all day sun
My gravel garden wasn’t part of the initial plan for major expansion and building of the Goshen stone wall by Parker Garden Design. The original plan for this north-facing bed that runs the length of our front walkway was a limited palette of shade loving plants, rich soil and heavily aged mulch. What soon became apparent was that this new bed was actually going to receive full sun since it extends out far enough from the shadow of the house.
Even more challenging is that just a few feet on the other side of the paver walkway, the foundation plantings are in full shade, all day long. So this presented a design challenge for me as I wanted the garden beds to complement one another. It took a couple years to figure it out before finally settling on a water-wise gravel garden that would feature unusual trees, shrubs, grasses and succulents that don’t clash with the nearby foundation plantings.
What I learned from this project is that magic can happen when we plant the unexpected. Traditional New England landscapes don’t welcome visitors with a gravel garden. So, being a non-traditional gardener, I was determined to create a front garden that was not only biodiverse and welcoming, but didn’t stick out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood.
design considerations
The ‘a-ha’ moment was the pea stone. At first, it was just an aesthetic preference and alternative to bark mulch. Soon, I realized that it was actually a suitable planting medium for the succulents and other water-wise plants like California poppies. I knew that the already established plants and trees would do well in this environment (grasses, creeping thyme). The existing trees and shrubs were already planted in good soil and would accept gravel as a mulch, and I realized that the existing creeping sedum would actually spread better in gravel vs. bark. Any new additions would need to be truly water-wise and fit the existing planting scheme. My goal was to provide only minimal supplemental irrigation to the larger tree specimens in the driest of months.
Aesthetically, I love the look of the pea stone. I also love how the small gravel complements the massive slabs of Goshen stone. Of course, this wall houses a few chipmunk families, and I find that the gravel minimizes their destruction and there is less scattered stone as compared to the original mulch material.
After five full summers since stone wall construction and regular tweaks, I feel like this garden has fully achieved my vision.
The following images from 2020 record the more recent changes since the original construction of the stone wall in 2016. Click images to enlarge and then click on the right or left of each photo to advance either direction. Hover on the image to see a description of the plant variety.
