Landscaping and Planting Started

This is what our house looked like when we bought it . . .

before a storm came through and knocked

our beautiful maple tree down.

 This is what it looked like after we replaced the tree.

Kind of looks like a front yard in a new housing subdivision.

What you see is, basically, all the plantings on the property.

There were a few Daylillies next to the garage

and by the back fence, 

2 Butterfly Bushes and an Ornamental Grass in the back yard.

The husband and I knew we would have a lot of planting to do.

Eben if there were a lot of plants

we would have looked for our faves

so we could plant them.

Two weeks ago the landscapers came.

They cleaned out all of the beds that were here.

By the time they got here

we had made beds on the garage side of the house

and the bedroom side of the house.

My nephew wanted pictures.

(His is a licensed Landscape Architect.)

He was going to help us

but has moved out of town.

So, thanks to him,

you are getting a clockwise trip around our house.

Starting to the left of the garage.
This is our burning bush. The sparrows love hiding in it.
My husband found the wooden feature
 (I call it a tripod even though it has 3 legs.)
at Menards and fell in love with it.

You can vaguely see the green plants in the mulch.
These are oe type of purple spreading plant.
to the right is a box of mixed sedum
that I am going to plant in this bed.
Hopefully, next summer this bed will be purple flowers
with mixed shades of green poking through.

This is the north side of the house
or the wall of the  garage.
Some of the plants were already here
and I asked, this spring,
if anyone was dividing perennials we would take them.
We got the Hostas and the Daylillies in this bed
from divisions.

This bed had not even come to the front of the flowers.
I started making it deeper
and the landscapers made it this depth.

I like it like this.

The steps you see lead from the garage out to the back yard.
The bed you see was all overgrown with weeds.
It was also not deep enough.
It barely came in front of the Ornamental Grass.
The Daylillies to the left will disappear.
(I want a lattice work arbor here with the roses I showed last time climbing it.)Next is one Butterfly Bush (trimmed back)
followed by an extremely trimmed back Ornamental Grass.

The corner section is the Butterfly Garden Gene planted.
We are both o excited to see h ow it grows.
It includes:
2 Cone Flowers, 1 Bee Balm, 3 Milkweeds, 3 Cat Mints,
3 Shasta Daisies, 3 Asters.
Plus Gene had ordered 3 Butterfly Bushes
before we knew we had any.
He planted one on either side of this garden.

This is a special plant.
It was at the corner of our porch in Western New York.
Two year ago, in the winter,
we had to have our main water line  dug up.
This poor fella,
I found on the mound of dirt they dug up after the snow had melted.
I tuck him in the ground and he grew.

Brought him, along with several other plants we liked,
from New York and planted them when we thought
we would be moved in the fall of 2015.

We didn't make it until Oct 2016
and I saw no proof that any of the plants we planted had grown.

Viola! This hardy little thing came back a year after being planted :)

Not sure what these are called.
I do know they are a member of the Onion/Allium family.
Had to take a pix to show how the right one
grew around the hose and the stem
stayed that form.

Close up of the taller one.

Bed on the east side of the house.
(No pictures of the south side . . . we are getting a deck there.)
If we are lucky, the gladiolas Gene planted will grow.
He also planted a Hydrangea
and the other butter Bush Gene ordered

This is our BEAUTIFUL Ornamental Blue Spruce.
We found some small Shepherds Hooks so I hung some red Geraniums in clay pots from them.
I also put some of the purple spreader that is planted
under the Burning Bush on the other corner of the house.

Finally, the front bed of the house.
In the center is our mini Lilac Bush.
it bloomed fantastic and smelled delicious.
I think we are not going to plant
any flower between the bushes.

In a year, or so, we will build a front porch
and need to tear out up to the Lilac Bush so
 I don't want to worry about losing any plants then.

Hope you enjoyed your trip around our yard.
We have more plant to plant . . .
Gene bought Zinnnias for some early color.
When the deck is finished then we will have a flower bed
around it.

THEN we will be done!
Well, until next year :)