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3 & 5 North Close Landscape Project
Hardy, mature, well-established shrubs are great. They’re low maintenance and cover a large area, but they do not last forever. At 3 and 5 North Close, each unit had one tall pencil in the corner that often resembled a teenager in need of a haircut, while the rest of the beds were over-mulched and overflowing with ewes and box. There was little in terms of plant diversity, and no interesting foliage or seasonal color. The existing shrubs were also encroaching on the sidewalks, and years of aggressive pruning had created frankly unnatural and unattractive geometric shapes.
The removal and replacement of unattractive and overgrown shrubs is a frequent request to the Grounds Committee and Board. Unfortunately, the Moorestown Mews Condominium Association does not currently have the budget to fund a large-scale landscaping project, or even a smaller-scale landscaping-facelift.
Personally, we were not thrilled with the front of our home and, since other owners have expressed an interest in undertaking similar projects on their own, thought it could be re-done and documented as a sort of sample project. Our neighbor was open to having the beds in front of unit redone, too, to ensure a cohesive appearance. So, what does it take?
By Caroline Slim
Step 1: Plan, plan, plan
There is no such thing as over-planning. I have been fortunate to watch a very involved, talented gardener (my mom) shape and re-shape the landscape around her homes for decades. Then, a few years ago, every flower bed was re-designed after she completed a landscape architecture program at Longwood Gardens. She started with tracing paper and colored pencils, so that’s what I did. Who says Arts & Crafts is just for kids? My husband and I took measurements, created to-scale drawings, and marked out fencing and existing plants to incorporate into the new design.
Step 2: Prepare the beds
Outsource this part. It's hard. The few hundred dollars paid to Maple Landscaping was worth it. Established shrubs don't come out easy. Maple removed several shrubs, including roots, and hauled everything away. We removed a lot of mulch to correct grade, as well as the small sections of grass in a couple of the beds so the sidewalk and curbing could serve as edging.
Step 3: Shopping
We had help and guidance here, too. I was told we were looking for: seasonal color; visual interest; diverse, native, and low maintenance plant material; and ground covers that would eventually mean minimal (if any) mulch. There were several revisions to the plant list when we started shopping due to limited availability and input from someone (my dad) who announced during one family shopping trip that my mother was "too leafy" (his way of saying we needed more color).
Step 4: Plant!
Place every plant where you *think* they should be planted. Consider sun exposure, how large the plants will ultimately grow, and foot traffic. Our dogs cut a couple corners when we walk so we avoided planting things that would be trampled as soon as they were in.
Revise, add, subtract, then grab a shovel. Help is good, too. It took a few hours over a couple days (and an extra trip or two for more plants) to get everything in and mulched.
Is my dad using a cordless drill with a large bit specifically designed to plant bulbs? Yes, yes he is.
We found a few interesting things digging in the dirt. Fragments of clay pipes, old soda bottles, an empty beer can, and this not-very-useful gardening trowel.
Pro Tip: Do not take advice from this Flagg's employee. It is, in fact, possible to plant too much catnip!
Spring 2022 Update Coming Soon!
