More from the garden...

I am a bit worn out today and haven't tackled the garden like I had wanted to. There are still more hostas to divide and spread around. My hostas are huge, as you will see in a few minutes. They are the star of the summer garden. As you may have noticed, there are a lot of mature trees on my property. Most of the yard is covered by varying degrees of shade, so hostas do very well here. I have collected several varieties, but there are over 300 out there. I find that kind of diversity in one species amazing.

All images today are from the back yard. My gardening philosophy is based on the concept of creating garden "rooms" to divide the space and create some intimacy. One of the best books on this is by P. Allen Smith, and is called My Garden Home. It is a wonderful reference and a feast for the eyes.

So here is where we left off yesterday. This is the entry from the side (secret) garden to the back yard. I used the existing trees to help define the rooms. All flower beds, except the large center one in back, were planted around the trees. Due to the deep shade here, grass is sparse.


Looking west toward the house. They cypress tree (on your left) helps define the patio area. Beds curve around the foundation of the house.


Here is a view looking back toward the secret garden. This area is so large, I add a few more perennials each year, but mostly it is filled with wildlings.


This is what you see when entering the back yard and turning right toward the house. The sunroom is on the left. The patio is also on the left, though out of this picture.

View from the patio looking out across the yard. We have no direct neighbors to the south, just a low field, so it feels private out on the patio.

From the western edge of the yard looking across the main room, bordered by 2 large flower beds.

Another young clematis striving upward.

Newer plantings of hosta 'francee williams'. This one gets quite large in time.

A drift of Hosta 'gold standard' along the edge of a bed. This produces incredibly sweet smelling white flower stalks in August and spreads readily. This is one of the varieties that I have been dividing and moving.

Hosta 'hyacintha' is one of the smaller blue-ish varieties.


This is one of the dwarf varieties whose name I forgot. Its margins are yellow.

Hosta 'albomarginata' is the common white tipped hosta.




A tiny treasure nestled among the foliage.

I hope this has not been disappointing to you. Looking at these pictures today, I am feeling a bit sheepish. My thought are racing with criticisms : "The grass is too patchy. The edges of the beds not clearly enough defined (something I have been working on). I should have used the weed whacker before taking all these pictures. I should have staged the patio." As with any other project I have, this one, too, is on-going. It certainly keeps me busy and fulfilled, imperfections and all. As new developments arise (like the blooming of the roses), I will keep you posted. Thank you for indulging me!

Until next time...

Anne