The Beautiful World

Okay, yes, this is my garden. Come into my world and see what's happening...

Enter through the Secret Garden

The Secret Garden -
So named because when we first moved in (May 4th, 18 years ago) there was nothing there except grass. And then as the spring progressed day lilies and phlox popped up among the weeds. We added the path and the fence and the arbor, but it fit so perfectly, I think we were really recreating something that had been there long ago - before the lady of the house got too old to maintain it.

She loved purple and orange - there are purple and orange flowers all over the property. I never met her - she had passed before we bought the property, but her legacy lives on. (I heard she was an authoress too). Here you can see some of the day lilies - most have been moved but the phlox is still there - not in bloom yet in this picture. We added the bench about 15 years ago and couldn't be happier with it. It has weathered so well, and looks fabulous in all seasons.

This is a more recent picture - below, with the new arbor. You can see my Lady Bells and pink yarrow are blooming

This is late May to June with my Zephirine Droughin roses blooming on the arbor. I love these roses, the are an old French variety with no thorns so they are perfect for an arbor, and they have the most beautiful fragrance. But they have a short blooming window - only about three weeks. So worth it though - at least to me.

Here is a little later in the season - mid summer and the Black Beauty Lilies and blooming as well as the phlox that came with the house.

And then we exit the Secret Garden and enter the back yard. Much of the different areas existed when we first moved in but we have added significantly to what was there and did an enormous amount of weed removal. The entire back 20 feet of the yard was overgrown with 6 foot high weeds. We used the newspaper and mulch technique to conquer them and reclaim the pathways. You can see that the various sections of the yard seemed to have already been set up as if pathways were meant to exist, and we again had the sense that we were recreating something that been there years ago.

This is looking into the back yard if you don't go through the Secret Garden. Very early spring here - the primroses are still in bloom. I used to have the most gorgeous forget-me-nots and planted all along the far side of the white picket fence with the beautiful deep pink English primroses poking up through them. Was absolutely fabulous for about a month and a half, but forget-me-nots are biannual and they Petered out over the years. Need to plant that again. Was breathtaking!

Below is the far back corner - The St. Francis Circle - we call it. You can see the bench in the corner all the way in the back.

So imagine this picture (below) with weeds as tall as your head, and you will get an idea of what we faced when we first moved in. We stomped them down under foot and covered them with a layer of about 6 sheets of newspaper and then covered that with about 4 inches of cedar chips (mulch). And voila! Instant pathways. You see what I mean about recreating the past - because the dogwood tree surrounded by Lilies of the Valley were there already.

As you can see, the newspaper and mulch technique is very effective in creating a lovely woodland area which can be easily naturalized with mixed bulbs - especially daffodils.

Here you can see the back corner before the landscaping filled in. As you can see it's possible to create a very secluded area in just a few years. Above is a picture of the Lilies of the Valley (that came with the house) in full bloom. Now you know where I got that idea...

And here it is with the dogwood in full bloom and the landscaping all filled in.

Here is a picture of St. Francis for whom this circle is named - because he is the bomb - with my pink columbine and bleeding hearts in bloom. The Lilies of the valley are just about to get started.

Shady woodland areas like this are wonderful for perennial spring gardens. You can get a very romantic old fashioned look with out too much trouble.

Here is an image looking from the herb garden back at where the Secret Garden leads into the back yard. The bushes there at the edge of the house screen if from the main yard, so it really is it's own little area. At night we put the lights on and the whole yard turns into a magical oasis. Many a barbecue has been enjoyed back here!

The herb garden in early spring - mostly we get lettuce and herbs from it but sometimes produces some eggplant and this past summer we did cucumbers. And here the the corner below is our newest seating area - next to the garden. Lovely - no?

I don't know who might have been enjoying that glass of sauvignon blanc...

The house also came with stacks of bricks in the corner, which we used to create this lovely little herb garden. This was about 16 years ago and we didn't use any grout, just the stake and string technique (place stakes where you want the path to be and then tie strings to those stakes to create straight lines). Then we dug down the paths and covered the bottom with landscaping cloth. Then we simply laid the bricks down and filled the cracks with construction sand. It's not a perfect system - you can see where some of the bricks have lifted - and they do sprout weeds which require periodic removal, but it was very easy for an armature effort, and affordable. Plus I love the way it looks so old fashioned. Anyway...

Japaneses Irises -
Came with the house 18 years ago - they were planted along the driveway. They have been moved many times - indestructible.

My very favorite Iris -
Has a great name - I wish I could remember it.
Something like Earth Goddess

The Rose Cove - Dublin Bay climbing rose and lots of Knock Out roses
There's also a giant pink tea rose that came with the house - was right in the middle of the lawn with 2 of it's buddies - we moved them.

The back border