North Carolina Mountain Landscapes

My computer crashed and I lost all my files just 3 weeks before my daughter's wedding.  So now I have everything recovered and am finally able to sit down and update my blog. 

Last Sunday, we spent a couple of hours at the Western North Carolina Farmer's Market looking at plants and shrubs.  The possibilities are endless- its like being a kid in a candy store!  We are now at the point with our landscaping to be adding the fun elements- annuals, perennials, and flowering shrubs.

All of the hardscape has been completed- the walkways, parking deck and the paths down to the back area of the house.

 The parking deck is paved with Dublin cobblestone and is edged in a wide stone wall with a thick stone cap.  Boulders have been placed strategically around the yard.

 Stone paths lead from the driveway to the front door.

  The stone wall that surrounds the parking pad, also forms the wall for the courtyard in the front of the house.  We have planted it with drift roses and Irish moss.

The sides and back of the house have mulched paths edged with tree limbs from the property.

All of the drainage pipes have been covered with mounds of rock to slow the hill erosion into the river below.  No mow grass is also planted to curb erosion. 

Box woods, laurel and rhododendron  will stay green year round.

 Annabell hydrangea's, and other perennials have been delivered and are ready to plant.

 Our back yard space is really our decks.   We have placed large zinc troughs from Restoration Hardware on the decks to grow roses.   Trying to grow them in the front is futile- too many deer looking for the salad bar!  

 A zinc dining table from Restoration Hardware is surrounded by outdoor wicker chairs. 

The David  Austin roses are flourishing on the deck. 

It is like being in a treehouse with all the surrounding greenery. 

The sound of the French Broad River is a relaxing backdrop for dining.

Pots of rosemary, mammoth leaf basil, tarragon and nasturtiums are easy to reach from the kitchen.

Outdoor wicker lounge chairs are in front of the kitchen window- the perfect location for supervising the grill operations!

Creating our landscaping has been a fun project and one that will be ongoing.  As we learn

what grows and what doesn't grow here in the mountains, changes will be made.  But I have to tell you, I love growing in containers on the decks.  Pulling weeds becomes a minimal task!