Happy Monday GPODers!
We’re starting the week with a jaw-dropping transformation and some serious inspiration. Marty Oostveen moved from New Jersey to Douglassville, Pennsylvania just over 9 years ago, and started her new gardens from a blank slate of clay dirt. While tons of plants made the pilgrimage from New Jersey to her new home in Pennsylvania, it’s still astounding to see what she has accomplished and created in less than a decade.
Our garden is in Douglassville, PA, and we moved here in May of 2016. It was a new building, with zero garden, just heavy compacted clay as you can see in the picture (see the photo below). The first order of business was the addition of a 10K gallon pond for my wet pets, the koi. Once that was in, I started planting the 100+ plants that made the move from my NJ gardens and then added more, and more, and more.
For my 65th birthday three years ago I had the last bit of front lawn eliminated, a short retaining wall built, and planted the rest of the front garden. By now my garden has become a destination in our development and I have made new gardening friends by giving away excess plants. I have also inspired my neighbors!
I hope you enjoy the pictures.
Regards,
(ms) Marty Oostveen
Marty was not exaggerating when she said ZERO garden. It’s almost hard to imagine that this is the same space as the lush gardens she has created, and I can only imagine the amount of amending she did along the way.
The American fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus, Zones 3–9) in the first picture is a female, which gives me shorter flowers, but also strings of fruit which are enjoyed by the birds. This tree is in a rain garden.
This is a shot of my pond with the blooming dogwood. Underneath the dogwood I have a collection of miniature hostas.
A shot of the front garden with the raised bed in the middle. The cobblestones hide a drainage pipe going all the way from the gutter to the sidewalk, watering my garden. Gravel paths run around the beds out to the street and to the front door.
Spring She shed is the left hand side of the property in front, with a curly willow (Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’, Zones 4–8), which I grew from a twig. Underneath is another shade garden with hostas, ferns, heucheras, Double Play® Candy Corn® spirea (Spiraea japonica ‘NCSX1’, Zones 4–8), echinaceas, Stella D’oro daylily (Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’, Zones 5–7), and yellow blooming alliums.
The sedum meadow is on the right hand side of the house, next to the driveway and going all the way out to the sidewalk. It is a mix of sedum, and, much to kid’s enjoyment (and mine) a herd of dinosaurs can be seen roaming the meadow. (You might be able to see the long necks of some dinosaurs peeking out from the sedum, but for a closer look you can check out this great article about Marty’s garden: Berks woman’s backyard oasis)
Lastly, a shot of my back garden. Arborvitae in the background with a variety of hostas, ferns, heucheras, epimediums in the shade of a (yellow blooming) magnolia. There is also a yellow smokebush (Cotinus coggygria ‘Ancot’, Zones 4–10), and outside of the picture, a purple smokebush (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, Zones 4–8), underplanted with more shade lovers. There is a Berry Heavy® winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata ‘Spravy’, Zones 3–9), and a Mr. Poppins® Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata ‘Spravy’, Zones 3–9) to ensure lots of berries on the Berry Heavy® holly.
Thank you so much for sharing your inspiring garden with us, Marty! Moving is almost always a daunting endeavor, and you had an even larger project to attend to than most. But your results show that a strong vision, some creativity, and a lot of planting can create an oasis anywhere.
Do you have any before and after photos of your garden? It can be a full-garden creation like Marty’s, or pots and decor you added to perk up your patio. No matter the space you have or the changes you’ve made, it’s always inspiring to see how anything can be improved with a little love and plants. To submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day, follow the directions below to submit via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
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