces he placed around our yard have fabulous shapes.  They are especially nice because they've been on the beach for years and have turned a beautiful silver colour.  For a little more interest, I placed some of my old glass fishing balls and some of my balls from Mexico in, on and around several pieces of the driftwood.

 

The 80 foot beast is still resting peacefully on the beach right in front of us.  We grew to love the beast over the summer and now hope that it’s there to stay.  Our new pieces of driftwood look wonderful with this giant old maple log.  Over the summer, parts of the beast’s bark got torn away by the waves and by the time we were to leave for Mexico large areas of the log were already taking on a silver hue.

Every day we got to watch many different species of birds land and perch on the beast.  It also proved to be a great breakwater on stormy days.  Now all the big waves crash up against the log instead of our seawall.

Thanks to Cory & Jen for this spectacular piece of fused glass.  It looks great with our “new” look.    

Ron may not have been too pleased when we told him we wanted to keep our old brake drum for a fire pit, but he was really good about it and never said a word.   To make the drum a little more presentable, we placed a section of an old concrete manhole over it.  The brake drum works really well for small bonfires, and because it's level, it is perfect for cooking over.   Just plop on an old iron grate and presto, there's a nice level surface for grilling.

We are really pleased with our “new” look.  Ron really did a wonderful job of creating exactly what we wanted.