Friday, May 31, 2013

front yard garden: year two

Untitled

last summer, one of my big goals was to expand our front yard garden. (i wrote about our plans, with some before photos, here. and then a first look here.) specifically to dig up the grass on one side of the small hill in front of our house and plant a perennial herb and flower garden (the other side of the hill already had a garden planted when we moved in). and so, dig and plant we did last memorial day weekend. i thought i'd post a few photos of how the garden is doing in it's second year.

Untitled

most of the perennials i planted last year came back this year, with the exception of anise hyssop, poppies, and lavender. i was a little bummed about those, but i've added a few more in their places so far this year, and i'll be filling in the rest of the empty spaces with annuals (i have a lot of marigolds!) and maybe some late season sale perennials. even though perennials can be expensive, i always buy them when they're smallest and just know that it'll take a few years for them to grow to a fuller size. they are so worth the investment!

Untitled

this garden is definitely part shade (which is probably why those perennials didn't come back...they needed a sunnier spot?). it's right under a big tree but gets really nice morning light since we are right across the street from a park and there's nothing blocking the light coming from the east. here are some of the plants that are doing well there: borage, french sorrel, columbine, and chives and garlic chives. so far this year, i've added some tickseed and cushion spurge bonfire. i also planted some rogue strawberries that popped up in my backyard vegetable bed...we'll see how those guys do!

so how about you all? how are any new garden spaces that you planted last year doing? any plans for new gardens this year? we'd love to hear.

2 comments:

  1. We just expanded a bed into a cactus bed and this year we put in all new gardens as our house didn't really have any when we moved in last summer. It is quite an ordeal!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I decided at the end of last year that I needed more space in the vegetable garden so I moved my plants for dyeing wool to a separate area (they used to be at the one edge of the veggie garden). They seem to be doing well in their own spot this year. Yay! This year's project is to fill in the shade garden. I'm finding it hard to find plants that will add colour (right now there's ferns and hostas but I'd love some bright colour there too!) http://homespunlife.typepad.com/homespun/2013/05/garden-notes-at-the-end-of-may.html

    I can't believe your poppies didn't come back! They're like a weed here – I can't get rid of them!

    ReplyDelete