See this path towards the oak tree? That's how the "Parterre Garden" looked when we first bought the house. I could never understand why the path was created to dead end into a huge tree. I always envisioned it going beside and past the tree to the far corner of the garden.
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| SEPTEMBER 2018 Shaded by that huge old oak tree for decades, this area was filled with azaleas, camellias, and ferns. I thought it would make a pleasant spot to stroll through on one's way to the rest of the garden. |
So I plotted and measured, studied sight lines and moved plants, and gradually created a new pathway. I figured I could at least let the transplants get established as we were working on other more pressing issues inside the house.
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| OCTOBER 2020 |
That winter I started laying bricks when I had a few spare hours and got the pathway almost to the oak tree. We had to remove millions of acorns and tons of leaves every time we worked, but it was worth it to finally have a straight, smooth path. I reused bricks from the old path and anywhere else I could find them around the yard. I even got some used bricks from Facebook Marketplace.
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| JANUARY 2021 |
This Spring I was rewarded with this view. The dogwood was in bloom above lots of colorful azaleas, and the ferns were putting out fresh green growth. And there was this lovely sight line all the way out to the redwood grove.
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| APRIL 2021 |
There is also a cross path that lines up with the swimming pool on the right and the birdbath on the left. I can see the birdbath from my kitchen window and it give me great joy to see the robins (and once a hawk!) taking baths. And now the path actually leads somewhere interesting, not just into the trunk of a tree.
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| JULY 2021 |
Next spring promises to be even better with more established azaleas, lots of Spanish bluebells, and some daffodils. Isn't that just like a gardener; always looking forward to the next season?
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