My Garden Tour May 2011

Here's the tour...We start on the front corner. This little garden has been shown so many times. There are lots of flowers just ready to open...the daffs have finished, tulips are done...and the little blue Hyacinths are finished. The Lamium is just opening. The Roses are in bud. The Lilies are ready to pop. So, we in No. Illinois (who have had a cold wet spring) are patiently waiting for warm weather...so we have more color in our yards. This is the front of the house. the magenta Mums are coming up in front of the yews. The container is planted and so is the hanging basket. I'll show you closeups later of these. Remember, this is the year that I am not planting annuals in the ground...to save me some work with watering.

Here on the corner is my little Mary's garden. There were Tulips here a few weeks ago and Allium. Soon the Lilies will be in bloom here. Then this garden will be in shades of green for the rest of the summer. This is out of place. It shows the rest of the front of the house.

Now we turn the corner to the west side of the house. The trellis holds four

Clematis vines. One of them is blooming. Since Clematis like to have cool feet....I planted mini Hostas in front of them.You can see the blue of the Ajuga forming a border for this next little garden.

And here we are still on the west side of the house. My little gnome sits in this mix of herbs,Iris(which are finished blooming) Ajuga, and my cherry tomato in a pot...that isn't shown yet. The Sage is especially happy here....and Violets cluster under the furnace vent.
Going around the corner to the back (north) of the house...we find my Lilies of the Valley. They keep to this little spot..I pull the traveling ones out as they meander. They are just starting to bloom. In a week this spot will smell like heaven. The double windows are the ones I talk about in the basement. They are in the room where I do all my little projects. Next is the birdbath. I got the Impatiens as a gift and put it there so it would get water when I fill the bath. It will get huge and fill in that area.

There are many different kinds of Hostas along the back of the house. Joe likes the neat appearance of this area. He's not crazy about lots of flowers all mixed together in a garden...so this is done just as he likes it. I like it too. Something about an uncluttered garden that is so peaceful.....but most of the time, I like a tangle of plants. That's when I go to the woods.This Hosta will have to be moved this fall. It is getting so big and starting to crowd out the Azalea that is behind it. The Azalea was beautiful this year. For once it didn't get nipped by frost.Another Hosta....when we landscaped this area, I ordered many Hostas from Bridgewood Gardens. They came in small containers and have all done so well. I would recommend this nursery that specializes in Hostas. The back of the house is a wonderful place to work on a hot summer night. It's simplicity is like an oasis. The yard is wide open, so we catch every breeze. The neighbors have a pond just over the fence...so when I work here...I hear bird song and water trickling in the pond.

These are the ordinary old fashioned Hostas that started the Hosta craze years ago. I fell in love with the plant, when I lived at my old house. It was a very shady yard and I found that the Hostas did so well...they were everywhere. These started with just a few small ones and they continue on in this corner today.

Next is a huge one. It sits on the corner of the deck and is growing by leaps and bounds. A favorite place for the snake to hide out.

Here is a garden next to the deck stairs. It's full of Daisies right now. If you look closely, you'll see the piece of chain link fence that we left from the dog run. It provides sort of a backing for this little garden. This is where I put in a new Clematis this spring. Pagoda...a smaller Clematis. Blue nodding flowers. I'm looking forward to watching it climb. Lady's Mantle thrives here. Several different flowers behind, that I'll show when they are blooming. There's one of my old green chairs that I use when I garden.

Then we make the final turn from the north side to the east side of the house. My favorite little evergreens, Birds Nest Spruce. I put some Stellas in with these. Soon, there will be clumps of yellow in between these evergreens.

And there you have it...a trip around the house. I didn't show any detail or go out into the yard to show other places, but you get the idea of what my yard looks like. It's quite green right now, but when those perennials start blooming I'll show more pictures. I took pics of the woods too...but that's for another day.

Balisha