Early Look at Some 2025 Garden and Landscape Priorities - March 2025

It is about to be the second week in March.  Spring is coming.  Fast.  

For me, that means I need to focus on organizing my yard and garden priorities and draft my 2025 to-do list.   Last year, I posted a short list that I called "an early look at some potential priority projects for 2024".   That was a pretty helpful exercise - writing to understand (per Paul Graham).

A list of potential projects can be used as the foundation for that larger 2025 to-do list.  

In 2024, I categorized some of the potential projects to front vs. back vs. side yards and ended up with sixteen ideas.  Did I move on all of them?  No.  But, a bunch of them (pizza oven, hosta replacement, groundcover, front yard conifers) made the list and I was able to pull them off (mostly).  

Ahead of this post, I've already posted about one of my (potential) priorities - a renovation project:

That first, potential 2025 "priority" project was posted this past week.  That would involve improving the gravel walkway on the northside of our house by picking up as much of the Bluestone Chips that I can, followed by laying-down a nonwoven geotextile and then, replace (and likely augment) the bluestone chips gravel.  

What does the rest of the list of these potential projects look like?

Front Yard and IB2DWs

• Expanding the island bed - to make it make a little bit more sense.  And, utilize (potentially) a mass planting.  Use more coleus, too. 
• Plant the newly expanded front porch bed with annuals - marigolds, maybe.
• Plant some dahlias IB2DWs and create a support structure - stakes + twine.
• Wire-up the Saratoga Ginkgo tree with a post. 

Sideyard

• Renovate the gravel path.  See priority #1 post. 
• Expand and improve 'Garden Personality' via the Fairy Garden entrance - remove the ferns and build more structures. 
• Plant the boardwalk on the northside with Haokonechloas - for reptition.
• Plant MORE cut flowers on southside AND create supports for dahlias.
• Plant carex along southside entrance (in back by kitchen side window).
• Add some edging/retaining structure in front of Lindens/boxwoods.

Backyard

• Correct the 'garden edit miss' around the Tree Swing Tree - mass planting Hakonechloa grasses. 
• Add more Green Giant Thujas for screening along the south side fenceline. 
• Deal with the (dang!) rabbits. 
• Make the pizza oven operational - water-proofing the oven and mud-proofing the ground.  Finish the landscaping around the oven.
• Utilize some new edging and add a little garden personality. 
• Focus on repetition and legibility.
• Add a micropond/pondless waterfall.
• Plant the vertical garden with cut flower - seeds direct sown.

That's 18 potential projects.  Some small (wiring up the Saratoga Ginkgo), some medium (fairy garden) and some massive (pizza oven project).  

I need to now take this list and focus on building out my top five.  #1 is the gravel path renovation.  I need to build out my next four most-needed projects.