Tiffany Jordan and her mother Pat, live in Corvallis. Gardening is a passion for both of them and the area between the sidewalk and curb had never been an attractive part of their front garden. So last summer they decided give it a ‘makeover’. This space was primarily a mixture of various grasses and weeds. In October of 2007, they seized the moment and started their project. The first goal was to eliminate the weeds without using chemicals. They began layering sheets of newspaper over the entire area. They were careful to make sure all the newspaper sheets overlapped so there would be no bare soil and thus eliminate the chance for weeds to come through.

Once this was accomplished, they ordered bulk garden mulch and put a layer several inches thick over the newspaper. Nothing else was done until spring.

Initially they were hoping to make a drought tolerant or no-water border but when friends offered plants (do gardeners ever say ‘no’ to offers of plants?!) some of which would need summer water, the planting design was somewhat altered. Soaker hoses were used to water during the summer to help get plants established, but no more than once a week.

Whereas many of the plants are summer annuals or perennials that
would die to the ground in the winter, the variegated Hebe is a perennial shrub that will provide interest year round.

Many surprises appeared and one of Tiffany’s favorite were the sunflowers that just seemed to appear out of nowhere. They were never officially planted.

There is an assortment of plants with various shapes and sizes plus variances in leaf texture. The tall purple flower is Verbena bonariensis provides color over most of the summer but yet is ‘airy’ so it can be seen through.

This photo, taken in mid summer, gives an overall view of the planting strip and how much things have grown in just a few months. Most of the planting were late April/early May.

By late summer the space looked beautiful and one would hardly know it was just planted several months earlier.