So, over the course of it's first 3 years, we've added two raised beds (with foundation stones), many smaller beds (with brick borders), and a lot of mulch. I love seeing the garden transform over the course of each summer but the real work shows off the next Spring as flowers reappear from nothing and the plants have another year's worth of growth. Many of my plants started out as just little babies and now are gorgeous flowers and plants that are really making this garden something special.
I hope that by the end of Summer 2012, we will have the yard fenced in to keep out unwanted cats and dogs (they do their business in the front yard and that's enough grossness!) and to provide another back drop for the plants to contrast against.
I will work up a drawing for the garden. I need to do this so I remember where each different lily is as I buy new ones and especially once I start separating them as time goes on.
We will also create an arbor type area for a climbing rose (or other plant) as an entry feature.
For now, enjoy the shots. Captions include the year the photo was taken and the type of flower if I can remember (or find their info).
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| 2011 |
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| 2011 |
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| 2011, Gordon Biggs Lily |
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| 2011 |
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| 2011 |
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| Caterpillar on the dill, 2011 |
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| 2011. A lot has happened since this photo, including new beds, the lollipop tree you see died and was replaced with others. |
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| 2011 |
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| 2011. I love that the foundation stones have natural (and some man made) grooves. They provide places, such as those above, to place stones. Lily likes to play with the rocks and it provides places for water to collect, giving birds and bugs places to grab a drink. Some of the areas may be filled in with some succulents too. |
Stay with me as this will be a work in progress as I photograph the flowers as they bloom this summer!
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| 2010 - first bed with minimum plantings |
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| 2010 - same bed as above with four additional lilies (all Asiatic) and some annuals to help fill in the area. |
Feel free to check out older posts about the garden:
Lilies - a little run down of where I got the oldest lilies in the yard and their placement
Flowers - a post on flowers that finally bloomed, June 2011
Yard Work - this shows the front of Lily's garden and how we're trying to open it up to show off the inside, and to make room for a future fence, gate and arbor
Making Beds - how I made the brick edged beds for new plants, May 2012
Foundation Stones - part 1 (Lily's Garden), part 2 (front rock), and part 3 (front yard bed)
Here's a cost breakdown of things (although not everything is included, I'll try my best as we add on!)
Foundation stones and some smaller rocks- $500, from a local guy selling them off his farm
Bricks - free from a construction site (a family friend was the architect and let us take them)
Large hydrangea - given as a gift for Lily's birth
Small hydrangea - Walmart or Lowes, maybe $5-7
Oak leaf hydrangea - the most expensive plant I've bought so far - $36, from a local nursery
Japanese maple - $25-30, Walmart
Lilies - many given as gifts, many bought on sale ($1-3 each at Lowes, Walmart), many bought at regular price with the most expensive around $12 (for the biggest of all). Majority are around $5-8.
Sedums - $3-5 each
3 plants in front bed - (I have got to find their names out!) - $1 each, Lowe's clearance section
Yard Art - bird bath (basically free), small bird feeder (owned for years, maybe $5), shephard's hook ($2, auction buy), small bird bath (old buy from years ago, maybe $5 at Marshall's), fireplace insert (free, from dad's job site), ceramic bird bath (free, from grandma via my parents), large bird feeder ($1, auction buy), large shephard's hook (previously owned, maybe $5)
Mulch - $15/scoop (we have two so far)
Rock "mulch" - free from dad's old work, just had to haul it home!
Once the summer heat calms down and we can dig again (it's a solid brick out there, we're in a major drought!), we can build our fence using boards left over from our backyard fence. We can also then kill all the grass completely and create more beds and make a rock pathway. I'll keep ya posted!
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