Making it my own.

Moving to our new home last year meant transitioning my garden on a truckload level. It also meant meeting the challenge of rehabbing a garden  that had been sorely neglected for nearly a decade. Meshing the old with the new, salvaging, dividing, and pulling thousands of weeds... like 40 trash bags full and counting... but slowly but surely this place is starting to feel like it is my own. I still have to put in LONG hours. I am still pulling out invasive plants that seem to own the earth in some spots, but I'm finally ready to share a few pictures. We are still in the beginning of the season, and very few things have started blooming- we're mostly still greening up and growing. It feels wonderful!
Here the walkway to my side door, the door we use most often. I have 5 clematis on the arbor, and it is framed by two roses, a john davis pink and ramblin red. Some asters, huechera, daylilies, penstemon, and hardy geranium will be blooming here soon. I am painting the screen door blue soon.

There are 6 clematis here on these old trellises. I hope they cover them soon, as they did at my old house.

Around the corner I have an old ladder with hardy succulents. I have sweet peas about to climb the ladder as well. I put my herb garden right here, because that places it close to the kitchen, and accessible. Perennial herbs in the ground, annuals in the large pot, and spearmint in its own pot because of its invasive nature.  

The side of the garage is filled with ditch lilies, and a few invasives I'm steadily working to pull out. I added a ninbark for some color constrast and interest. It is underplanted with lily of the valley, and lupine. The square here has a hardy pale pink shrub rose and lupine.  

Once you go through the arbors by the side door you find yourself in the backyard. To your left I have this white metal arched arbor planted with honeysuckle, 3 clematis, and framed with two ramblin red roses, and a gertrude jekyl climbing rose as well. The bed this arbor leads into has a large section of ditch lilies, but also a dozen perennials I planted or salvaged, and reseeding annuals like cosmos, brazilian vervain, and alyssum. Last year, the whole whole bed was lilies, quack grass and creeping charlie. The toughest spot to clear for sure. I first tried round up, but when all was said and done, digging out and replacing the soil was the answer.

This is the back of the garage and other side of the bed this arbor leads to. You can see our back deck, which is framed by reblooming dwarf lilac shrubs.