Backyard Evolution

We built our house in early 2008. At that point, the backyard was dirt. By September of that year, we had sod and not much else.

Backyard looking north

Backyard looking east

View from patio doors

By the summer of 2009, we had a fence, some lilacs and a couple of flower beds.

Lilacs

Dogwood and Elderberry bushes

In 2012, I had filled the flower beds and needed more room.

View from deck

We connected the two existing beds and then extended towards the gate.

New flower bed

New flower bed with Magnolia at end

2013 is when my garden really started taking off. I found an amazing online perennial store and started ordering plants.

New bed with new plants

New bed with new plants, Magnolia at end

In 2014, the plants started to fill out as planned.

New bed - Hydrangea standard, Hydrangeas, Peonies, Spirea

Original bed

New bed, Rose of Sharon, Peonies, Weigela, Magnolia

In 2015, the beds continued nicely. They were mostly sun or part-sun beds.

Flowering Raspberries

Hydrangeas, Spireas, Clematis

Original bed - Hydrangeas, Catmints, Clematis, Daylilies

Peonies, Sweet Peas, Weigela, Magnolia

I wanted to try something a little different so we added some part-shade/shade beds.

New shade beds

In 2016, I planted the new shade gardens.

Shade bed freshly planted

Shade bed freshly planted

And continued with the existing gardens...

Bed with Dogwoods at right

Original bed with Elderberry at right

For 2017, I decided that the Dogwood and Flowering Raspberries weren't exciting enough and had to go. I replaced them with more flower beds.

Shade bed in bloom

Shade/PartShade bed by the shed

Dogwoods taken out (on right)

New Hibiscus and other plants instead of Dogwoods

Dogwoods removed on left, Elderberry removed on right

Rose-of-Sharon, Sweet Peas

In 2018, we extended the bed at the Magnolia to the gate.

New bed by gate

Shade/PartShade garden in bloom

Shade garden by shed

Hydrangea Standards, Hostas, Hardy Geraniums

Hydrangeas, Daylilies

Hibiscus, Agastache, Hydrangea

In 2019, I worked on filling in spaces and balancing blooms throughout the seasons.