Spring has come...at a new address

Well, the past 9 months have been crazy hectic. We've moved to a new address - northwest of the city out in suburbia. We're still windy city gardeners at heart.

So the new house has many landscaping challenges - ton's of clay, poor drainage in spots, low spots, tree roots and a very sloped back yard. My initial plans for a large vegetable garden have been thwarted by these landscaping hurdles. This summer I'm just going to stick to growing my herbs and vegetables in a small plot with southern exposure and in containers.

Right now we have a couple projects going on - in the front I've expanded the island by about 10 feet lengthwise and need to have some topsoil and mulch delivered to build up the island. I'm trying to finish the short retaining walls on both sides of the front walk and am replanting the area directly in front of the main door. It used to be full or arborvitae and other "manicured' evergreens. I'm going for a more natural, perennial look accented with ornamental grasses and annuals.