For my birthday this year, my sister generously offered to re-landscape our front yard. Yes, among her many other talents, Jenna has a background in gardening and landscape design. No, there is pretty much nothing she can’t do.
This project took her several weeks to accomplish, mainly because she had this to work with:
A patch of scraggly weeds bordered by rotten railroad ties and crooked paving stones, as left for us by the previous owners.
Jenna started out by repainting our front porch entryway, then she stripped the weeds and removed all the stones and railroad ties. Then the hard work began; she regraded the yard with nothing but a shovel, a wheelbarrow, and a dream (and pages and pages of expertly-detailed plans). Here is the result…
A gentle slope, featuring beautiful, low-maintenance plants, most of which will remain evergreen throughout the year. With the exception of the stepping stones and pea gravel, all the masonry here was found stone from our yard.
The sapling in the center of the round stone border is a weeping pussy willow, which will grow (and droop) to a diameter that will fill to the border. At its base is this very wise-looking cement owl:
All of the young plants here (with a couple more to come next spring) will also develop and fill out, so we can look forward to the yard growing lusher and lovelier every year. The creeping myrtle at the left below, for instance, will grow into a blanket of green with purple flowers. Jenna also put in a row of solar lights, so we have a lighted path to our front steps.
In addition, she filled in one of our front sidewalk corners (which used to be a weedy nightmare) with concrete, and pressed in letters to spell out SOLVITUR AMBULANDO, Latin for “it is solved by walking,” a perfect motto to inspire passers-by. (The red bricks were temporary, to keep cars away as the concrete was drying.)
AND, as a lovely finishing touch, she hung the birthday gift she gave me last year by the front door, so I can listen to soothing chimes while I tend my new garden.
How lucky are we?
Kara LaReau 
Stunning! Simply stunning. What a fabulous gift filled with talent and thoughtfulness!
I agree. I only hope I can maintain its splendor! : )
Kara, you and Jenna are gifts to each other. You can thank your parents eternally.
Very true, Eve.
Beautiful!! Can’t wait to see it in person. Is the tall upright shrub a Japanese holly?
I asked Jenna, and she doesn’t know; she got it from my mom, who got it as a cutting from someone else. If you like it when you see it in person, Jenna says she can make a cutting for you next spring. : )
I asked because it looks like one. We had a Japanese holly at our house in Watertown and almost killed it the first spring because we didn’t realize it needs to be watered heavily BEFORE the first thaw. I wanted to pass that along so you don’t kill yours! (if it’s indeed a Japanese holly) :o)
Jenna says it definitely isn’t Japanese Holly (common name: Sky Pencil). The mystery shrub has wavy, serrated leaves, no berries, and is very hardy. But thanks for the warning! : )