Phase Two: The Flower Oasis
Phase One of my landscaping project, if you’ll recall, was to seed our mud pit of a backyard with Fleur de Lawn, which was developed by the geniuses at Oregon State University to grow anywhere in the Willamette Valley. It’s doing really well, and even sprouting some fleurs — where Danny hasn’t destroyed it.
Danny's fence path
Phase Two involves gardening in the negative space. I looked at the lawn and noted where Danny was trampling the grass to mud. He’s got two basic zones: the path he runs along the fence with the neighbor dogs (who love it), and the landing zone where he catches the ball and slides when we play fetch.
Between these two zones was a thriving patch of weeds, grass, and volunteer bluebells. If they can grow there, I thought, why not nice flowers? So I set a budget of $50 and headed to the grocery store/garden center (Fred Meyer, to all you Northwesterners). I judged plants by color and price alone, like judging wine by price and label. This was an experiment, after all; if it worked, I could by more lovely plants next spring.
Back in the yard, with Danny supervising, I stuck my shovel in the center of the would-be flower oasis. I cleared a patch of weeds and bluebells, leaving a few stragglers at the edges to take his trampling rather than sacrificing my cheap lobelia. I started planting in the center with the tallest flowers and worked my way out, setting in eight four-inch pots and two flats of flowers in all.
Danny and the Newly Planted Flower Oasis
The plants have been in two weeks so far, and they aren’t dead yet. Danny still runs with the neighbor ladies, Kona and Maisie, and we still play fetch, but he stays in his paths and avoids the flower oasis. Phase Two seems to be a winner.
Phase Three? Trying chips or mulch in Danny’s paths.
