Is this your project? Can you share instructions or a pattern with the Craftsy community?
Difficulty:
Category: Home & Garden
Type of item: Plant or Flower
For: Garden
Style: Romantic
Materials
Repurposed hostas, lily-of-the-valley and phlox, and a forsythia moved from under another shrub. Tulip, daffodil, hyacinth and asiatic lily bulbs from a local garden centre. Creeping Jenny, and Iris from a friend. Discontinued slate slabs from a quarry & red mulch.
What was your inspiration?
My senses inspired this one. I wanted colour and lots of it from spring to fall. Plus I wanted to incorporate as much fragrance as possible. The wind already rustled seductively through the leaves of the Honey Locust tree while the shadows danced on the ground. I also wanted to have a feeling of flowing water. Since I couldn't put in a water feature, I got the same feeling from the layout of the hostas.
What are you most proud of?
When I moved in 3 years ago, this area was all low-hanging branches with nothing but periwinkles and spider webs underneath. There was one giant hosta clump in the middle of it that begged to be divided. It took 3 years of trial and error to get the right balance between traffic tolerance, water and light needs, and bloom time. Now from the time the snow melts until late fall, there are waves of colour that transition from one to the next. The hostas grow in as a gentle swirl that looks amazing from the house windows.
What advice would you give someone starting this project?
Be prepared to move the plants and move them often until you find the right position. If I were to do this again, I think I would have left most of them in pots and then moved the pots around until I got it right before I transplanted them. Also, if you live in an area with rabbits and squirrels, cover the bulbs with mulch and wire mesh right after you plant them in the fall, otherwise you will find half-chewed bulbs strewn everywhere the next morning. Spreading pepper over them doesn't help. I can just picture those saucy little rodents munching away and squeaking, "Mmmm, spicy tulips. How thoughtful!"
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