Clearing the Parkway

I never really knew what the term for the patch of ground between the sidewalk and the city street was, but apparently it’s “parkway.” This is an interesting bit of land, in that it technically belongs to the city, but we can gussy it up as we like. In fact, I think it’s somewhat expected that we tend to this area… as it’s “ours” to take care of, even though it belongs to the city.

I don’t have great photos of the parkway, but here are a few snapshots from other days. Though we’ve worked on the front yard a great deal, the parkway has largely gone neglected. It dies down in winter, but then gets a little crazy when things warm up again.

Here’s a look at the area, back when Jake and Anais visited us in May of 2014.

And here’s another view of the area, in June of 2014, when Liz and Julie were working on transforming the front yard.

A few days ago, Liz started to clear the area… and I joined in for a bit on Saturday. We were able to clear all the vegetation out, and it’s mostly clear. Still some leaves and branches and miscellaneous rocks to clear away.

Liz, sweeping up the sidewalk.

We still have a good amount of soil to deal with, as the soil is maybe 3-4 inches above the height of the sidewalk. So there’s going to be a lot of clearing we’ll need to do. But it’s nice to have this area open and clear again, and not totally overgrown with day lillies and weeds.

We had to get the city to come and mark where various utilities were at (gas, electrical, and water). Though most of those things should be pretty deep below ground, Liz did uncover some kind of old pipe/line that is remarkably close to the surface. We may need to call the city back out to investigate what this might be.

Should be interesting to see what Liz and Julie decide to do with this area. If it’s anything like what happened with the front yard, it will be a most dramatic transformation…

Related:
Front Yard Transformation in Under a Day: Amazing Before and After Photos
Sunday Work and a Surprise Visit