Sounds beautiful, Martha! --Kathy in Missouri ----- Martha Brown wrote: Re: Who's out there? ... > > I started landscaping in 1996 in the area within the circle drive > around the house that measures about 250X350 feet. The shop area > covers about 21/2 acres in one corner of the 10 acre site. My > plans are to gradually expand the landscaped area to cover about > 3 acres leaving almost half in trees and native grass. > > At the present we are in the middle of a two year remodeling > project on the house and in the spring will be putting in another > water garden on the west side of the house as the drive > approaches that will be about 10X35 feet in a Japanese influenced > garden area. We added a 45 ft long 8ft tall trellis last year > ending in an 8X8X12' tall arbor on the south of the house. I am > planning to plant climbing roses, clematis, Coral and Goldflame > Honeysuckle along with annual Sweetpeas and Moonflower on it to > block the view from the highway this year. > > I like your idea of no grass. In the area around the house I am > installing native flagstone like walks, lots of beds of shrubs > and perennials and water gardens. There will be an oval of > cool-season grass about 15X25 feet left for the winter color > since it stays green all winter most years. My DH says its > because I like to walk barefoot on it in the summer. I like the > fact I can mow it in 5-10 minutes with a push mower. > > I have 4 small patio type seating areas in different parts of the > garden in addition to the 50 foot long porch on the south of the > house. I have plans for at least one more and another screened > porch for a summer kitchen with the grill and an extra > refrigerator etc. > > I am adding a lot of reblooming iris and daylillies in raised > beds along with various annuals for cutting in the "service area" > of the yard. Most of my vegetables are also in raised beds in > this area. So far I have 12 raised beds measuring 4X25 feet > each. > > Martha > M Brown > NW Oklahoma, USA > USDA Zone 6b, Sunset Zone 35 > >