Front yard dry landscape garden

Last fall our housing cooperative had a pipe renovation going on on our front yard. All the pipe work was finished in the fall, but snow came really early last winter and the landscaping work got delayed. We had huge canyons on our front yard, but that was fine, on winter the areas are normally covered with huge piles of plowed snow anyway.

Before the pipe renovation we had three rhododendron bushes on the front yard and huge amount of narcissus bulbs there. I don't think I have a single picture from the front yard before the renovation because I wasn't planning to do much any changes in there. But when the landscaping got delayed I started to think that the things we had there were not really pretty or practical. Each winter the area is covered in huge pile of snow, some of it is plowed there and some drop from the roof. And each spring the rhododendron had suffered under the heavy load of snow. I had to cut broken branches from it yearly and the bushes just never really thrived in that place. Also the place is very hot and sunny during the morning and on the evening there is no sun at all. So when the landscaping started this year I had a new plan.

You might remember that I removed some soil from the front yard and moved it to the back yard to the raised beds. I did not need that soil in the front yard because I planned to make a zen garden inspired dry landscape garden there. The landscaping has been a long process since I first had to build the raised beds, create an area for them and move the soil. All my neighbours are quite finished with their front yards already, for me it's taken a bit longer. 

From the area I removed the soil from I spread a canvas that prevents plants growing through it (still don't know the name of that canvas). I ordered "some" gravel, about 1000 kg (2200 lbs) of it. I knew when I ordered it that that amount will be bit too much but it was way cheaper to order a giant bag of the gravel than ordering many small amounts.

The gravel came on friday and A and I moved most of it to the front yard on sunday. It has been really hot for couple of days and moving hundreds of kilos of gravel was a swetty job. But a job so worth it!

The gravel area of our dry landscape garden is beautiful! I love it! I'm not too sure what our neighbours think of it. Our front yard is very different to any of our neightbours now. At least our next door neighbour has been excited about my plans. When I told her my plans and that I would like to have a big rock on top of the gravel, she has been helping me find big rocks. I was first planning to order one huge rock, but because my neighbour found many bit smaller rocks that were quite a good substitute for the huge rock I've desided to use only these "small" rocks instead. She has been a really good assistance and consult for me. Now we have planned together what plants we will put there in the soil area that is still empty. She said that she has some overgrown Goat's beard plant at her cabin and I happen to like that plant a lot, so she will bring some from there and then I will buy some low growing evergreens and plant those on the curvy edge.

The planting will get a post of their own when that is done. But oh my how I love my dry landscape garden!