Creating Garden Spaces in My Yard
Many of you know that we got a new pond last summer, and little did I know how much that would change my world! My backyard went from drab to fab and that led to sprucing up and creating new garden spaces in my yard.
The above garden pond photo was taken before the deck, pond plants, and fish were added. Here’s what my waterlilies look like today!
Container gardens are part of my mission for sprucing up the area around the deck and pea gravel patio. I fell in love with these cheerful Iceland poppies – they might be this year’s favorite.
A mixed pot of wave and superbell petunias sits near the entrance to the garden pond. The ceramic garden pot cracked last year but I decided to keep it and let it continue aging. Plus the crack serves as a drain hole!
One of my favorite garden spaces is out in the front yard where we created a rain garden. Our downspout and sump pump empty water into the same area of the front yard and caused the sidewalk to flood during heavy rainstorms. So we dug up the pooling area and mixed in some sand to aid in absorption.
I planted aquatic iris since it likes wet feet and the plant has more than tripled in size. Purple sage acts as a border plant in front. And guess what? No more flooded sidewalk!
Most of my yard is shady which can sometimes present a gardening challenge. I love adding tuberous begonias to containers due to their color and showy appearance. The blooms are always huge and this flower is super easy to grow. A great choice for heavily shaded areas.
Tuberous begonias also look great with calladium and vinca vine. I always consider leaf color and pattern when planning my container gardens. It’s not just about the flower, after all.
What prompted me to share images from my garden spaces is this cheerful, yellow, state fair zinnia! It’s the first zinnia to bloom in the cutting garden. Everything is looking healthy this year because we’ve gotten quite a bit of rain.
The foxglove by the fence are going gang-busters too! I’m so happy with this flower and its impressive show in the garden.
The early kale has already started flowering and will go to seed. We didn’t plant kale this year, it propagated itself from last year’s seeds that fell. I love the way the dainty flowers look in the vegetable garden.
The newest of this year’s garden spaces is my shade garden which I hope to share next week. All this re-thinking of the yard started with the new pond. It made such an impactful transformation that I’m re-imagining how the yard can look with various garden zones.
What gardening projects are you working on?
More Garden Articles to Enjoy:
Garden Pond Transforms Backyard
Country Garden Tour in Upstate New York
Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing and offering some tips.
You have a truly beautiful garden and pond. Thank you so much for sharing.
Your yard is beautiful and with so many different flowers, just magical. Most of my flower beds are raised about a foot around the perimeter of my house due to poor quality clay soil in my area. Right now, my flowers and vegetables are doing fine, but so are the weeds. I’ve had so much rain here that actually “working” in the beds is nearly impossible, with my feet soaking into and sliding in the muddy upper layer of dirt. I’m old, so comfort and safety is necessary and right now I’m very much behind with outdoor bed maintenance. I am so longing for a week of dry weather so I can catch up.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of your garden posts. Your pond and yard area is so photogenic.
Absolutely delightful post! You are so inspiring. We have a zero lot line home which means- very small yard in real estatese. Our back yard is mostly walkways of white river stones and patio areas of poured concrete. Beautiful but high maintenance because of small weeds consistently demanding their territorial rights. I’m seeking a revelation of transformation for these areas! 😇
Looks like a dream come true, i can just see all the flowers and hear the trickle of water and i just want to close my eyes and smile. Oh, shoot!,it’s not in my yard!!
I love your Pond! And your container gardens. Gomphrena is one of my favorite annuals, along with streptocarpella. I did a few large containers this year too, figuring the perennials will have to be annuals🤔.s9 many of my perennials have been destroyed by moles and those dastardly chipmunks. Grrrr. I like your solution to the wet area in your yard. Looking forward to the shade garden post.