Going Downhill From Here Part 2
In Going Downhill From Here Part 1 it is clearly evident that our side yard hill is quite steep. (Understatement!) Putting in a retaining wall and a small patio was a good first step toward solving this challenge. But, of course, that left the rest of the hill to be dealt with. So we had our property surveyed, and then put in a split rail fence, appropriate for our ranch style home. Fences make good backdrops for borders, so we began planting evergreens along the fence. Primarily these were small evergreens, usually Emerald Green Arborvitae, that had been planted in our winter window box. When we planted the window box for summer, we planted these along the new fence. So that was the start of our downhill border. Since we had the fence and the evergreens, what makes more sense than a path, right? So I began to design a meandering downhill path. (If you haven’t guessed by now, I love love love designing!) We bought bushes and perennials on sale when we could, and found places for them along the path.










Final thought: This pathway with border was the dream of an amateur with a lot of “book learning” but not a lot of experience. Some things I got right: long sweeping curves with strategically placed bushes and trees to make the pathway seem longer, and with pretty surprises around the curves. And some things I got wrong, and it was a big “wrong”: planting big trees and bushes too close together. But I think it is better to have tried and only marginally succeeded than never to have tried at all.