Garden Bed Revamp on Wellington (REVISION #2) Tues – 9/27- 6:02 pm

BEFORE

It may not look like it needs work. But we are transforming a bed, to bare bones, for planting an assortment of new flowering perennials. Our homeowner has asked us to make the selections. Along with all her flowering planters it’s going to look fresher and very much like a true flowers garden. Minus all the Creeping Ivy and Vinca Vines. And we are resetting all the brick borders and laying newspaper on the bank, covering it with topsoil to prevent more weed from returning. And we will mulch well.

And the bed with the large bark chips we are taking them out, because she wants to make it a Pansy bed. So we need some new garden soil and an assortment of Pansies and finally a topper of fresh shredded hardwood bark mulch. This  bed is a tribute to her Mom who loved Pansies.and directly behind them us the yellow rose bush we planted during the summer, also for her Mom

And we are also going to help reset newly purchased stair and border lighting upon completion.

It’s probably about a 6 to 8 hour project. We’ll see. Stay tuned for a final completion video.

Todays we took a photo collection of areas needing our magic. 

(REVISED) – Fri – 9/23 – 6:15 pm

Today we finished clearing the bed of Ivy and Vinca vines. We dug up the three spider grasses. We transplanted the largest to the other bed where there were five in a row. We had a gap at the end of the row, so we planted it there to fill this gap. The other two were pretty straggly so we tossed.

Early in the summer we dug up four Day Lily’s and have transplanted them in a row….as the new bed border between our bed and the back side of the property.

We have leveled the bed, started creating a deep outer  edge along the side, and next we will reset a few of the uneven bricks on the side near the gravel/stone slab path. We have gone to the nursery and purchased 7 bags of top soil to amend the beds as they are mostly VA clay. Not great for planting. And we will add some organic gardening soil as well. We also purchased eight (8) bags of mulch with the assistance of  our student helper. And while there….we both took all the large chip mulch out of the sloped bed. It’s rough, too large and hard to plant in, so it was best to dispose of it. Now, we can plant the Pansy bed that our homeowner so wants.

The wind at 25 mph today with a shady yard was a bit of a challenge. All in all it was a super beautiful day. And we feel like when we return next Tuesday we will be able to accomplish quite a lot.

So far, we have six (6) hours in this project. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s definitely coming along.

“Contessa”’ says…..,it’s all good.

(REVISION #2) – Tues – 9/27 – 6:02 pm 

The following photos and Video are part of todays Revision  #2. We cut bank the Vinca Vine up at the top of the sloped bed. We then placed thick newspaper down on the slope and covered them with seven (7) bags of Top Soil. We then added four (4) bags of Bumper Crop Garden Soil to the lower bed where the Pansies are going to be planted. We purchase ten (10) – one (1) quart containers of Pansies, our clients Mom’s favorite. And we arranged new Perennial plants in the large “cleared” bed awaiting our clients approval. We made the pick and she loves what we selected.  She has asked us to purchase two more of the Shasta Daisy plants.

Thursday we will plant all the new plants and finally we have purchased six (6), three (3) cu ft bags of hardwood shredded bark mulch and will lay it all to complete the look.

The new  perennial plants are:

1 – Echinacea Wicked (burgundy)

1 – Guara, Rose Jane

1 – Laucenthemium,  White Lion

1 – Perovskila, Denim n Lace

in addition our client has four planters that we made for her mid-summer. We will plant the White Mum in the new bed. The other plants are annuals and our first frost will take them, but they have done well and her urge to have flowers this summer was fulfilled.  So nice switching to perennials to give her plants that last and plants that will show themselves again next spring. It’s fun and she can even add a couple more things in the spring.  We think there will be room.

IN PROCESS

Please do stay tuned for our final completion video.

Beverley Drive….Early Fall Cleanup

Contessa’s completes fall clean up for every one of our clients. But this year, we are offering early fall cleanup. It’s just necessary because we have had such a dry summer and a slightly early fall. Leaves and debris, branches and limbs are falling from the trees and our lawns are bone dry. We rake your whole yard removing the spent grass that’s been laying there after the lawnmowers have come round. Frankly that dead grass just mats down your grass growth. Raking it brings new life to your grass and if it’s watered during our early fall, in just a few days it green’s up. It’s so exciting to see.

Today we worked 2.5 hours at this property tending the beds and the grass. We are about half way to completion. And we worked one hour on the patio cleaning up all the leaves. Two tress, one in the front and one in the back are so prolific. They are huge and dropping a ton of leaves this year because of our drought. They are Pin Oaks.

This property is an end unit and has come a long way. We’ve transformed the beds and planted all new bushes. It’s been a work in progress but it’s looking better and better each year.

We are pleased to be this clients gardener. It’s great work,  a very congenial relationship and we think our client is very happy. We are here to help. Our pleasure. Please stay tuned for a final completion video.

“Contessa” says…it’s all good.

Beverley Drive/Wellington Corner

Our property here has a slight slope on the side if the house bed outside the white fence. Many invasive weeds travel from the top of the slope jumping  from the weedy are just outside the adjacent building laundry room bed. We’ve requested help with this area so many times. That bed by the laundry room is infested. It’s been allowed to just grow randomly. This causes weeds to grow and climb/jump into the bed we are working on today. At least three times  a year we pull all the weeds and lay fresh mulch.  And because of the slope…. we created two rock stop-gaps to help keep the mulch from eroding down this area. The mulch is very important because it does help to keep some weeds at bay.

Our homeowner is slightly frustrated  in trying to persuade our community to provide a permanent solution. We do our best to help keep it looking as good as possible.

I’m sure a few of you have experienced this. We do live in a very woodland area. And frankly this does make our community a very unique and beautiful place to live. But that intersection between the two buildings has needed a “fix” for a long time. Our new GM even came to look at it. But so far no big solution. Priorities. We are patient and hopeful.

We still have Rose of Sharon about ten (10) ft tall to remove inside the fence. We are hopeful to get this  accomplished yet this week. Stay tuned .

it was a mild and comfortable morning for working. We enjoyed thus  accomplished task. Feels good to complete this work

“Contessa” says….. it’s all good

My Saturday Morning Prayer (REVISED) Wed – 9/21 – 8:22 am

Yesterday I spied one little Caladium leaf in the dirt nuzzled up almost inside a Hosta. All by its lonesome. I gently pulled after making a small dig in the dirt. It gave way….root in tact. I took it home and believe me…. you will see I will make a plant out of it. 

REVISED – Wed – 9/21 – 8:22

Ah…ha’  I knew it  My one little Caladium leaf was doing  its own “thing,” growing under the dirt  Here it comes. Once I get two or three leaf sprouts I’ll move it to a planter. It never ceases to amaze me, at what one leaf can do. It’s so thrilling  I’m saving another plant.  COOL

••••••••••••••

I did this recently with a fern that was down to one (1) frond. It’s now in a planter with six (16) fronds and two new on the way. In October I will plant it in the ground outdoors. It has enough stability now that I think it will make it through the winter and come back in the spring. A small miracle.

I’ve told my gardening clients…. I’ve never killed a plant  The good news is…. nature will inspire you if you will let it rebound and thrive.  Care for it and give it a little bit of time.

So why would I bother with one alive leaf.  It’s my God given talent. HE breathed life into me and gave me this talent. We all have them. So think about your talents and take action that your Lord and Savior God will surely bless you with His Grace.

You and I have gifts to give to Him and to others. Share to make our world better. These are the little things that matter. And most importantly…pause right now, bow your head and give thanks to Him. Jesus….is waiting to hear your thanksgiving.

I wish you all a beautiful Saturday morning

Prayer

…. my dear Jesus  I call you now. Thank you for my talents. I wish to use my talents in the best way. You alone will guide me and give me new inspiration. May I honor you today as I now serve my patrons in their gardens.  Gardens where more than plants are growing.  I’m planting seeds you have given me.   Your seeds of hope and everlasting joy.  Thank you Father…..AMEN

“Contessa” says….it’s all good.

Valley Drive – back bordering property ….a continuation

The outside of the courtyard is complete……

Now to get inside the courtyard and trim. Also included will be the tall Boxwoods. Towards the bottom I’m taking off three inches. This will allow for tidying in and under when PFX comes to trim them. Otherwise all the cut debris lays there, dries out and blows all over the patio. Makes for a very untidy patio and very messy garden beds. And once the bushes inside have been trimmed back,  then I’ll finalize tidying the planted beds.  Added we’re all new Perennyals this year.

I stopped the deep edge at the end because our owner thinks the neighbor might think he’s encroaching. I’ll convince him otherwise. That neighbor never uses his patio and frankly I’m guessing he will never even go out there and see it. 

It’s looking pretty fresh we think. And we raised the bed slightly by creating this deep edging, all that soil was tossed up into the mounded bed. It gives such a professional appearance. So far we have five (5) hours on this outside border phase

Please do stay tuned to our accomplishing the trimming and tidying inside this lovely courtyard. This is a really nice property and every day it’s looking better. We are very pleased so far.

“Contessa” says……it’s a good thing.

The Trimming and Care of Bushes

We are currently on assignment at a location with wonderful bushes around the perimeter of the property. They are well established. No serious trimming has taken place in five years. We are beginning the process. This week we began with the outer side of the property. Of note is a very large and mature Oak Leaf Hydrangea. It’s huge leaves and branches are so heavy they are touching and weighted to the ground. And they are hanging over the lovely Boxwood bushes inside the patio area. They can hardly be seen as a result. It’s in great need of being trimmed. And on the other side of the property are two beautiful heavy wrought iron gates that are supporting two very beautiful climbing Hydrangeas. These also need a lift. The result is that this year they did not produce any new blooms.

We began the trimming process on Friday and have completed the task on the outside of the garden. As well,  on hands and knees we climbed in and got down and under to remove all low lying dead limbs, leaves and debris so as to provide a new cavity in which these glorious bushes can produce new growth and blossoms next spring. It’s quite exciting actually. These bushes needed us.

Here a couple shots of the process:

Additionally, we dug up and removed a buried water line which has become nonfunctional. And as we will now be the ongoing Gardener here, we will provide all care including watering and nurturing these very amazing bushes.

Three (3) reasons it’s important to trim and lift the weight of  bushes are; they need light, air circulation around them and room to grow from the inside. And they need to be open and uncrowned. They also need to be cleaned and cleared underneath so they can grow properly and not touch the ground. And proper trimming provides a more regal look and gives them new growing power. If plants are not trimmed they only grow from the outer branches, while the main stalk if they plant near the root is nit producing any new growth.
So after three hours we are closer to finishing the bushes in the outer part of the property. Monday we will return to clean and clear the bordering beds and create a deep edging around the entire property. This will create a beautiful final grounds appeal. We are very pleased so far.

Please do stay tuned for a FINAL video.

So as with your own bushes keep these tasks in mind  Remember, all things grow back. Thinning out and lifting off the ground is so important for removing dead debris and for your bushes to receive moisture from the rain without packed leaves and debris keeping them from receiving that moisture. It simply makes sense. Do not be afraid to trim. We will cover proper trimming techniques in a future post so do visit us again here on the Garden Contessa blog.

“Contessa” says……it’s a good thing

Valley Drive…..creating new beds…..a work in progress

We began this  project, piece-meal about two months ago, to spread out expenditures. Our homeowner has definite ideas about creating his new flowering, full sun gardening space. It was a huge step for him, as the back garden beds were chocker block full, but with nothing but green. There was not a soil or mulch area to be seen as it was thickly populated with 22 Hostas and a ton of Monkey grasses. Common and yet the landscape with the very fine English Boxwood, the climbing Hydrangeas and the monster Oak Leaf Hydrangea and the numerous “pencil” Boxwoods gave a first impression and a feel of being in an estate garden. It looked full. It looked nice. But it looked way overcrowded. And he talked about adding layers of Perennial flowers and some color to his very private “oasis.”

On Friday we finished Phase 1 of the project. There are now peripheral things we will do…..probably more towards spring since we want to see what comes back and how full it will look. Honestly, this late in the summer its a bit hard to tell just how much more we will need until we can experience the new growth post winter.

We think so far,  it has come together nicely.  The bare bones surrounding the patio now need trimming and the Boxwoods in particular need shaping attention.

So far we have added two Rose bushes, Canna Lily’s, Lavender, Ferns, Salvia, Foxglove, Tiger Lily’s, Freckle Face Lily’s, Indian Pinks, Wormwood, Bee Balm, Butterfly bush, and  yesterday we completed the final install of six Pink Muhly Grass and a huge transplanting of Coneflowers which do add some great height to his landscape. 

It is a work in progress and so we invite you to stay tuned in.

“Contessa” says …… it’s a good thing!

Ravensworth – 5 hours today (REVISED) THURS – 7/28 – 3:07 pm

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Week 5 and counting……

Resetting brick border; digging the brick trench deeper; raising the brick level, straightening, and removing weed protection sheets from the bed. A fabric which has two layers but in this clients case it’s not preventing them. So we are pulling it up. It was here when our client bought the property but it is so thick it’s making it difficult to plant anything new without taking it completely out. So sheet by sheet we are pulling it out.  Very hard work because a two inch layer of weeds has grown on its surface.   Its coming along.

Also digging up buried slate pieces and we will reset them  They actually help with soil erosion from the slightly sloped bed beginning in the far corner where there is a new underground drain.

Yes it’s  a project…..all right!  Back tomorrow

Making progress but will most likely be here all week

“CONTESSA” says …..it’s all good

.•••••••••••
REVISED – Thursday – 7/28 – 3:07 pm we can go  we transplanted one mature Hosta today making three plants and some more of the weed protector sheets were removed.

We are taking a break. Once our resident decides what to transplant and what to purchase we will mist likely return to do that work and a final addition of the black mulch is needed….but we have accomplished a lot

Our homeowner likes good “aged” looking brick without holes so for now we’ve gone as far as we can go.  She will find them herself,  as she is particular about color and a certain look.  

We look furward to an ongoing relationship with our client  a knowledgeable gardener who wants to do more of her own work  but we will stop in to commiserate on next steps.

Here is today’s video:

We did reset/recess several of the brick today so that no one will trip if they visit her yard. A bit lower in the trench. Safety being important to our resident homeowner. We completed 8.5 hours this week. And we now break for a couple weeks.  Onward to two other pending projects. A nice four day break in temps so we might can get a few things planted.

It’s a wonderful location and a wonderful yard. She’s a lucky lady. So private back there. And her “back” is really her “front” as she points out,  since it’s an underground unit with a small front stoop area. Regardless,  it is a lovely and very desirable location. And her beautiful fig tree is a “stunner.”

Ravensworth- a new destination (REVISED) Friday – 7/08 – 7.:25 am.

SOME BEFORE & SOME AFTER

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We went by today at 5:30 while out doing our rounds of maintenance and watering and stopped to pick up a big pile of debris that we had left in our clients side yard. Our client wanted to pay us for ten (10) hours and was out to an appt when we wrapped up at about 2 pm. So she txt’d us and asked us to stop by at 5:30.

While there….we grabbed the debris. We had already taken eight bags earlier in the day when we finished up for the days assignment.

Low and behold…..she wants us back tomorrow to tend the beds along the whole side/back yard. So we are back again tomorrow. It’s been great work, and she is pleased as punch. We are here to serve. It is our pleasure. And we do admit it’s looking pretty nice back there for her. We love our work. Helping and serving…our blessing and then some.

AFTER…..so far….but more to come.
Stay Tuned. Please!

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”CONTESSA” says …… it’s all good.

•••••••••••••
REVISED – Friday – 7/1 – 10 am 

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We are continuing with our Ravensworth project. It’s been a while in the growing phase. Our lovely “gardener” is a very knowledgeable gardener and we’ve had some fantastic gardening conversations. I’m learning and so is she. It has been fun. We could probably chat for hours. BUT work prevails. This week we tackled the beds along the whole length of the house, in the back. We are up to seven (7) hours and are ready to turn the corner to approach the cutest little “oasis” in her yard. A shady contemplative wonderful little circular corner with an overhanging Hemlock. I fantastic reminder if how much our yards in PFX are so unique. We will video our work next Tuesday and post “before and after” work then. Its such a great spot.

Best news today is….we are invited back to continue. We are delighted. Hang with us for a bit longer as this project continues. It’s been such fun.  😊

REVISED -Friday/ 7/08 – 7:25 am

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Our client has started preparing for some new contemporary planters which she will place around and in her beds. These will be easier to manage new plants and container gardening will be a very nice addition to her already very well established garden.

Yesterday we completed 13 hours for this week. And on Monday, July 11th we will return to finalize with an edging around the entire bed along the side of the house, clearing the already established brick borders. It’s difficult in that the lawn/grassy area behind her property is pretty infested with a number if different weed types typical to VA.

Our final assignments are going to be hand pruning the free flowing bushes, removing more Vinca vines from the “oasis” area and creating a new bed around the Butterfly bush.

Our FINAL assignment will be to lay twenty (20) 3 cu ft bags of small chip bark mulch in all the beds. We estimate another 6 to 8 hours for next week. And our homeowner is thinking about subscribing to our monthly maintenance and watering service which includes “light tidy.” In complete reality this is a rather large area to care for and maintain, and it can easily become quite a task without continued assistance. We will be most happy to help….because we hope to keep things in great shape going forward.

This was a larger project, but so rewarding. And we have become “gardening comrades” and friends. Lovely for us  and for our homeowner as well. We have shared our gardening tips/tricks and skills and gardening has been our common ground. Very nice indeed; learning new things from each other.

Please stay tuned for our “FINAL UPDATE” at the end of next week.

“CONTESSA” says….. it’s all a very good thing!

New Client – Valley Dr – English Style – REVISED – Mon – 6/6 – 7:31

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Tomorrow we start a “garden renovation.”  It’s a gorgeous garden, but our resident homeowner is looking for some colorful blossoms in his “green” space. 

So in and amongst all this beautiful but very crowded plant life are some Black Eyed Susan’s. Coming up now, and showing buds. (Bright yellow with brown centers). We are going to be paring down the scale of several plantings. Divide and conquer, remove all the Hosta and add perennial splashes of colorful blooming plants. Such as Purple/Bluish Butterfly Bush, Orange Tiger Lilly’s, maybe some Rose bushes in peach, red and yellow, and and White Peony’s are also an option.

We will be arriving at 10 am and will start by digging up all the Hosta. (approximately (8) eight). They are huge.  Parkfairfax has agreed to provide new homes for them all. Our residents rear property backs up about 800 ft to the Coryell Pool,  so he thought it might be a great spot to relocate them to. They can then be enjoyed by everyone in the community, or transplanted to a more shady woodland setting. No need to waste anything –  will be our motto during this renovation.

And so we begin at this new and exciting project.  As we  proceed we will post additional updates. We will make a couple site visit trips to Merrifield Garden as our client wants to select his own plantings.

He has loved the Garden he bought with the house. Things have really matured and grown and so it’s time for him to put his own stamp on his property. He uses the back patio a lot for guests and entertaining so he wants to give it new life. We are very pleased he asked us to help.

“Contessa” says ….. it’s all good.………….!

•••••••••••
REVISED – Monday – 6/6 – 7:31 pm

We’ve tight in video space so tonight we have photos. Anywhere in the video above where there was Salvia, way overgrown we have removed it today. Ten )10) bushes that are now surrounding the tree on the outside of this yard. Our crew guy was not at work today so tomorrow he will haul them to the yard. Originally they were the size of basketballs. Pretty foliage with dusty purple flowered stems. But they had grown to the size of tires, were flattened out and extremely woody on the stems. Sort of what a real gardener would refer to as has-been’s. They (3) covered the backyard entrance and the bed was so flat. We severely edged this bed and used the dirt to fill the holes where these plants were located and we “built” the bed up. Super attractive now.

Tomorrow we are removing all the Hostas. We count ten (10) and next week we will do a nursery site visit to pick out colorful flowering perennials. We are only just beginning. There is much to accomplish. It’s very exciting. A total new look coming. Stay connected with us.