One Year in a New Garden

Cutting back weeds to make way for flowers

This is Joseph , your GPOD editor , welcoming you to my new garden in South Bend , Indiana . I go here almost exactly a year ago . When I moved in , the garden had been desert for two years and had turned into a mass ofinvasiveweeds .

This area along the back fencing was line with invasive shrubby honeysuckle ( Loniceramaackii , Zones 3–8 ) . thin out it all out was quite a task .

My end the first fall was to get everything cleared out , including the weeds compass out , and the flat coat all ready for planting .

And here ’s what the same bed look like today . prospicient - terminus , I conceive it ’ll be mostly perennial , but I wanted to get it filled in fast , so there are lots ofannualsmixed in , like this rattling redSalviamicrophylla(Zones 7–9 or as an annual ) . The hummingbird come by a few time every day and visit each blossom .

Here ’s look down the bed in the other direction . I ’m fairly happy with it , but I will do some moving around and substitute this fall . Dahlias(Dahliavariablis , Zones 8–11 or as a tender bulb ) in the back are just come into bloom .

This is one of my favorite plants of the class , something I ’d not uprise before : Penstemon×mexicale(Zones 5–8 ) . It is a complex hybrid of several North Americannativespeces and has bloomed nonstop all summertime . The bees sleep together it . Penstemon generally prefers well - drained soils , and mine is sandy , so I hope it ’ll be long - subsist .

Another preferred plant life this year isIrisdichotoma . I ’m not sure this will be intrepid for me ; most internet site list it as Zone 6 , and I ’m on the edge of Zones 5 and 6 . But even if it does n’t come back , I ’m enjoying it as an yearly . These beautiful flush are sometimes call “ vespers sword lily ” because they open up in the belated afternoon each day .

In the front of the house I addedwindow boxes . They have originate a piddling out of hand ! I might try a simple planting next class .

Have photos to share ? We ’d love to see your garden , a particular solicitation of industrial plant you sleep with , or a wondrous garden you had the chance to visit !

To submit , send off 5 - 10 photos to[email protected]along with some information about the works in the pictures and where you took the pic . We ’d eff to hear where you are locate , how long you ’ve been gardening , successes you are proud of , failures you learn from , hopes for the future , favorite plants , or funny stories from your garden .

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