Anticipating Our Spring Garden and a Look Back

I'm waiting to work on my gardens and for inspiration decided to look back in my garden photos.

I love irises and have several kinds. I discovered I have taken very few garden photos, though I have some that aren't in digital format. I have a bad habit of waiting until things 'look better' or 'are just right'. This year I am going to try hard to take lots more photos. Perfect or not.

The corner above needs some weeding, but the plant in the back is Solomon's Seal, a perennial that you can almost see grow. It seems to grow inches each day.

Our front porch a little later in the year. Lots of shade here so I used pots full of white impatiens.

Later in the summer, I love the pop of colour and dependability of Rudbeckia, Black Eyed Susans. Also, a peek of coneflower.

I have planted several hydrangeas and this one finally grew well last year. We had a problem the year before (all our neighbours did) with rabbits. Population explosion and we would see them day and night in our yards, sideyards, nesting under decks. They ate anything they could get, right down to the bark in many cases. I lost one of my holly bushes and the male wasn't doing too well last year. I'll have to see what happens this year.

The backyard garden wraps the fence line on three sides. We don't have a big yard, but the gardens really help to make it feel larger. I use a lot of perennials and love that there are different things blooming at different times. {Having trouble lately getting photos to center}

I came across this picture from 2007 of our oldest son. He loves working outdoors and was so eager to 'weed' the garden that year. I lost most of my hostas, and many other ~~plants~~ weeds. But he sure had fun!

The weeds aren't the only thing that grow well around here. He was ten in these photos, turns 13 this week, and was 5'6" the last time we measured. Taller than his mom and he loves that. Oh, and he has learned to mostly tell the difference between weeds and plants. Thanks to his interest in 4H, farm animals and crops, he can usually identify most of the bugs too.

Our backyard has really changed in the eleven years since our home was built. The first summer it was a construction zone. The next year we got grass and built fences. Then it became a place for the kid's climber and slide. They outgrew that and now we have the new patio and enjoy it in a quieter way. Looking forward to lots of new growth, pots full of plants and relaxing in our yard.