In Jo's Yard - 7 Working with Green Isle Gardens

April 20, Kirsten Sharp-Ortega from Green Isle Gardens (http://www.greenislegardens.com/about-us.html) stops by and we walk around the yard discussing the plan from Grounded Solutions.  I’ve cut out a number of plants that Amanda included, after I hear about the amount of space or care they will need.  For instance, I live in the Village of Pine Hills, so I was hoping to have some pine trees.  While a small slash pine tree looks so endearing when it’s young, and may be considered a slow-grower, it grows quite tall and really should be about 30 feet from any buildings.  I didn’t want to think about having to remove it down the line.  I also wanted to have room for small plants to fill in, and to maybe add something later – say if I were to win a plant raffle at an FNPS meeting.  I want to watch my garden grow and evolve -  I don’t want a “finished product” from day 1.  Emails were exchanged to tweak the layout and the plant list.  A plan in forming.  

While I would like to avoid chemicals, removing the sod is just too expensive compared to spraying the herbicide to kill the grass.  I am on Green Isle Garden’s calendar for the end of May to kill all of the grass by spraying with herbicide.  We will plant the front half of the yard in June or July (depending on weather) and the back half will be covered in pine straw to prevent weeds or grass from popping up.  Then, in September or October, we will plant the rest of the yard.  This will give my checking account a little break.  

                             A young pine tree – very attractive – but it won’t stay like this for long.