Hi.I discovered a hundred year old quarry stone walkway that is buried beneath my yard.
I just moved to this home and discovered my yard was an undertakers rose garden over 100 years ago.
Most of the walkway is under about 4" of dirt.
I am slowly excavating it with a garden spade.
I am really excited,the path meanders through the whole property.
Here is what is done so far.
I want to plant stepables plants in the dirt between stones as you can see in the web photo.
And just beautify the edges of the walkway with various part-sun and shade border plantings.
This is my first post in this forum!
Thanks for looking!



Here are web photo and plant ideas:

Finding that old pathway must have been very exciting, Curtis! I'm so glad you will use it again, and it will be beautiful interplanted with greenery that can be stepped on!

What a lovely treasure you have found! Please keep posting pics as you uncover and plant. How lovely.

Amazing and lovely.

Gorgeous!! I also recommend adding roses to the mix to honor the memory of the old gardens as well. There are lots of roses that are on the easier to maintain side and if you come to the Rose forum we'll help you with choices on that.

Going to be gorgeous when done!!

Looks like Curtis is going for a cottage and/or wildflower look, which will be lovely. I'd encourage checking with your local native plant society - often they have planting ideas for different exposures, and sometimes seedling sales.

Such an exciting adventure for you and a terrific first post. Enjoy the experience.

plantmanager said:Finding that old pathway must have been very exciting, Curtis! I'm so glad you will use it again, and it will be beautiful interplanted with greenery that can be stepped on!

Thank,Karen.
It is very exciting.....I'm a gardener now!
I am composting leaves to make leaf mulch and soil amendment for the flower beds.

Bonehead said:What a lovely treasure you have found! Please keep posting pics as you uncover and plant. How lovely.

Thanks,Deb.I sure will.

pepper23 said:Gorgeous!! I also recommend adding roses to the mix to honor the memory of the old gardens as well. There are lots of roses that are on the easier to maintain side and if you come to the Rose forum we'll help you with choices on that.

Going to be gorgeous when done!!

That is a great idea.And thanks for inviting me to the rose forum.

pirl said:Such an exciting adventure for you and a terrific first post. Enjoy the experience.

Thanks!

What an awesome discovery! Like mentioned above, I am glad that you are going to utilize it and bring it back to glory, rather than ripping them out. I can't wait to see how far it goes, once it is all dug up, and of course looking forward to the planting and finished product! I have to say, I'm a little jealous

Well I have about one day a week to work on the path.
Maybe more in longer days of warmer weather.
So forgive me if this takes forever

No forgiveness needed! Do what you can and don't rush the fun.

JamesAcclaims said:What an awesome discovery! Like mentioned above, I am glad that you are going to utilize it and bring it back to glory, rather than ripping them out. I can't wait to see how far it goes, once it is all dug up, and of course looking forward to the planting and finished product! I have to say, I'm a little jealous

Well I get to work on it every Thursday ,when ground is not frozen,which it is now. But I will keep everyone posted of progress........Jealous? well if you're ever up north on a Thursday look me up we can work on it together because I need the help

Cmeg1 said:

I just moved to this home and discovered my yard was an undertakers rose garden over 100 years ago.

Wow! How exciting to be on the trail of uncovering the history of your garden!

I thought you might be interested in a wonderful old book by Thomas Christopher called "In Search of Lost Roses," which has an intriguing chapter called "An Awful Yet Pleasing Treat" about the old custom of planting roses around graves in cemeteries. It might spark an interest in old (antique) roses that might have grown long ago in the garden near that lovely walkway you are uncovering.

Here is a link to an article that will give you a sense of the fun of discovering these old roses in lieu of the book:

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06...

Absolutely fantastic find Curtis! It will be a true adventure as you slowly uncover the path and see where it leads. The 3rd pic that you posted, the first of possibilities, shows a concrete bench. It would be great to place several along the way as you uncover twists and turns. An open invitation to site, relax and dream of what was and what could be.

As your plans develop, you may consider posting what kinds of plants you're looking for. I'm sure there are those of us out here that have spares laying around in need of a good home.

Along that line, being in New Oxford, you're an official member of the Mid-Atlantic group here on the site. We have in-person meet-ups 3 times a year around the region where we swap seeds, plants, conversation, and more.

The next swap is a seed swap in Frederick, MD on Feb 3, 2018 . We meet at an Asian buffet and spend the first hour or so catching up and swapping seeds. Then, it's on to the buffet. The other two, spring and fall, are held at someone's home. We meet up, catch-up, swap plants, etc.

There are many interesting benches made from 4 x 8's and cinder blocks, or "wood scraps":
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/...

Cmeg1 said:......Jealous? well if you're ever up north on a Thursday look me up we can work on it together because I need the help

I know it will be a lot of work, but it is exciting and worth the effort. I have never been up to PA, but if for some reason I end up that way with a free Thursday, I would gladly assist!

csandt said:

Wow! How exciting to be on the trail of uncovering the history of your garden!

I thought you might be interested in a wonderful old book by Thomas Christopher called "In Search of Lost Roses," which has an intriguing chapter called "An Awful Yet Pleasing Treat" about the old custom of planting roses around graves in cemeteries. It might spark an interest in old (antique) roses that might have grown long ago in the garden near that lovely walkway you are uncovering.

Here is a link to an article that will give you a sense of the fun of discovering these old roses in lieu of the book:

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06...

Wow,great article.What a fascinating idea,too.Antique roses.And what a fascinating hobby........Rose rustler....I like it!
I will search the book recommendation too.Thanks