A Garden Extension

Welcome to our back yard.  I thought I'd give you a little tour today, and show you what my hubby was up to last weekend, while I was grocery shopping, and doing laundry.

Near our property line along the back, we have a split-rail fence.  When we moved here, it was much more visible.  The previous owners had two Rhododendron, and two Azalea (both in pink) strategically placed in symmetrical positions along the fence.  There were a few random tulips and daffodils and... that's about it.

The azaleas were not especially healthy, and after a few years, we took those out.  We've been here for almost 13 years now, so as you can imagine... the Rhododendron are pretty big, and we've added other plants to fill in around them.  We have Hydrangeas flanking the Rhododendrons.  In addition, there are Torch Lilies, Black-Eyed Susans, Fruit Trees, Rose of Sharon, Honeysuckle, and other miscellaneous plantings -- including some "volunteers" that have sprouted up of their own accord.

This year, that center section got dug up and weeded to receive two squash plants from my sister-in-law. Unfortunately, it was the section of garden that ended up being forgotten.  It's okay.  Just turn away.  That's not really what we're here to talk about.

I wanted to show you this little extension that my hubby added.  We've been buying clearance plants all summer and adding them here and there.

The shot below is a little closer.  Along the back (with the red leaves) we've added three Ninebark "Summer Wine" plants. These can grown 5-6' tall and equally as wide, so someday soon, we hope that they will provide a good screen to our neighbor's driveway traffic, which is now visible from our dinner table.  (My hubby is big on "the view!")

At the front left of this garden extension, you'll see our Roma tomato plants.  They were actually the first edition -- before we really had a plan, and we just wanted a sunny spot for tomatoes.

To the tomato's immediate right is Royal Cape Plumbago.  It's lavender flowers remind me of Phlox (see photo below).  To it's right (just barely visible) is a Peony plant from my sister-in-law.  It looks sad right now, but we're hoping it will get through the winter and bloom next spring.

And then on the end, our new Hibiscus "Brandy Punch."  We originally had this in a pot.  However, since we purchased it, we have come to realize that many people around here have them in the ground, and they grow to be quite a bush.  We are hopeful that is exactly what will happen with ours.

I'm tickled with this new garden extension that curls around the perimeter of our yard.  Can't wait to see what it looks like next year.  Yeah, that's a long ways away, but you know what I mean...

I think I'm going to suggest that next year we buy no plants... only MULCH to tame the weeds in this ever-growing garden!  Maybe we'll even whip that center section into shape.  *wink