Oh those weather surprises....last February we had an ice storm that took many of us by surprise. The weatherman had forecasted rain for our area and no mention of ice. The cold front moved further south and this is what we woke up to in late February.
A closer look at the poor Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem'. Branches were snapped off and others were laden heavy with ice, ready to join the others on the ground.
The roads were icy and the trees all coated with a layer of ice, creating a winter wonderland.
A view of the house with the now arching tree and those that snapped off.
My lovely assistant and I cut up the fallen tree into six to eight foot lengths. I wanted to save those pieces.
These fallen trees were quite tall pines.
All cut and stacked along the driveway.
Where were these logs going to go? I had a plan to put another pathway in the shade garden. Looking at the garden from the house, it is the left side of the property. I have some small plants, like Cyclamen, nestled into the trees, quite far from existing path. Whenever I took someone through my garden I cringed as they walked along with me....hoping they don't step on any of my babies.
I had enough logs to dress one side of a pathway meandering along the western edge of our property. This pathway had to wait for the growing season to get underway as I couldn't find/ remember where some of the ferns and various bulbs were planted. I certainly didn't want to put a path or log on top of an emerging fern!
Here is a view of the new path from the house to the lake.
And once you are at the bottom, turn around and walk back up to the house.
The entrance has two logs framing the path. As we have other trees come down I will add logs to the pathway to define both sides. One of the benefits of putting in a path on this side of the garden is that I get new views. Walking halfway to the lake and looking to the right gives you a totally different view of the garden. Before the path, my references were from the center of the garden on the original pathway.
I am quite glad I added this pathway and use it more often than the one going through the center of the garden. It might need to be made wider, which is means moving a few plants. Time will tell.
©Copyright 2015 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford.
words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.
Smart use of the fallen logs. So weird that your getting ice storms and we still haven't had a frost.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jason, the trees fell last year. It was a long process.
DeleteLove the reuse of the logs! You will make the beetles and other critters happy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gail. I do have a lot of beetles making new homes in the logs.
DeleteLooks good! Now you don't have to worry about anyone stepping on your plants. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Tammy, the garden sure needed some definition in that section.
DeleteWow--I didn't realize you lost trees in the ice storm. Great use of them to make your path--love it! We have a path between ours and the neighbors' house, because the boys always just jump through, occasionally landing on one of my plants. Peter first used a very lovely yellow "crime scene"-like tape to mark off where they shouldn't walk. I let it stay a few days, but I just couldn't stand it anymore. He then found some logs and marked the path much like you did. It works, and I really like it, because it looks natural with the forest. Great minds...and all that jazz! :-)
ReplyDeleteWe did Julie, think a few more will come down, have lots of dead ones in the woods. Love great minds!
DeleteWhat a great way to make use of these logs! I remember all those storms that hit your area last winter; I hope this is a more normal winter for all of us.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rose, I am really happy with it.
DeleteGreat idea! Good use of a sad loss.
ReplyDelete