recent developments in the garden

I've been so busy recently that I haven't had a chance to post photos of some of the recent additions to our landscaping scheme. Not that there have been a lot of additions -- I've been too busy working! But back in early June when a local garden center was having a huge sale, we bought a number of things to help transform the space around our house from a dirt-filled construction zone into actual landscaping. As you can see, just having them sitting around in pots makes the place look a lot more welcoming. Although we're eager to get them in the ground so we can cut back on the watering just a tad...

The black-eyed Susans are not new but are instead things we managed to save from our pre-construction landscape. We still have some other things we temporarily tucked away in the back yard (e.g., Echinacea, creeping Phlox) that we plan to move back up here next to the decks as well. Ultimately, we're going for a semi-wild feel that nods to the meadow garden look. (For some beautiful photos of meadow gardens, see John Greenlee's book, The American Meadow Garden.)

This next shot through the plants gives a little bit of the sense of what we're trying to create...

And here are a couple projects I've actually made progress on: a now lush pot of herbs by the garage, and a yellow butterfly bush I finally got planted last weekend.

Believe it or not, it took me THREE hours to dig the hole for that butterfly bush! Several years ago, I worked hard to amend the soil and turn the whole surrounding area into a flower bed. But apparently the dirt got moved around during construction when they tore up a nearby cement patio, and what I encountered when I started digging was a ton of gravel, packed clay, hunks of cement, and various other bits of construction debris. So digging progressed only inches at a time. And it would have been even slower if I hadn't given up on my shovel and resorted to using a pick axe instead! It made for a really pleasant July morning, let me tell you.

I'm hoping to take a bit of vacation time this week, so perhaps (if the weather cooperates) I'll make a little more progress in the garden in the next few days...