Show and Tell
I have seen so many beautiful gardens; I figure that it's time to post some of my hard work. When my husband and I acquired this house, it was a foreclosure. It had to be completely gutted, and the landscaping was poorly maintained in clay soil. I've done my best to create a low-maintenance flower garden that will keep coming back year after year.
This is the oldest of the beds I have planted (it's been there about three years now). Between the paver base from the driveway and the weeds coming up through the weed block, it might be time to overhaul this bed. The closest flower to the camera are asiatic lilies (orange when they bloom), and there are irises, daylilies (Stella d'Oro), a couple creeping juniper, and a boxwood in the corner. The irises are doing (too) well, and will need to be split. Eventually, once the driveway is done, the cinder blocks will have retaining wall on top of them.
This bed is only in its second year (maybe even toward the end of its first year!); it was planted last summer. Wormwood and some tulip leaves are closest to the camera, followed by English daisies, muscari, lavender behind the muscari (I trimmed it back at the start of the year; it really has greened up and filled out. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like as the season progresses!), dianthus (red- I'm not sure of the variety, but with the rain we've had I wouldn't be surprised to see some flowers very soon), and more tulips at the back.
This bed is still on the south side of the house (as was the photo previous to this one), and this was all put in last year as well. My mom owns a tiller and was gracious enough to bring it over and let me till up the soil for this bed. The weed block has been a welcome help; our crabgrass and dandelions would have taken over by now, otherwise. In this photo (working right to left), there is a burning bush, primula, hyacinth, some native field phlox, purple coral bells, hens and chicks (close to the front of the bed, behind the random edger), tickseed, mums, bee balm, daylilies, and spiderwort.
Right now, this corner is probably my favorite. I have a lot of spring flowers in here (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, primula), as well as some flowers which are aimed more at summer blooms (sedum, tickseed.coreopsis, yellow irises). There is also a butterfly bush in here, barely up but will take the place of the spring flowers as it grows.
The west side of the house is currently my work in progress. Once I get my hands on a bag of leveling sand, those edgers will go in and the bed will be finished. There are purple coneflowers (ecinacea), hyacinth, columbine, astilbe, rosebush, and a clematis on the trellis.
A continuation of the flower beds on to the back of the house (north side). My husband just tilled this up for me on Saturday, and I plan on turning it into a shade garden. You might be able to see the mayapples I started around the central air unit. Once I get this bed a little more sorted out, the mayapples will get spread out a bit. There will also eventually be ferns and hostas in here. The area gets some sun, so I'm thinking of more part-sun plants to add further away from the house. The wheelbarrow is sitting where a patio will eventually be placed.
Hostas and Heuchera "Georgia Peach" around our cedar tree.
My summer herb pot. I have always wanted to grow herbs in a strawberry pot, with no luck until this year. :) Spearmint on top, dill, basil, and cilantro on the sides.
My husband just did the brush cutting at the back of our property on Saturday. The whole area that is brown was covered in buckthorn, and now can be rehabilitated. We plan on putting in 4x4's with lattice attached, and growing hop vines on them. Our neighbors went crazy on us for taking down the buckthorn, saying that it was "sixteen years of memories destroyed". I guess you just can't win sometimes.
I hope you enjoyed the work my husband and I have been doing. Our lawn is basically getting renovated; the soil was poor clay when we moved in and with the work we've been doing, we've been seeing more and more worms- and the soil is getting easier to work with. Hopefully, as things progress this summer, I'll be able to update more!
This is the oldest of the beds I have planted (it's been there about three years now). Between the paver base from the driveway and the weeds coming up through the weed block, it might be time to overhaul this bed. The closest flower to the camera are asiatic lilies (orange when they bloom), and there are irises, daylilies (Stella d'Oro), a couple creeping juniper, and a boxwood in the corner. The irises are doing (too) well, and will need to be split. Eventually, once the driveway is done, the cinder blocks will have retaining wall on top of them.
This bed is only in its second year (maybe even toward the end of its first year!); it was planted last summer. Wormwood and some tulip leaves are closest to the camera, followed by English daisies, muscari, lavender behind the muscari (I trimmed it back at the start of the year; it really has greened up and filled out. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like as the season progresses!), dianthus (red- I'm not sure of the variety, but with the rain we've had I wouldn't be surprised to see some flowers very soon), and more tulips at the back.
This bed is still on the south side of the house (as was the photo previous to this one), and this was all put in last year as well. My mom owns a tiller and was gracious enough to bring it over and let me till up the soil for this bed. The weed block has been a welcome help; our crabgrass and dandelions would have taken over by now, otherwise. In this photo (working right to left), there is a burning bush, primula, hyacinth, some native field phlox, purple coral bells, hens and chicks (close to the front of the bed, behind the random edger), tickseed, mums, bee balm, daylilies, and spiderwort.
Right now, this corner is probably my favorite. I have a lot of spring flowers in here (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, primula), as well as some flowers which are aimed more at summer blooms (sedum, tickseed.coreopsis, yellow irises). There is also a butterfly bush in here, barely up but will take the place of the spring flowers as it grows.
The west side of the house is currently my work in progress. Once I get my hands on a bag of leveling sand, those edgers will go in and the bed will be finished. There are purple coneflowers (ecinacea), hyacinth, columbine, astilbe, rosebush, and a clematis on the trellis.
A continuation of the flower beds on to the back of the house (north side). My husband just tilled this up for me on Saturday, and I plan on turning it into a shade garden. You might be able to see the mayapples I started around the central air unit. Once I get this bed a little more sorted out, the mayapples will get spread out a bit. There will also eventually be ferns and hostas in here. The area gets some sun, so I'm thinking of more part-sun plants to add further away from the house. The wheelbarrow is sitting where a patio will eventually be placed.
Hostas and Heuchera "Georgia Peach" around our cedar tree.
My summer herb pot. I have always wanted to grow herbs in a strawberry pot, with no luck until this year. :) Spearmint on top, dill, basil, and cilantro on the sides.
My husband just did the brush cutting at the back of our property on Saturday. The whole area that is brown was covered in buckthorn, and now can be rehabilitated. We plan on putting in 4x4's with lattice attached, and growing hop vines on them. Our neighbors went crazy on us for taking down the buckthorn, saying that it was "sixteen years of memories destroyed". I guess you just can't win sometimes.
I hope you enjoyed the work my husband and I have been doing. Our lawn is basically getting renovated; the soil was poor clay when we moved in and with the work we've been doing, we've been seeing more and more worms- and the soil is getting easier to work with. Hopefully, as things progress this summer, I'll be able to update more!