A Walk Around the Gardens

It's been a year since we moved into this house and we've made lots of improvements to the landscaping.  You may remember my post last summer where I shared all the weeding and digging we did, along with the 'treasures' we found.  If you missed it, you can read it HERE. This year, we actually have some garden beds and plants are growing....let's have a look around.......
First, let me show you the new hydrangea:

The front of the house had some forlorn bushes that had to go.  We tore them out and planted this beauty.  Blue is my favorite color and this shade makes me smile everytime I look at it.  I can't wait for it to grow even bigger!
We also added a Mr. Lincoln rose bush that never disappoints.

The Lemon Balm came back this year and is taking over.  I'm good with that since it smells soooo good.

I planted an herb garden that includes basil, dill, rosemary, and sage.  I harvested some dill the other day and it looks like I'll need to do it again soon. 

 I wonder if the caterpillars will be back again this year?  Trust me, if they are back, they will be moved and given an alternate meal.  Last year, they ate all the dill, but gave me gorgeous butterflies.

You can read that story HERE.

Then there's the side garden which continues to be a 'work in progress'.  We started with this:

Moved on to this:

There was lots of planting done.  (If you'd like the details on the chicken wire and the planting, click HERE.) After a few changes, the garden looks like this:

After a tough winter, the pavers we dug up had to be replaced due to the fact that they were crumbling.  The Bugle Weed spread out forming a beautiful carpet over this area. By next year, the ground should be completely covered.

The Painted Daisies bloomed, and I even had one that was a double flower.  Something I've never seen before.

The Carpathian Bellflower grew and is giving me some beautiful flowers.  

It may need to be moved next year so the Bugleweed doesn't cover it.

The wild grapevine is going strong, growing along the fence.

It's as tall as me right now!

And the sunflowers and Lamb's Ear seem very happy.

We'll have to take another walk later in the season to show off the sunflower blooms.  In the meantime, the strawberries are blossoming and starting to give us berries:

The lilac bush is past it's prime, but the fragrance was absolutely intoxicating when you walked by or sat on the porch.

The bees were quite happy with it, too!

We also managed to get our fire pit built, or, should I say, my husband got it built.  It's lovely to sit around it in the evening....... or the daytime.

The vegetable garden is starting to produce and I just love the fresh tomatoes, beans, and zucchini. Hopefully, I'll be freezing everything soon to enjoy next winter.   
There is more to share, but that can be saved for another time. Thank you for 'taking a walk' with me.  What do you have growing in your gardens?

I hope you'll pin, share, comment, and follow.  If you click on those 3 little lines at the top right of the blog, you'll see where to find me...or click on 'share'.


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