Yard In Progress

We've been working on the back yard for over two years now.  Major improvements include the addition of a vegetable garden, removal of junipers, and the re-edging of the flower beds.



Before

We ripped out the shrubs in front of the deck and placed the garden there.  We then proceeded to "shovel prune" the overgrown bushes around the fire place.  The center of our replacement plants is "Harison's Yellow," also known as the Yellow Rose of Texas, that Janice got from her grandparents place in Ohio.  (Yes, with only one 'R' that is spelled correctly.)  We placed an arbor behind it for Don Juan, a red climbing rose.  We 'recycled' several Peonies, both to anchor the corner of the garden and on the far side of the roses.  We've also placed roses, centered on the "bays" of the veggie garden, with Irises in between.  Again, two of the four roses are recycled.  You can see them in the before pictures below if you look carefully, behind the junipers.

After

Before

The rose bush in this picture is behind the Juniper on the exterior corner of the house.  Doesn't it look sad being choked off back there?  We also reused the Buddleja which is the short thing in the corner below and we've placed Phlox to either side of it.  Behind the Peony on the exterior corner, we have placed Echinacea as well, with Aster in front and Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan) .  So, why are these five plants important you may ask?  They all are flowers that attract butterflies!


After - Butterfly Garden

Before

The rose bush that we recycled from here is behind a juniper, just to the right of the corner of the house.  See that little bit of red?  The centerpiece of this section of garden is a Hydrangea, centered on the section of the house without windows.  (You can't really see it because it hasn't really greened up.)  We will be adding holly bushes around the front of it to frame it.  The picture below also gives the best look of our red brick edging.

After