Photos of plants, flowers, gardens, etc.

[Sparkles P]

Post Your photos.....

Let's see everyones hard work, their before/after photos, their gardens,plants, flowers, perennials,annuals, garden containers... etc.

Post that plant that you have growing in your garden and not sure what it is...

Let us know what type of plants, flowers etc you have in those photos...


Keep those photos coming !!

[Janey]

Before... the whole yard looked like this...
http://photos14.flickr.com/15195108_6cafc49686.jpg?v=0

Then we cleared 45 bags of yard waste over Memorial Day Weekend...
http://photos12.flickr.com/16572606_dad9339175.jpg?v=0

And now it looks like this (this is the same path as in the first picture, just taken from the opposite direction):
http://photos11.flickr.com/16568985_cb5a73a30e.jpg?v=0

Now we are just spraying weeds as they come up. I can't wait 'till next year, when we get to plant new stuff. :D

[Kimberland30]

Our front and side yards BEFORE:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5da30b3127cce917adf17024200000016108Acs2jhk1Ytg

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5da30b3127cce917adff502a000000016108Acs2jhk1Ytg

My DH tilled the entire lawn and spread lyme (our soil was really bad). He then planted grass seed that is a golf course grade, so it's supposed to stay nice all year long. This is our lawn 2 months after planting it.

My job was the flower beds. We already have azalea bushes and hostas growing. I just took out old annuals and planted new ones. I also planted bulbs so hopefully next year we'll have a lot more color.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d831b3127cce924fe152930300000016108AbsXDFm2buJ

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d831b3127cce924fe163120200000016108AbsXDFm2buJ

We plan on doing our back yard next year, but it's about 4x the size of our front yard so we aren't looking forward to it!

[Janey]

Kimberland - that looks fantastic! I love the flowers around the tree. Can I ask what annuals/bulbs you planted? We will be looking to do something similar around the trees in our parking strip next year.

[Kimberland30]

Your yard looks amazing as well! Isn't it funny how a good clearing out makes such a big difference? It's hard work, but well worth it!

Here's some of the plants that I used. I don't remember them all because I went a little nuts at the nursery. Once our tree is cut back and we get more sunlight on the flower beds, I'm sure it will look better. I planted the same flowers in the beds out back, and they are 3x as big as the ones in front...and they get less water! Very odd.

Snapdragons (yellow, white and pink)
http://www.gardenguides.com/flowers/art/snapdragon.jpg

Dusty Miller (a very pretty silver gray leaf):
http://www.gardenguides.com/flowers/art/dustymiller1.jpg

Sweet William (pink and white)
http://www.gardenguides.com/flowers/art/sweetwilliam.jpg

Miniture Irises (purple and yellow). These popped up this year for the first time although I didn't plant them. ???
http://www.gardenguides.com/flowers/art/miniatureiris.jpg

I planted a mix of Oriental Lilies. So far we've had several pink, white and yellow lilies bloom. I didn't realize how tall they were when I planted them, so quite a few broke off before blooming. We've tied them to garden stakes and that seems to be helping.
http://www.jacksonandperkins.com/images/item/30114f.jpg

Next year we are going to uproot everything in our front gardens and redo the soil and move things around. We started on our lawn a couple months before our wedding, so we were limited on money and time to do it the way we wanted to, so we just worked around what was already there. Next year is going to be fun.

[Sparkles P]

Those photos are great.

I planted snapdragons this summer in our front flower bed. I bought the 2 tone ones, the smaller variety. They are holding on ok, but we got 3 weeks of severe heat and humidity, so I lost some. The ones in my round planter aren't doing too great this year, dispite my TLC. My front beds are not that exciting this year, I will definitely go back to more colour next year, so that you can see it "pop" from the road. I hope to put in a brick wall/border around our tree, and by our front porch/step..... hopefully we will be able to put this in place in the early Fall. I have already selected the brick color, and style that I want. Just deciding on the shape I want to build around the tree.
We have an annoying hydro box on our lawn which eats up a chunk of the land, so I will have to work around it.

Our big accomplishment this year is that we edged all around the back of our house and planted some GREAT perennials, which my BIL gave us..... got to love "free" plants. I have hostas( about 4 varieties), Lamb's Ear( yes that is the actual name), really great ornamental grass,Veronica's.... I have forgotten the rest.... I will look them up online, and then upload the photos.

[Kimberland30]

I love hostas. We've had one hell of a hot/humid summer also, so the front flower beds aren't doing well at all. Which is strange because the one out back is doing fine, without any additional watering besides what rain we get. I think our oak tree is shading out the garden too much. We are getting it trimmed back in the fall so next year it should make a big difference. I still have to plant in our side garden, but I'm not sure what to put there. It gets a lot of shade and the soil needs to be redone. I might plant more lilies and mix in some sunflowers. We have a 7' tall sunflower in our back flower garden. I planted 2 dozen seeds about 3 years ago, and each year only one pops up. ??? The soil back there sucked so I'm not surprised they didn't come up.

[melnv]

A really crappy scan of a photo we took when we first moved in. Notice how the bushes in front touch the ground.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4d606b3127cce9bb99b33ddc500000016108AaNmjRy0cNP

After.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5da25b3127cce9141caedd1b700000016108AaNmjRy0cNP
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5da25b3127cce9141c70391c700000016108AaNmjRy0cNP

even more after
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5db02b3127cce918d814a47de00000016108AaNmjRy0cNP
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d901b3127cce935a09e136f400000025118AaNmjRy0cNP

These snapdragons are where you see all that dirt and the little wood shelf in the first pic.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d901b3127cce935a09d8b7fd00000016108AaNmjRy0cNP

[Sparkles P]

Bump

[Marilyn]

Here is the before of the front - sorry for the bad quality

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1260/1/80/69/67/9/4/409676980106_0_ALB.jpg

After - I planted Annabelle Hydrangeas, Azaleas, hostas, and daylillies. Once the plants mature it will look fuller. We also painted the house.

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1327/1/12/33/16/12/8/812163312106_0_ALB.jpg

Before side of house

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1327/1/12/33/99/60/1/160993312106_0_ALB.jpg

After - I planted all perennials - hibiscus, false sunflower, bee balm, balloon flower, and japanese iris. I will add to it next year based on when things are in bloom

http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1327/1/12/33/16/12/6/612163312106_0_ALB.jpg

[TJO]

I'm starting from a "clean slate" this spring on my yard. We put in sprinklers and new lawn last summer. I tore out *everything*! I am looking for ideas because I want to start planting in the next week or so. I would like ideas for things that are colorful, easy to grow in partial shade and that don't need much work. I'm in Zone 8.

Please post pics!

TIA :D

[TJO]

Bump.....*please* :)

[Dantan]

Just bumping you. I'm in zone 6, so my only activity right now are lots of bulbs.

[racerswife]

i'm in zone 6 also... and we are also in the process of digging up and starting over. we were out shopping around this morning making notes...

[TJO]

i'm in zone 6 also... and we are also in the process of digging up and starting over. we were out shopping around this morning making notes...


Let me know what you come up with :D would ya?

[isign]

Bumping again :) We are going to tear out and start from scratch. Maybe it'd help if we all post pics and beg for other's opinions :)

[Dantan]

TJO,

I think the problem is that most people north of D.C. are not yet experiencing much flowering activity.

So, I have no pics, but can tell you some of my favourites.

Stella D,Oro daylilly- it blooms througout the season, once you remember to deadhead the spent blooms.

Lilacs- I have lilacs by my porch and my back patio. I bought a mildew resistant variety two years ago from Home Depot and it has tons of little bulbs waiting to open up this year. I also purchased a really beautiful one called "Beauty of Moscow" from Springhill, but I just put it into the ground this year, not expecting any activity unti; ext year.

Peony- I love, love, Peonies! Last year I fell in love with a tree peony at the local nursery- these are similar to regular peonies, but they grow on a shrub which remains as an evergreen. I haven't bought it yet, because it was $65. Hoping to find a cheaper altenative. I also love the regulat peonies. Even though the blooms are shorlived, they are just so beautiful and make great cut flowers.

Coneflowers(echinacea) - These are some of my favorites. Yesterday, I added white ones and a very light yellow( I think it was called "sunrise"), I've had the pink ones in since last year.

Herbs- This year, I will grow them out of a decorative strawberry pot.

Will post pics once things start to bloom.

What is everyone else considering?

[SweetRed]

We're also starting from scratch at our new house this year, so I'd love to also see what others have done. We're in the Northeast too, so we're just about to get moving on our planting. I'm hoping to make some nursery trips this weekend to scout out perrenials.

We have horrible, horrible soil (very rocky) and we're both new to landscaping, so we're anticipating only getting some of the yard in shape this year. I'll post as we get going!

[Kimberland30]

I just finished my flower beds this weekend and will take pictures for you. I used all kinds of plants, but I threw away the little card spikes that come with them. I basically look for color and if they are annuals or perennials (I don't waste much money on annuals since they don't come back). I also did a container garden on our covered front porch. My bulbs have started to sprout but aren't budding yet. I just spread 12 bags of mulch - 6 last weekend and 6 this weekend. The only thing I kept in place from last year was the hosta and azalea bushes that we have. I got hanging baskets yesterday to complete the "look" I was going for. Will post some pictures tonight. :)

[Kimberland30]

I went home during lunch today and took a few pictures. I have more if you want me to email them to you.

I have 2 large flower beds, and in them I have 13 azalea bushes. One flowerbed is right in front of our covered porch, and the other extends from the driveway, around the huge oak tree, towards the house and ends on the left side of the house. I keep the azaleas trimmed down so that they don't take over the beds. Most of them have pink blooms, but I have one in red, and a couple in white. The flowers are different sizes on the bushes too, so there is some variety.

The flower beds look much better in person, and since our lawn is in the process of being regrown, the yard part looks like crap right now. But hopefully you get the idea. Eventually we'll get rid of the black edging, but because of the tree roots we are going to keep it until we replace the cracked sidewalk. I want to use either brick pavers or small stones.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/knewtoff/DSCF0026.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/knewtoff/DSCF0011.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/knewtoff/DSCF0008.jpg

Container garden on our porch
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/knewtoff/DSCF0022.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f298/knewtoff/DSCF0020.jpg

You can also go to the Better Homes and Gardens website (www.bhg.com) and they have garden plans. I like using them because it shows you sketches of gardens, and what types of plants to use...including alternate plants. It's a really handy tool. I think you have to sign up at their website, but it's free.

[TJO]

Kimberland30 - I *love* how cozy your house looks! You did a great job on the flower beds! Thanks for posting. Wanna come do mine? j/k :)

We are now in the process of building a couple of retaining walls and a fountain. After that, it's time to plant some flowers and get some bark! I can't wait :) We got our house repainted last summer to a light yellow color with white trim. We're thinking hot pink, bright purple and yellow flowers only - nice and bright :)

[Kimberland30]

You're welcome! Yeah, I'll come do yours....after I finish all my home projects (in 2015). :p

I love bulbs and perennials. They are so low maintenance, you just plant them once and watch them spread. I planted lots this year, so it will be interesting to see what pops up next year. I just planted a gazillion sunflower seeds along our back fence. I can't wait until those start coming up, unless the squirrels and birds eat the seeds first. :rolleyes:

[Aug2002Bride]

Kim

Are those Canterbery Bells in front (the pink ones)??? Ive been looking for those forever and cant find them anywhere!!!

[Hangin'in]

I'm not in your zone, and I have NO shade. The front of our house faces west, and gets HOT afternoon sun, and I'm in zone 7.....

We just built, and the landscaping is minimal at best. It's still a work in progress, and we did not rip out the stuff they put in..... we added to it.

This is where we started
http://images.snapfish.com/34679%3C45%3B%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3238%3E989%3E752%3EWS NRCG%3D32336499967%3B6nu0mrj

We (mainly DH) built a raised bed, filled it it with wonderful soil (50% compost/50% quality topsoil), repositioned the foundation plants that were there, and added some new stuff.
http://images.snapfish.com/346897554%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3238%3E989%3E752%3EWSNRCG %3D32336759%3B%3B%3B36nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/346897554%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3238%3E989%3E752%3EWSNRCG %3D32336759%3B6%3C49nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/346897554%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D3238%3E989%3E752%3EWSNRCG %3D32336759%3B%3B%3A%3B%3Cnu0mrj

We will be getting a Jap Maple for the middle of the square bed, and we will be putting a water feature in that area. Last weekend we added 7 creeping thyme and 2 creeping juniper plants to trail over the retaining wall. It's just been a couple of weeks since we amended the soil, and the foundation plants as well as the new ones we've added are noticeably bigger. We can compare ours to our neighbors plants because our landscaping went in on the same day, and our plants were the same size..... so, I have learned that it is definitely worth it to not skimp on the soil..... I doubted that, but caved to my DH's request.... and very happy that I did.

One of the pictures show it, but we added monkey grass around the sidewalk to soften that harsh 90 degree angle. It was supposed to be a curved sidewalk, not what we got..... but hopefully we will be able to change that in the next couple of years and put in pavers or tile instead of the concrete! Big dreams..... little money!

I have container's full of plants on the patio, but I don't have any pictures of that.

[Natrat80]

hangin'in How big of a pain was it to level out that flowerbed? I just made a new flowerbed in our yard (no plants in yet) and it is slanted like the yard. I don't really like the way it looks but I REALLY don't want to spend hours out there leveling it either! Here's a picture:
http://images.snapfish.com/3469%3B6974%7Ffp345%3Enu%3D3238%3E8%3B9%3E8%3C%3B% 3EWSNRCG%3D32336%3B5%3A96%3B4%3Cnu0mrj

[Hangin'in]

Natrat80 It really was not a pain.... but it was also something we REALLY wanted to do. If it was something we were *iffy* about, we probably would have thought it to be a pain! It really only took about 1 day to do. We did it over 2 weekends, but it really could have been done in 1 (long) day! We also have a much larger drop than your flower bed, and ours looks to be a bit larger.... but unfortuneatly, the long, hard part is the first course (bottom row) of material. But, it looks like you might only need a couple of rows. You need to know how far the drop is from the high side to the low side, that will determine how many rows of stone or brick you will have to do.

We dug a base, and used about 3 inches of sand.

[Kimberland30]

Are those Canterbery Bells in front (the pink ones)??? Ive been looking for those forever and cant find them anywhere!!!

Nope, those are actuall azalea bushes. I keep them trimmed pretty small so that they get unendated with blooms. I love them!


We (mainly DH) built a raised bed, filled it it with wonderful soil (50% compost/50% quality topsoil), repositioned the foundation plants that were there, and added some new stuff.

I love your raised flowerbed. I want to do something similar with ours just to get some type of elevation in the yard (plus it's hard to see our nice plants from the street). How did you move your foundation plants? Did you uproot them all and replant them the same day in the new bed? We have a ton of bushes, bulbs and plants that will need to be repositioned higher. The thought of digging all of them up is enough to make me vomit, but eventually I want to do it - and replace our cracked sidewalk and recover our porch floor with slate or tile. I love the look of raised beds, and it might actually keep the squirrels out.

[Hangin'in]

Kimberland30 Yes, we dug them all up and then repositioned them the same day..... but we aren't talking about an established flower bed! Most of the bushes, even the crepe myrtle were still in the rootball from the flower pots they were grown in. The bush on the far right of the first pic actually was dead, so we just got rid of it..... we're talking about 10 or 12 plants total. We've added a lot to what the builder installed.

[Kimberland30]

Something tells me that I'm going to really hate that I planted 100 bulbs this year. :o I have a feeling that when we do this, we'll have to wait until they start to bloom so that we can tell where everything is. Or....nix the whole idea all together - although I really want raised flower beds. :)