The Front Bed - 4 Months Old

Perennial Passion started an interesting discussion of the sorts of garden pictures her readers like to see in a blog. I find nothing more frustrating than close-up after close-up of blooms, but no landscape context! Ironically, I’m guilty of exactly that. My excuse is that, while my individual blooms look good, the big picture is still rough around the edges. However, I was recently comparing some before and after shots and realized that my "after" is starting to look pretty good. I've decided to take the plunge and share.

Before I began, there were three yews to the left of the front door and one to the right (dead). After a Herculean struggle, I removed them. I moved a clematis and hosta to another location. I tried to relocate the gladiolas from the left edge of the bed to beneath the left window. Quite a few bulbs escaped me and taunt me to this day. After the destruction, I was left with a lovely mud pit.


To the right of the front door, beneath the branches of a holly tree, I planted a shade garden. The rhododendrons and hostas were existing. I installed the birdbath and a number of plants. Click on any of the “after” photos for a page identifying the plants.

Before
After
Before
After
To the left of the front door I planted a sun garden. It’s only a few feet from the shade, but it gets BLASTED with sun and heat. I’ve had to water often as the plants become established. (See the mud pit photo for the “before.”)


After (I need to take this photo with the sun shining on the bed.)
Before (The "before" was so ugly that this is the only other shot I have.)
After
If the perennial gardening adage is true (First year - sleep. Second year - creep. Third year - leap!), I am very pleased with the results I have achieved in the first four months.