Thursday, June 6, 2013

Beautiful Garden Pictures

As I approached home on Tuesday evening, I noticed something laying in the driveway.  I pulled in slowly, making sure to avoid it and what do you think it was.  My cell phone.  That is laid in the driveway all day and nobody took it is amazing.
So now we can get on with the garden pictures that I wanted to post Tuesday.

On August 28, 2011, I took this picture of the center garden in the back yard.


I cannot remember if I used this picture on the blog.  I may not have since, as you can see, we basically have a shot of Baxter's rear-end.  That aside, I wanted you to see how things have grown and filled in this space in just under two years.



This is that same area with a shot as close to what was originally taken as possible.  That tiny holly in the first picture is now a thriving specimen.  I added the ornamental grass on the left and the boxwood on the right after the August, 2011 picture.  The new zero gravity chairs in the background are wonderful.  It is so incredibly delightful to sit in one of them with a glass of wine and enjoy this space.



Another view of this garden.



An another from the opposite end.



And another.  This garden is full of a variety of plants.  We have nandina, rhododendron, azalea, cyprus, arborvitae, two varieties of holly, hydrangea, ornamental grasses, peonies and several elephant ear bulbs and caladium bulbs which have yet to sprout.  As they do, I will share those pictures with you.



Here is my hosta and fern garden.  This area is shaded for most of the day by the bamboo, which you can see in the background. It is the perfect spot for hostas and ferns.  They love it here.  The ferns will grow to an enormous size by the end of the summer with fronds stretching nearly to the ground even in these 4' tall stainless steel pots.



A little further over, nearer the zero-gravity chairs, we have a look at one of the large pots with the ornamental grass and white petunias.  Extraordinary.  In the background, next to the fence, is pyracantha.  This shrub is exceedingly beautiful with their little white tufts of flowers in the spring and their orange or red colored berries.  I like the leaf structure on this plant also, which are pleasant to look at once the flowers are gone.  Pyracantha is drought tolerant, which is becoming more and more important here in the Mid-Atlantic.  But be careful when planting these delightful plants as they have long, spiky thorns along their branches.  This makes them especially useful along a fenceline to deter intruders.


On the table between the zero-gravity chairs you see our agave's, which we bought at the arboretum a few weeks ago, are thriving.



A little further back, you see we have a magnolia blossom ready to burst.  This little magnolia tree was a steal at the end of the season a couple years ago and it loves it in this part of the yard.



And finally, the purple martin house.  Something has moved in.  I am not certain if it is the returning martin family, or if someone else has set up housekeeping in here.  I will have to examine this a little further over the coming days and see what I can find.

I hope you will put together a garden of many plants in your landscape for your enjoyment.

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