Everyone should have an area that takes only a few hours a year to maintain and yet provides a nice display with native and ornamental flowers, shrubs and trees. It would be different for each ecosystem but what a joy. Here is mine. A wild front yard confined by an ivy hedge with summer blooming heathers and a few perennials and bulbs. This time of year it is my favorite garden space. Hope you enjoy a morning walk through this little wild area. Miniature bearded iris ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Pacific bleeding hearts, hellebore,Spanish hyacinth ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Flowering almond shrub ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Lilacs ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Heathers,Pacific bleeding hearts, hellebore,Spanish hyacinth ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Flowering almond, ferns, Japanese maples ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Oregon grape ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Bleeding heart ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Pacific bleeding hearts, hellebore,Spanish hyacinth, flowering almond ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Spanish hyathins ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden )
Amazing! You have so much color in your garden, I am green with envy! The more I see Hellebore, the more I want some!
Thanks Henry and CM. Netty, you can't go wrong with hellebores. They start blooming early and hold the 'bloom' past the seed pod stage. They love being on the drip line of deciduous trees
What a beautiful Spring garden. :-D There's a lot to be said for letting Mother Nature work her magic without too much intervention from us.
As I strolled through your garden with you Jewell It was so relaxing. You have many of the plants I have here and it was like a little bit of home. You and I share a love of 'natural' gardening and enjoy the care-free planting we have. I look forward to another walk with you again soon. :-D
Jewell, Your carefree gardens are beautiful. I suppose that each week the look changes with say the hellebore growing first and maybe weeks later the bleeding hearts starting . From one week to another the whole look changes drastically. That is nice. I just bought two Flowering Almond. They are nice. How large do they get? All your gardens loot great.
A few hours a year to get all that beauty? Heck, I work a few hours a day and haven't achieved anything close to that. Very very very pretty!
Super collection of purple tints. Things are really beginning to happen there. I know that you are really enjoying all the colour.
That is what I'm working towards in my shade garden :-D The Spanish Hyacinths you gave me have popped up leaves but no blooms yet, I can't wait!
That's beautiful!!! I agree totally with your sentiment. This is why I do mostly shrubs and bulbs. I don't like 'maintenance' so avoid plants that creep out of bounds or need to be divided. The only maintenance I do to a planted bed is to pull unwanted sprouts when I see one, and add organic material to the surface when some presents itself. If it takes more work than mowing, it's a mistake to me.
Kiasmum, you are right on with letting Mother Nature do her thing. If I work at it I tend to kill things. The less i intervene the better off the garden is. Donna, glad you enjoyed the walk. Eileen, I think our climates are very similar. Wet, cool to cold most seasons with dry cool summers? Have to love clouds and rain, but when the sun shines it is wonderful I love the heath and heathers and they do well here. The others are just freebies, even some of the hellebores that have self-seeded over the years. Glad you enjoyed the photos. Cherylad, don't underestimate your garden. It is awesome what has happened in the last few years with your beds. After 30 years of putzing around in my yard, removing sod, creating beds and lots of changes and experiments one or two successes happen. You will be there too. Barb, did you get the yellow or pink blooming varieties? The yellow gets quit tall 5-7 feet. My pink ones only get about knee high and tend to flop. Planted near the patio they are still very pretty. With the pink ones the stems die after they bloom so I snap them off. The blooms are all on new wood from the previous summer. Good luck with yours and am curious what color you got. Mine where given to me when we first moved in from a lady that lived across the street. I don't see anyone with the pink ones anymore in the neighborhood. They seem to have gone out of favor. The yellow ones are still around in other yards. They are so hardy and tough they seem to stand any abuse and come on back. Sjoerd, can't wait to see more photos of your garden. Stratsmom, so glad that the hyathins are doing well for you. I was just driving home through town and was noticing how they are everywhere. I think they are the perfect weed and I so enjoy them. Will be moving some to plant in the shade garden amongst the native ferns. purpleinopp, you can't go wrong with blooming shrubs and bulbs. All the rhodies are starting to bloom throughout town. They are such unreal colors, bright and sassy. There are so many easy shrubs to grow that flower. When in California or Hawaii I was in love with some of the flowering hedges. Happy gardening all
It looks like a flower paradise! I would love to walk through it, or maybe set up a bench deep within the garden to relax or read a book.
