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In my previous post you saw the excavator removing boulders lined up along the existing driveway.

He was shaping and contouring the raised grades to be more of a gradual slope.  Also, the driveway entrance was being made wider.

Here you see results of that work. The driveway base material (called q.p. or quarry process) has been installed and compacted to ultimately make the new driveway wider.

The stone walls and abrupt grade changes have been replaced with graduated slopes and natural rock outcroppings.

This helped alleviate the “corridor” affect and claustrophobic feeling you had going up the drive.

The new woody plants have been installed and the additional groundcovers & perennials are soon to follow.

Ultimately, as this mix of selected plants matures, the slope will be covered with lush drifts of textures and colors. The rock outcroppings will become less prominent once the plantings start to mature.

Note: We normally install the larger woody plants first, then let all the underground piping and wiring be trenched-in for lighting and irrigation.

Once those utilities are in we then plant the perennials and groundcovers. This makes the utilities easier to install with less plantings in the way.

Maintenance should be minimal because specific plants were chosen and arranged to develop within this space.

I also worked with a mix of deciduous, evergreen and herbaceous plants for seasonal interest.

Irrigation has been installed to help establish the plantings, but after a year or two they’ll require very little regimented watering.

The system is zoned so the planting areas can receive less water as they mature.

Even before the new driveway is installed and the other details are completed, the homeowner is already enjoying the wider entrance and the “less claustrophobic” feeling of the sloped sides.

 

Here’s the next post for this project.

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