So, a tour. I've gone a little picture happy, so this will be the long post about the backyard. Pictures of the front garden will follow shortly - maybe after I trim the grass again, and plant one of the lantanas.
Picture yourself walking in my back gate. The house in on your right. We will proceed around the perimeter clockwise.
1. White lilac - Susie bought this one for me from Monticello. Last year it had no blooms; This year, one. I have high hopes for next year. Right beside it is a baby lilac, also from Monticello, procured by George. I suspect it is exactly the same variety, but I'll know in a couple of years when it's big enough to bloom.
2. Pink Azalea - one of the extremely cheap plants I bought at the end of last summer. I had no idea what color it would be, but it was a great pop of pink in the back corner of the yard.
3. Rose Campion - from Peter. These were bright and fun last year. I can't wait for the flowers.
4. Blue Forget-Me-Nots - I was worried about these and not sure they would make it, but they're larger and happier-looking than last year.
5. Apothecary Rose - also from Susie, also from Monticello. This picture was taken this afternoon, and as you can see, the first blooms got a bit beaten down by the rain, but there are a lot more to come. I bought a small trellis today to get the bush off of the ground. I wish I had room for more roses. I'd love a peach variety, and a pale pink. Maybe next year...
6. Yellow Poppy Celandine - this plant is amazing! And huge! I think this came from Liz's garden. I must've planted it and forgotten about it that first spring in the house. Now in it's second year it is thriving. There is something growing next to it which is a real plant, but without flowers, I have no idea what it is. I hope I find out soon.
7. White Azalea - also from Liz. This plant is in ground a little to marshy for comfort, but it's hanging in there. In the photo, the blooms look white, but they are really tinged with some pale purple.
8. Pink Forget-Me-Nots - these look pinker in person. I found these at Waterloo Gardens - a truly dangerous place. I love the delicate flower stalks.
9. Mystery Plant - this photo is from a couple of weeks ago. Now that the plant has grown a bit more, I suspect it's a butterfly bush, and if so, likely a cutting from George and Paul. Stay tuned...
10. Hosta - I was sure I had killed this one. I am so ignorant about gardening that I didn't know they died back to the ground and then re-emerged in the spring. It's a happy plant. No flowers, but maybe they will come.
11. Bleeding Hearts - one of my purchases at the Chestnut Hill Garden Days on May Day weekend. It's a small plant, as yet, but today I discovered two flowers!!!
12. Wisteria - this picture is also from a couple of weeks ago, just after I bought the trellis. Looking at the plant now, you can see how well it's adapting the the structure, sending runners upward that intertwine around the wire supports. I can't wait for flowers!
13. Hydrangea - also from two weeks ago. The plant is bigger now with the blooms just starting to open. I wonder what color they will be! There is another, smaller hydrangea in the back, and one in front. The other one in back, between the lilacs and the pink azalea, is too small for blooms this year.
14. Paeony - this picture is quite enlarged, but shows that I may yet have paeonies in my garden! And yesterday when I was planting my ranunculas next to the site of my other paeony, which I was sure had bitten the dust, you can tell, if you look carefully, that something is alive down there. Yet another instance of wait until next year. This seems to be a theme in my young garden.
15. Day lilies - also from Peter. They are dark red and will bloom later in the summer.
16. Lantana - today's purchase, still sitting in it's pot on the back steps. This one will go right at the entrance to the garden. The other will go in the front of the house. I debated keeping them in pots so I could take them in in the winter in hopes they might survive, but I decided to take my chances this year. If they don't last, I will try for pots next year.
The landscaping plan: What I really want to do in the back is build a brick patio with 2' - 3' beds on the perimeter. But as that is pretty far down on the list of house projects, I decided that I would begin edging (and clearing, and weeding) the beds a bit at a time. Patios are expensive, but bricks are cheap. I bought a couple dozen and set them out. Today I bought a dozen more that are not yet out. We'll see how far along the side that gets me. The top picture is from a couple of weeks ago.
This picture is from today. If you squint and look between the wisteria and the hydrangea, you can see some of my planted seedlings. In that corner, a row of hollyhocks against the fence, and sweet peas in front (do sweet peas need supports?). I hope they take! Elsewhere in the garden are a bed of rannculas, and some other seedlings which may be violas and dame's rocket (phlox) but may also be poppies and alyssum. Someone forgot to label her seedlings. I guess I will just like surprises!
So, if I had just a bit more space, I would plant a viburnum, which smell heavenly, and American beauty berry, which has incredibly purple berries in the fall. And more roses, as mentioned above. I do want some snow drops for the front yard, but I think I will manage to find a place for those. Maybe...
