Can I start over?

[Lynn248]

Three weeks ago, I dug out 50 feet on each side of a path at the cottage, (1 feet wide of planting space) I wanted to have a cottage look where it looked a bit wild, like we just built our cottage and dug out this path through flowers that were already there, so I planted a variety of diffrent perennials, different heights, Colors etc.

I hate The way it looks. I don't know what it is, if it's too narrow, is it the rock, maybe there's too many plants, its too busy maybe, not grown in enough yet and not showing the diffrent heights?
I feel like I need to start over and group more plants together maybe? I'm not sure what it is, is it too soon to move plants I put in a few weeks ago?

 

[tbendl]

Maybe some pictures?

 

[Lynn248]

I'm embarrassed by it lol

 

[Lynn248]

What i love is this type of look

 

[tbendl]

If you are wanting the wild flower path, I would think you have to go wider, add some variety in there. Don't be embarrassed, I bet it looks way better than it did before you did the trenching.

 

[Lynn248]

It was a big empty yard, I thought I could get more of a cottage feel this way.
But it seems very off

 

[tbendl]

I'm not sure if you could try this place but my girlfriend bought a 1/2 pound of wildflowers and planted them and now she has that wild look. I'm not sure if you have something similar in Canada, the only thing would be you'd have to be patient. She said she threw them on the ground, walked on them to plant and then watered. They came up through her other larger plants.
http://www.americanmeadows.com/wildflower-seeds/southeast#=undefined&gan_data=true

She is over on the pond forum. I can add her link if you want to see her plants.

 

[tbendl]

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/addy1s-ponds.13520/
Here is her link. I think a bunch of her wild flower paths were created that way. (you have to go to the discussion section to see her flowers)

I would widen it and maybe add some wiggles to it so it isn't straight like the path, add a larger bush or a seat or a birdbath, something to break up that ling line.

 

[Lynn248]

Thank you.
When I look at the list of wildflower seeds on her site, , I have most of them in that path

 

[tbendl]

Yay! So maybe just widen it up a bit, add some squiggles to it, water and wait.
I'm sure there are many many more experts on here who will give you better advice, that's just my 1 1/2 cents worth.
Happy planting!

 

[Lynn248]

Thank you so much, I appreciate it

 

[marlingardener]

Lynn, Tbendl is right. You have a very good start, but the line is too straight, too rigid. Put in some large, sweeping curves that are easy to mow around, and wait a season to see how much your plants fill in. You might be amazed at how big some get!
Meanwhile, study up on native to your area plants, decide what you like, and play in your garden next season!

 

[Lynn248]

Lynn, Tbendl is right. You have a very good start, but the line is too straight, too rigid. Put in some large, sweeping curves that are easy to mow around, and wait a season to see how much your plants fill in. You might be amazed at how big some get!
Meanwhile, study up on native to your area plants, decide what you like, and play in your garden next season!

Thank you , I will do that!

 

[LIcenter]

Unless you have a boatload of money to hire a landscape architect, you're not going to get the effect you desire overnight. It takes time. You're on the right track tho. Two things I would have done differently.
1) Nature never does anything in a straight line. I would have put a nice (S) curve, starting from the end (front) of the house leading to roughly where the tarp is. By creating that curve, you cut off what your eye is drawn too, which is that gate. It's a nice gate, but you want peoples eye drawn to your lovely plantings.

2) The white rock needs to go. In a natural path setting you will see more muted colors like natural river rock, or decomposed granite. Again the eye is drawn to that white intensity, taking away what what you are trying to achieve, which is the serenity of your plantings.
One other thing I'm seeing in your photos is the buckling of the siding on the side of the house. Looks like a real hot zone, so you might want to pay attention to that as well.
I'm on my fourth year creating my front flower bed, and is a labor of love. Each year I add more plants, then sit back for the season to see what they do for me, and if they like where they are planted. More often than not, they will get tweaked in the fall, or removed completely. When I first began the project, pretty much everything I planted was roughly the same height, which didn't look natural at all. So even tho it's been four years in the making, I'm still learning the do's and don'ts. Take your time, feel it out, and I'm sure in the end you will have something to be very proud of.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Hi @Lynn248 .

If you want it to look wild, the best way to get those results are to plant species that naturally grow in the wild in your area - native plants. Plants like hostas or daylilies don't really give that wild look like native prairie plants do.

Purple Coneflower, Ohio Spiderwort, Black-eyed Susan, Blanket Flower, Swamp Milkweed, Penstemon, Grey-headed Coneflower, Scarlet Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot, New England Aster are just a few great choices. It just depends on what will work for your area and what's native to your area.

I'd also recommend widening each side to 3 or 4 feet. That gives you depth rather than a narrow line of plants. My photos above show about a 3-4 foot width and an 8 foot length.