I love to make an entrance. Let me rephrase--I love to make an entrance look good.
When we moved into our house, there were a few random sprigs of periwinkle trying to survive between the pavement and the sidewalk, and on either side of the walk there was a lava-rock border running the length of it. It reminded me of an airstrip, without the runway lights. It certainly needed some help, and I had an idea--I would plant an entry garden. I love the laid-back style of cottage gardens, so I started randomly planting all my old-fashioned favorites: roses, peonies, lavender, tulips...all the tried and true varieties known to be well adapted to my mid-western climate. To my delight, they settled in and grew abundantly--without much help from me. The entry garden has filled in so well that it requires no weeding, and I don't do much fertilizing or watering either. What little food the soil gets in the spring comes from the plant's own leaves that fell and decomposed over the winter. The periwinkle has thrived in these new conditions and now acts as a living mulch. It helps smother weeds, cool the soil, and retain rainwater. The garden is almost it's own little ecosystem, and all I do is try not to interfere. It has become the entry garden I knew it could be, and now when I walk down my sidewalk, I can stop and smell the roses. And the peonies, and the lavender, and the tulips...
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