Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop - Front-Yard Gardens

I'm a "slow-comer," but I really like the looks of this Garden Blogger's Design Workshop series. Check it out at Gardening Gone Wild! And Join In! :-) This month's subject deals with Front Yard Garden Design.

Not only do I love to garden, but I love to design! Usually it's "by the seat of my pants," in that I am inspired with an idea, give it a bit of thought, and then I do it. At this point in time, we are in the very early stages of Spring (and every day gets better!). These first few photographs are from last Summer.

This is a bug's eye view (August/2007) of the very "frontest," looking from the driveway through the gardens in front of the deck/walkway. In
the foreground is a Water Hyacinth in the tiny "pond."

Of the pictures below, the one on the left was taken after I first sank the pond June 1st. I also put the birdbath nearby. The beds themselves, complete with rock edges and both the rock and slab walkways were built in the Fall of 2005. About half of the plantings were done in 2006.
The rest of the plantings were added last Spring/Summer.
The photo below continues to look down the front bed... this photo was also taken June 1, 2007.
I'm sure you can't tell, but the bed behind the bricks and in front of the lattice holds some upright varieties of sedum. The entire rest of the bed was filled with flowering annual vinca and impatiens. They were just beautiful! I plan to yet add some upright plants in front of the lattice. There's a little concrete slab "walkway" edged in sideways brick. This wonderful waterway was designed and built by my husband. We're on the "downside" of a fairly good incline. When it rains, we get a LOT of water. The "walkway" takes it away from the house. These photos were taken this morning. Remember, there's an absence of plant material, yet! And the little white specks are actually daffodils planted last Fall.
Looking East (my new little wall edges the front bed)... Looking Southeasterly









There's much that is not yet apparent. I'm sorry I didn't take more photographs last Summer!
You'll soon be seeing many more photographs!
Looking south - here's the waterway. There's a rock-edged bed around both sides of the evergreens.










Here we're looking towards the raised beds... see the birdbath? The bed in front of the evergreen has astilbe and hosta.

The little bed around the Shagbark Hickory is filled with pachysandra, flowering Spring bulbs, and short iris.







The following are photos of various plants within the front long bed. I was having a lot of fun with the close-up and macro settings on my digital camera last year! :-)

water hyacinth & duckweed; sedum on rocks, miniature rose nearby; sedum and heuchera beside birdbath.












This peach daylily is behind the yellow one, when you stand looking towards the house.
Looking carefully at the yellow daylily, perhaps you'll see buds of the peach one.










I'll apologize for not having providing the names of the plants. I'm currently involved in mapping all the flower beds with the current plantings. An achievable goal if I continue to persist every day. :-)

12 comments:

Gail said...

So glad you posted this...I love to get the bird's eye view of a garden, now I can place your banner photo in the yard! Do you love your deck in the front? We built a screened porch onto our ranch and love it! I do love the way your garden wraps around the deck and tree.

Isn't water always an issue in gardens...how to get it to plants, where the runoff travels, erosion on hillsides...nice that your dh built a water way for you.

Gail

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

You're certainly not afraid to garden in the front yard! The little pond by the driveway looks so charming, & your porch is wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Hi Shady! I think you've done a beautiful job with your front yard, and it's obvious you have a lot of beauty to look forward to this coming season. I love how you've managed to incorporate water into your plantings. That's something I really need to work on. Thanks for sharing your post for this month's Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop at Gardening Gone Wild!

Shady Gardener said...

Gail,

I DO enjoy the walkway/deck in the front. When we first moved here, it was only a narrow walkway. We had it removed and replaced it with one that juts forward in the "center" so we can sit out and enjoy it. :-) DH's project turned out so much nicer than I'd envisioned!!! And practical! I'm pretty used to doing all the landscaping myself, so I was a little nervous. It gave me something more to work around! ;-)

MMD, If I garden in the front yard, I get to see everyone as they drive by! ;-) I love the challenge you've given yourself!! When does the "moustache" come out?? If I lived nearby, I'd be over in a minute!

Nan, I saw a beautiful little copper fountain that would be just "wonderful" in my tiny pond! I wonder if I could justify it??? ;-) The Sound of water is as appealing as having the water itself!

Frances, said...

Hi Shady, Thanks for showing us your front garden. I am still waiting for the azaleas to fully open for the best pics to do my post. Thanks for checking out some of my older posts, there is a lot in the archives that most people haven't seen from when I first started bloggin last December. I appreciate your doing that. Your water features look great. I love daylilies, yours look good and healthy, nearly ready to be divided!
Frances at Faire Garden

Shady Gardener said...

Frances, I'm glad you stopped by! You're right! These daylilies ARE ready to be divided! Perhaps my daughter and son will get them this time! :-)

Anonymous said...

Shady - Just went through all your recent posts... wonderful photography, fine poetry and informative text. You seem to be at about the same point as we are in New England. I feel like I've had the grand tour and admire all that enterprise, tackling so many projects... Deb

Shady Gardener said...

Deb, Tackling everything about like you are! ;-) I'm so glad you were able to swing by to say hi!!

Anonymous said...

Love that water feature and the curving lines of your beds. White daffodils are such a relief from the bright yellow and they are so pure. A shady garden is so restful.

Shady Gardener said...

Ah! This is where your daffodil comment is! ;-) I agree.

If you lived a little closer, you could come sit in my shade!

Anonymous said...

Hi Shady Gardener!

All of the views, from the bug's eye to the macro images are wonderful. Your property is beautiful. Tell your husband - "good job on the waterway".

If your garden is progressing as fast as mine seems to be, it won't look anything at all like these photos now. Don't you love seeing all the green?!

Cathy

Cheap Generic Viagra said...

I am so glad to see your article content thanks for the information..