For the past couple of years, I’ve been planting flowers in beds in front of the house. Problem is, some things made it and some things didn’t, some wanted to be moved, and some didn’t bloom for long. There would be a flower here in May, and a flower there in June, and things just weren’t holding together in a coherent display.
This year I made a concerted effort to change that. First I dug up the perennials, raised the bed, and edged it with a rustic but luxurious three layers of bricks. Then I put them back, supplementing the display with plenty of blossoming flowers from Lowes wherever I saw a gap.
So far, so good. Everything’s in bloom!
A winding flower garden.
The path is under construction. I get my bricks for free from neighbors and Craigslist, but there’s still a lot of labor and some expense in the form of sand and landscaping fabric. Right now, half the path is in the ground and the other half’s lying on top, waiting for me to get a weekend free.
A walking path.
Margo, the owner of our local antique store, found this little goat, stuck it in the store window without a price tag, then went out of town for a few days. She left friends to mind the shop, and I pestered those ladies every day to get me a price and hold that goat for me. By the time I paid my $17 and carried the little guy away, they all thought I was nuts.
I get their goat.
I love the way the creeping Jenny and the three kinds of coreopsis look with the angie blue anagallis.
Yellows and blues.
Look how happy this sedum is!
Don't look at the weeds though.
In another spot in the yard, this waxy sedum-like plant is growing like mad. I don’t remember planting it — I think it’s a weed! It looks good, though, so I might transplant it as a foliage backdrop for some flowers. I don’t turn up my nose at weeds if they look good — last year a wild petunia had its way with my front yard!
An attractive weed.
The fairy roses are getting bushy and looking good and healthy.
Fairy roses from Mom.
These blackeyed susans with the dark centers have been one of my favorite flowers since my Grandma used to plant them in her yard. I found out a bit late that they’re annuals, though. We’ll see if they reseed.
Yarrow and rudbeckia.
