Our grape arbor is looking gorgeous! Perhaps this year we will get a good crop of grapes. On the ground you can see our strawberry patch trying to bloom up and produce. Normally the ground is solid green leaves by now since most of the berry plants are Mt Hood strawberries which are an early production strawberry. With all the rain though this year is not promising a good strawberry crop thus far.
The view from the clematis vine along the maple. All the hyacinth bulbs were still going strong and blooming when this was taken.
And the clematis which really is a stunning vision in purple from the porch. This currently has over twice the flora on it as shown here. It really is quite the show stopper this year.
One of my oldest and dearest friends, Jen, gave me this honeysuckle for my birthday a few years ago and the thing is just taking over which rules - I get so excited for it to bloom each year.
I found this garden statue at Fred Meyer on massive clearance and I just love it in my shade garden under the maple tree. Here you can see the hyacinths finishing their late bloom. I have several fleur de lis in my yard representing my French side. I am trying to find some good celtic stuff to represent Patrick as well.
Newbies - Brian and David gave us some plants from their stunning garden which were perfect additions by our new sitting area (thanks to the gorgeous park bench given to us by Sean) combined with some black petunia's and a white pansy I managed to save from the front yard.
Here is the other transplant from Brian and David's yard with more saved plants. My new evergreen clematis seen here is already impressing me and it has yet to even bloom!
This bed is almost a catch all since I swear I put stuff in it when I just do not know where else to put it. It is strange converting all the built in beds though to flora instead of veggies. I still have some elephant garlic, fennel, clumping onions and a few other things growing throughout though.
A view of the yard from the sun garden and you can see the last of the pink and black tulips before they lost their last petals.
Our columnar sentinal apple trees which are technically Patrick's - I plant fruit trees for him and am quite good at taking care of them. This year we will add a few more - he REALLY likes his fruit trees. A few years ago some children who were in our backyard tore all the baby apples off causing severe damage to both trees - last year they produced new nodes and this year those trees are fully loaded with baby apples already - looks like I will definitely be making more of that amazing apple pie filling again!
Revamping the front hanging baskets. I try to keep annuals in them which do not get as cranky with me when I forget to water them because I do forget....a lot. They are under the house eves so they rely on me.
Patrick and I were just discussing today how in love with this we were. He said it reminds him of Macha and we love how the corsican mint grew like this all on its own. No kidding - I did not even have a patch of the stuff growing near it!
I got this at a flea market benefiting animals last summer thanks to Jen. I did not have enough cash on me and Jen wanted me to have it so she bought it for me. She buys me stuff for my yard all the time saying that really she is buying herself stuff since she spends so much time in my yard she might as well decorate it as well...lol... I like that logic and I also love being surrounded by beautiful plants and garden art which reminds me of those closest to me.
And the cleanup begins... This is post hyacinths and the second weeding of the season. I will say that each year weeding becomes less and less of a chore at all as the yard matures. Here you are looking at a hydrangea, a climbing lace cap hydrangea (which after three years has yet to bloom so fingers crossed that this is its year), a hosta and my woodland ferns. Notice the wonderful sphagnum moss. I looooove that it and corsican mint now grow wild and everywhere thanks to some small intervention on my part.
Two newbies since my grape arbor needed a touch of color along its border to go with the little English Ivy start which grew wild. I am letting it get good and strong and have a container project in mind for it later. But the two new plants are seen at the right side of this photo. Closest in is Gaura Ballerina Rose and furthest is Bellis Galaxy Mix of which I grabbed two and planted the other to offset the insane amount of feverfew growing near my pond which will give us quite a yellow show this summer. I needed to add some pinks!
And here is the bed itself with my spearmint, golden oregano (gorgeous isn't it??!!) and my Spanish lavender that I was so impressed made it through me hacking away entirely too late in the season at it. I love it when I roughhouse my plants and they chose to live through it!
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