Photos of gardens.....

Red~ I know where you're coming from with the grass, I am expanding a garden and am in the process of pulling tons of grass out. YUK! My sister is building a new house and was wondering if she should have beds drawn out before they put grass in or just dig it up later. I told her plan it out, you don't want to dig out later!

Redtootsiepop - Your gardens all around your house look great!!!! Are ya kidding me! Remorse for posting....not at all..... I think your garden areas are gorgeous! I gotta tell ya ..... when I looked at the first photo I immediately thought oriental garden. I like your idea for the little goldfish water container. Here I wouldn't dare put fish in my water gardens. The birds would have a great breakfast on that! LOL! But that's something I wish I "could" do! :-/

The biggest surprise when I looked at all your photos was the children's play equipment in the backyard!!! How the heck do you keep your children from destroying your gardens???? My kids trampled down any and every plant I put in my backyard except the Oak tree when they were little! lol Now I keep them out of the garden because they are afraid I will ask them to help! Nothing worse than helping mom unload 40 lb. bags of soil and compost! Works every time!!!! LOL!

Tracy - Love your tulips and grape hyacinth! I always wanted to try growing grape hyacinth, but never had any luck. I think it's too hot here in my zone. I did grow red tulips and daffs for the first time this Spring. Gosh are they pretty!! I just wish they were continuous bloomers for months instead of a one-time show. :-D

Tracy - I love your little container gardens. And your Magnolia is stunning!!! Wowee!!!

Deb - I have to ask ya ..... how big is your backyard???? It doesn't look as big as mine and I am amazed at all the plants you've got growing in there!!! I kid ya not .... it's going to be a lush jungle back there when it all takes off! You were sooooo smart to put the paths in now. Trust me, you'll be getting lost back there ..... on purpose! LOL!

I am still just working on the backyard perimeter. My garden aspirations are going to take YEARS!!! I hope I live to see it all completed. I'm not getting any younger. LOL!

This is the left side of my backyard. It got dark before I could get photos of the right side. As you can see I've got a long, long, long way to go!!! LOL!

This message was edited May 1, 2007 11:21 PM

This is a shot of one of my favorite garden beds in the entire backyard. I don't know why I like it so much. I just do! I think it's the red petunias! My whole spirit is uplifted when I see those red flowers! LOL! RED is MY color!!! :-))))

Gorgeous Becky, love all the climbers! I wish I could have a fence, subdivision covenants won't allow it. I'm all for privacy in the yard, and I'd love a spot to grow more vines!

Tracy - Oh ya gotta check out Cat's livestock trellises. No fence required!!! Take a peek at her thread:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/684265/

Now your talkin Becky! Are you being facious there... where would you go on that "long way"?? Your getting it all filled in great!
I just have one question for you after reading

Deb - No your kids aren't at my house! LOL! Our kids must be twins separated at birth!!! LOL! Sisters and brothers from a different Mother! LOL! Here all this time, I thought I just had very rowdy kids! I guess they are normal afterall! lol

One more thing before I turn in, LOL! I can't get over this HH Nigrita!! It starts out small and black, and then really dark maroon. Got some better shots this evening, from the back with the sun shining through them>

OK, correction, 2 more, haha!
From the front with the evening sun shining on them. Even if the bf's don't g for them I sure do!

oh debnes, I'm a big hollyhock fan, too - I just started them last year, some seeds, some plants (since they don't bloom the first year here) yours are beauties!

Becky & Deb - believe me, there has been ALOT of trampling and digging here, many crushed hostas that were just emerging from the ground and tulips that never bloomed and clematis broken off at the ground (Ouch!)- now the beds are so "crammed" I think they survive a bit better. My youngest son (Vincent - 4) is the most into the gardening/helping, too - in early spring when the rhododendrons were heavily budded he came running into the laundry room and said "Mom, come and see!" I followed him out to the front rooom and he said "Look ! PICKLES!" lol - so funny, but at least he noticed.

I was worried about raccoons getting my fish, but they haven't been around since I have pulled the kitty crunchies inside. Still, I think I'll stick with goldfish, no koi - just in case.

Becky - super idea, I love seeing all these gardens - and your latest pictures are beautiful - I'm a big fan of red, as well - I love that area, and tracy - agreed, pulling grass is hard work - we have alot of clay here, too - you were right to tell your sister, (my name is tracy, too btw : )

more pictures everyone !!

it's hailing like CRAZY right now, and alot of thunder, too... I wonder where all the hummingbirds are hiding?

Redtootsiepop - Wow! Ice in May!!! I would love to see a photo of the birdbath/fountain that is partly cut off in the above photo. I have one that looks very similar. I got it on the internet for cheap. It is made out of resin, not concrete. I am curious about yours!

Now it's sunny again, Crazy Oregon weather !! It's about 60 degrees out, so the ice is melted, thank goodness it won't hurt any new spring plants.

**I got that fountain off of overstock.com - but I didn't put the girl/umbrella thing on top, just used the pump and added rocks for the yellow finches, they are they only ones that go in it for some reason... and I'm really rock crazy, I even have them in my house. where did you gets yours? I really wish I had gotten two of them; I love it and could use one in the front.

Redtootsiepop - Check out this thread I started a while back. In this thread I mention where I got the birdbath/fountain as well as the problem with the pump being too powerful for it.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/683988/

I still like it but it has faded a bit and still splashes water out so that I have to fill it 2 times a day. :-(

How funny! I didn't put the top on because I liked the look of the water just burbling up from the rocks, now mine does not spill over, but I have to refill every couple of days because the water evaporates a bit. I think I only paid $39 for mine on overstock - I should have gotten two !!! I'll go take a picture - brb

** I'm very lazy today, I took this from inside - lol . And it looks like I need to add a bit of water!

Hmmmm ...... maybe I should take the top off mine and adding rocks! lol I hate filling it constantly. (Though I do enjoy the water squirting up and showering down the lower two levels.) Is yours also resin? Looks almost exactly like mine!

they really do look alike : ) - I like how yours spills over, the birds and butterflies probably like it, too. I'm not sure if the top makes any difference, maybe my pump just isn't as powerful?? and yes, mine is resin, which works for me, just like you said in your other post, you can add a capful of bleach. Do you get birds in yours?

Redtootsiepop - Mine is right in my front garden bed right next to the house. I don't think the birds will get that close. But then again ..... who knows. It just looks nice there and I like the sound of the water. :-)

me too, when we have the door open it's great to hear that sound. Wow - I just went back and looked at everyone's gardens, Tracy, Becky , Deb and Mrs. Crocosmia- how inspiring - you all have something going on I want to copy.

Red, love the fountain...what's the plant in front of the Horsetail? It looks unusual.

Love your bogless garden Becky...with all the red and the RR ties.


Here's my back yard...the one that still needs some trees removed. I started clearing it last year and planted this year, so things are still little.

Your backyard is great, love the paths - everything will be big before you know, I love putting things together when they're small.

I think the plant your asking about is euphorbia, the light green is the bloom. ... I put that planter together in December for something green during the cold months, but I still like it - - the window is almost to the floor. I can't decide to put my usual flowers in that pot, or just leave the green?

I love Hollyhocks too, I've planted the black and they just haven't done much....but these pink ones...they get huge. And they love it by this Pine tree.

I share the back with my dog....she gets a little more than half...she's big lol

Wow Flygirl, those look HUGE, how tall do they get? My first last summer were around 5', but it was their first bloom - (they were also doubles, maybe they don't get as tall ? ) pretty picture!

Thanks Tracy! I like the all green look.

Here's my pond with little ducks in it.....someday I hope to have a real pond, not an ugly fiberglass one that is impossible to make even half way natural. I shouldn't complain, it still attracts many critters....lots of dragonflies, frogs, snakes....and it has some pretty goldfish in there too.

That little fence is about 3' tall, so about 5'. I know....huge!

Rox - Your garden is so peaceful looking. I love the rock border! What a great idea!!! Your pink hollyhocks are gorgeous. If you get seeds from them, I'd love a few to try to grow some in my yard. Do they prefer shade or sun? You seem to have some nice shade in your garden. I need to plant a few more trees. It's hot, hot, hot in my gardens every summer. Even my most heat tolerant plants look wilted by August. :-(

Those are not RR ties, but instead treated 2" X 8" X 8 ft. long lumber. My yard is sloping due to building codes. They build each residential lot up like a small hill with a house at the top to prevent flooding issues during heavy storms (hurricanes). That way it keeps the water from coming in under our doors. My yard is a nightmare to plant beds in. I used the wood to try to slow down the erosion of my backyard and to section off the garden beds. I can't put a greenhouse, a sitting area, a garden shed, or anything else back there unless I build a deck for it or level it off somehow. Everything is on a slope. It takes twice to three times the work to do anything with the yard.

Last year I planted a herb garden. Many of the herbs - particularly the mints - looked pretty much died out by the end of Fall. Well, here it is late Spring and that 3-tiered herb garden is almost totally filled in with mints and all kinds of other herbs! I didn't have to plant anything this year. All the plants came back twice as thick! That's always a surprise to me! LOL And my purple aster have come back! Yay!!! I am learning not to dig up anything and toss it because I think it's dead. Give it 6 months and see what happens. Amazing!!!

AND ..... my Trumpet Creeper vine under the bird feeder has looked dead for about 4-5 months. Guess what???? It's BACK!!! LOL Gotta move that puppy into a container before it gets growing too much. Makes me worried what it was doing underground all this time. (Eek!)

Here's a photo of my herb garden up close. When I water it, all you can smell is this amazing aroma of spices and herbs! Makes me hungry whenever I smell all those scents!!! Ha,ha! The plant with the yellow flowers on the right is Tarragon. It smells like licorice.

Ya know what you could do about your pond .... add some slate/flat stones on top of the surrounding border blocks. That would cover up and hide the top of the black fiberglass pond liner and form an overhang for the fish to hide under in the heat or if predators come looking for them. I am thinking about coming up with something like that to make my small round ponds more natural looking. Right now they look like large black containers! LOL

This message was edited May 3, 2007 5:15 PM

no way, baby DUCKS !!! I don't think it looks bad at all, but I know what you mean about the fiberglass.

Becky - your herb garden looks fantastic, I didn't know stuff would die back in Florida, I always think of your area as lush all year long... I have a trumpet creeper, too, I love it and am terrified of it at the same time. I planted it in a pot, but I'm sure it's broke free of the pot by now. yikes! I always forget what is actually in some of the beds, or what I put in there during a "planting frenzy" spring/summer is so fun to see what pops up!

Becky, what a great idea, to tier the herb garden!
I've tried the slate rocks on the edges and it didn't look right with the 'fake' stones surrounding the pond. I'm thinking of pulling the stones out further and fill the space between them and the pond with soil, then put plants in there, hoping they will cover that ugly edge.

I'll save you some HH seeds! I think they grow straighter in the sun but you can always stake them. Mine are tied to the tree so they are straight.

fly girl, great idea to fill the space and plant .... theres always room for more plants!

I didn't stake my HH last year, and they did eventually fall, they are next to the fence, this year I won't be so lazy.

Redtootsiepop - Thanks! Yes, many of the herbs die back because of the summer/fall heat. Florida is only "lush" in the shade! And that is with LOTS of shade and trees! lol I am starting to find that I can't remember what I have in some of the garden beds or pots. Which is why I drew them out and marked the names down. LOL! Must be old age causing that for me!!!

Rox - Great idea about adding some more bed around the pond and then adding plants. I was thinking of doing that myself, but haven't decided yet. I may use rocks around the base and then slate or rock at the top. I have a wider lip on my ponds, so it might work. Not sure what I'm going to try. Either way, it's going to be a LOT of work for me!

Thanks for saving some seeds of your HH for me this year. I would love some!!! You rock, Rox!!