Front garden - East

Remember this empty spot? I finally was able to figure out what to plant and where. There are two Technito arborvitaes - they won't get taller than 6 feet. There climbing roses on the obelisks - Rambling Red and Climbing Carefree Sunshine. There are Golden Elf spireas and Shasta daisies - the Alaska variety. An Endless Summer hydrangea is center front. Hostas fill in at the back and there are anual vinca at the front.


The water feature is plugged in to a device that allows it to be turned on and off with a small remote control that I keep on the kitchen windowsill. I dug it out of the box of Christmas lights and it works perfectly!

Swirling Water Daylily

I bought this new daylily at a sale last week. The buds had not opened yet and today one did - isn't it a beauty?

Front Garden, West

After I posted the last set of pictures, I realized that my garden was off-balance because the grass in the center is growing slower than the two grasses on the ends. I gave it a bit of granular fertilizer and moved in an ornament to fill the space until it catches up!

Garden design

In my last post, I recommended buying plants in sets of 2, 3, or 5. A garden design rule to keep in mind is that odd numbers are more pleasing and easier to work with.

If you buy two of a plant, you can add one different plant and this becomes a grouping of three. The different plant should be contrasting - different texture, height, etc.

In my front garden, I used 3 blue globe spruces. I combined them with three crimson pygmy barberries. That makes an even number. But two of the blue spruces are on one side of the path, joined by one barberry and the other blue spruce is on the other side of the path, joined by two barberries. I've circled the barberries on the photo so you can see where they are. Using the same types of shrubs on each side of the path gives the front gardens some continuity. They are very different gardens, but one flows into the other. The daylilies are also repeated.

Bargain hunting tips

It is that time of year when some of the garden centers begin to offer sales on plants. It is easy to get overwhelmed by all the "deals". Here are a couple of tips and hints for shopping those sales:

• Buy in quantities of two, three or five. Don't buy just one unless you will be using it as an accent or focal point.
• Remember to keep the full size in mind. It may be tiny now, but overgrow its space in a couple of years.
• Keep your yard in mind - if it is full sun, don't buy plants that need shade.
• Ask questions! Some of the other shoppers may have experience with the plant you are considering if the staff doesn't know.
• Think about planting perennials in containers for the rest of the season - add some annuals and fillers - then plant them in the ground in the fall.

Dry Creek Bed

This the the dry creek bed that I have been working on. The water from the downspout will fill a large area that has been dug out when it rains. This prevents the water from running down the paver path and out into the street.

The creek bed is lined with heavy plastic to direct the water. I have added newspaper under the edging rocks to help prevent weeds from growing up.

Veggies

The beans, peas, zuchini and patty pan squash are coming up in my vegetable garden! Oh, and the baby romaine lettuce seeds have sprouted, too.

Cleared out....

The big barberry from this front garden. I pulled the stump out and moved all of the plants to new homes.

I have the obelisks and climbing roses, but what else should I add to this garden?

It needs to be a bit formal, to match the front garden. It measures 8 ft by 12 ft.

I was up early trying some ideas, but nothing has clicked just yet. So I spent the day pulling weeds........

The lettuce has sprouted in my vegetable garden and the onions are poking up!!

Vegetable garden

Two views of the vegetable garden - finished and planted! Well, not quite finished, as I need to add the edging to hold the pavers in place and add the sand between the pavers. That last step won't be done for a while, as we need to add some sprinkler heads and they will likely need to go right across the path with the line.

The black obelisks have beans and peas planted around them. There is still a bit of room for more herbs.

The good news is that we got some rain yesterday and some more is on the way tonight. We had a very dry May, so we need some good rainy days!

Front garden in bloom!

I promised to post new pictures of the front garden - finally got it mulched this morning and here are the results!

The rose is a Polar Joy - it is supposed to be hardy here in Zone 4, but the one I planted last fall didn't make it. There are painted daisies and May Night salvia in bloom, too.

My vegetable garden is ready for dirt and I hope to pick that up on my way home from work tomorrow. I'll post pictures when I get it planted.