Side yard landscaping

We have a very skinny side yard that I always thought could be pretty if we did something with it.   The yard is 50 feet long and goes from a mere 4 feet wide to 8 feet wide at the gate.

 Last year, we started the transformation process...I had a feeling the sun on this side would be better for our basil, peppers and tomatoes.




It was pretty and the veggies flourished...but that narrow strip of grass kept creeping into the beds UNDER the mulch.  It was a chore keeping it out.   



Over the summer, we put down plastic to kill that strip of grass.  Imagine living with this for several months...just awful.  But it did the trick, killing all the grass.

 Dean and I pulled up the plastic.  Then I freaked out thinking that it wasn't going to "look like I thought it would..." He told me to go away and patiently put down a thick layer of weed liner by himself.  

Then, the past two weekends, we FINISHED it!  Between the striping and the pebbles and the mulching and the stones, it was a lot of work.  But it is gorgeous and I love it.

Coming from the back yard, around the rosemary:

....the mulch strips to the left and right will be filled with veggies and herbs like last year.

This is the view when the gate is open.

The bench and table will be useful when I harvest and weed.  I am going to add a few underplantings of shamrock, alyssum and nasturtium at the edges....have to wait until spring for that though.

I am so happy with how it turned out.  I simply adore my little secret garden.  I cannot wait until the edges are softened by fluffs of ground cover....and I am again harvesting summer bounty.