There are quite a few photos...
Here's what the flower garden looked like in early June 2015!
Along the north fence, looking west.
'Golden Goddess' bamboo, annual vinca, ginger lily, elephant ears, night-blooming jasmine.
Essentially the same location, but shifted slightly to the left to show both sides of projected pathway.
Shifted even further the left...
Anchoring each end of the covered patio is a rose of Sharon. In between them are daylilies (front), tiny/young hydrangea, bleeding heart, English dogwood, variegated periwinkle, spring/summer? snowflake, lyreleaf sage, coreopsis 'Golden Sphere', dwarf butterfly bush, cemetery iris, Louisiana iris 'Jeri', and a pink shrub rose (on the far side, not really visible from here).
From roughly the same area, but a few steps back and looking left/southward, you see the front of the house.
Dark pink-flowering crepe myrtle with some bulbs (Hymenocallis latifolia, I think), more of the hardy pink shrub roses... the new mountain laurel... and this year's bunch of daylily seedlings. (The potted daylilies are congregated here just for now. Come autumn or spring, they'll be planted here and there around the garden.)
One or two of the "foundation shrubs" in the front is getting a few dead spots. I'm not sure what's wrong with them, and I just noticed a few days ago. Well, they've served us for several years, now. If they get too sickly, it might be time to replace them with something else... So far, it's just the front row that's having problems; it could be worse.
Looking slightly to the right...
This is a recently cleared area. We're planning a short fence connecting that corner of the house to the main fenceline. I believe that's an Encore azalea (coral blooms?) beside the variegated hydrangea. I'm planning major planting in this area, in the next however-long-it-takes. This is my shade garden area, though as you can see, it's more of a partial shade garden, for the most part...
It was from this area that I've just moved a sago palm and a crepe myrtle.
Here's the other half of the Partly-Shady Garden.
Loropetalum (unknown variety) trimmed into a tree. Unknown big-leaf hydrangea in the back corner, with another grown from a cutting in the foreground. A few shoots of variegated periwinkle, and a Southern shield fern in the back (against the trellis). I'm still trying to figure out where goes where in this corner...
A slightly more focused-in view of the border against the front of the covered patio. ...Which reminds me that there's also a daisy gardenia in this part of the garden.
Part of the parallel border running along the north fence.
In this section, there are quite a few daylilies, coreopsis 'Nana', 'Victoria Blue' salvia, young purple coneflower (seed-grown, yet to bloom), double white clematis... annual coreopsis, Louisiana iris 'Jeri', and a 'Victor' crepe myrtle (not in photo)... annual vinca...
Looking back along the north fence.
Here's the night-blooming jasmine, elephant ears, and bamboo from another angle. At some point, there will be a fence somewhere in here, with a gate to give access between the front and back yards. I'll probably be extending the flower bed further into the front yard. I'm thinking of putting the new loropetalum somewhere in all that grass and building the bed around it...
Where paths intersect. The paved path leads from the main gate to the covered patio.
All paths will eventually be dug out and replaced with gravel. We'll build an arbor over the pathway, at the gate. This portion of the "ranch/livestock"-style post-and-wire fence will be replaced with another kind of fencing, too. (Not any time soon, though.)
Progressing along the path, headed westward.
At this point, the fence side of the garden grows larger as the path veers to the left.
This part of the garden is anchored by shrubs that are still getting established. At one end (not in this photo) we have the climbing rose 'Jacob's Coat' to scramble up the arbor. At the other end is a vibrunum (some doublefile form?). In between there are a couple of KnockOut roses (double red and single yellow) and Confederate rose. Smaller perennials (not all visible in this photo): gaura, many daylilies, creeping phlox, scarlet/hummingbird sage, red Mexican ruellia, coreopsis 'Mercury Rising', confederate jasmine, Mexican heather, achillea, torch lily, blue sea holly, miniature cream rose, Louisiana iris 'Jeri', gladiolus, purple coneflower, hummingbird mint 'Acapulco', Asiatic lily (bright yellow), and false indigo.
Looking toward the south-southwest...
Over the pink shrub rose in front of the covered patio. Circular rock bed on the right side of middle ground. The plant in the middle of the photo has grown a lot this year. It's Mexican purple sage (Salvia purpurea), bought at Plantasia in spring. It was marked as a perennial, but information online makes it sound pretty cold-sensitive, so I'm a little nervous about its chances of returning. It blooms later in the season (late fall, according to the tag).
Turning a bit to the right, looking down the other side of the same path we were on before...
Between the path and the monkey-grass-edged circular rock bed, there's a strangely shaped bed. Part of it is a mere sliver, only a foot or so in width, but it widens out more at the end. The narrow portion is planted mainly with daylilies and some hardy bulbs (pale pink crinum lily and white spider lily?). Where it widens, there's room for elephant ears, a golden-hued privet ('Sunshine'), yellow flag, annual vincas, and morning glory vines climbing a rustic tripod obelisk.
A few steps further along the path, then turn to the left, looking over another double red KO rose, toward the house... In front of the bay window, there are roses. 'Nearly Wild' and a few of those tough pink shrub roses. Just on the right edge of the photo, you can see the newest rose, 'Apricot Drift'.
There are many weeds here at the moment... In great need of weeding and re-mulching. Eventually, I want perennials to grow around these roses-- partly to hide the less-beautiful legs of the shrubs, partly to shade out weeds-- and partly to fill in the blanks. There's a fair amount of empty space between the roses and the wall. Not the spot for a very special, must-see plant, but perfect for something plentiful and undemanding.
Years ago, I made the mistake of planting montbretia here. ("Hey," I thought. "It'll choke out the weeds!" Ha! Good one.) I'm still pulling out the occasional bit of that, squeezed in between rose thorns. Never again.
The same general area, just a bit to the right.
Another view of some of the roses and the Salvia purpurea. Double pink KO rose behind it... Pale pink crinum lily behind that.
Another slight turn to the right...
Here you can see more of the double pink KO rose and the crinum lily foliage. Here's the (still under construction) circular rock bed, edged in monkey grass. That wooden post usually supports a hanging bird feeder, but it's due for renovation. The pot has morning glory in it. One of my best ones, this year, formerly against the north fence, where a rabbit killed almost all of it. (I hope that whole inch or two of the one vine you ate was worth it, you selfish rodent! ;o) ...But seriously, I am most displeased.)
Yet another turn to the right...
The shed's in the background. ...And all the pertinent plant info for these plantings, I've already relayed in describing an earlier photo, I think. This bed is being invaded by the dreaded torpedo grass. I've started fighting it, but it's not easy. Roundup (or Honcho Plus, the generic brand I'm using) is supposed to work, but getting it on just the weed and not the good plants is not exactly easy. (Pulling only does so much, because you can't get it all up without digging it up-- and even then, it's easy to miss some of it.)
A sliver of flower bed between the path and the circular rock bed.
The pots are planted with "pinata lavender" and monkey grass. (I don't think I put the monkey grass there on purpose, actually, but a little accidental sprig of it has grown over the years.)
...Yet another photo of that one flower bed.
Oooh, look at all the torpedo grass! And an ant bed, too!
...Another? I wasn't paying close enough attention when I took these.
Well, here you can see a little bit of the bed/border along the north fence and a tiny new bed. The new bed is the one I edged in monkey grass a little over a month ago-- the place I planted the sweet olive shrub/tree (not in photo). It's also the new location of that "too red" rose I moved a couple of weeks ago. You can see it there now, though the blooms have faded since the move. It wasn't the best time to transplant, I know, and it's not the healthiest-looking rose. Definitely in need of a rejuvenating pruning, but I guess I should hold off until late winter/early spring.
Turning more to the right, you can see more of the north fence border-bed.
In the background, there's the pineapple guava, which is either a large shrub or a very small tree, depending on your point of view.
Another turn to the right.
In the very back, there's the viburnum. The thing with the large leaves in front of the viburnum is the Confederate rose, which can get up to 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide (under ideal circumstances). I may need to reconsider its current location. It sounds like they die back to the ground in winter around here, so if it needs moving that would be the time to do it. (Also, I want to take a few cuttings before frost. It's supposed to root easily, and I'd like another piece to put somewhere else in the yard, and at least one to pass along to Mom, if she wants it.)
Looking back toward the south.
Another view of the unknown pink shrub roses, the double pink KO rose... and the trellis in the back. We originally intended to have passion vine on that trellis, but it had other plans. We're trying again, but if it doesn't come back there again, it'll be a home for something else. If nothing else, morning glories work well. It could also provide support for a clematis or two... And/or a climbing rose... Hm... That does sound interesting.
Between the viburnum and the garage.
Just a few plants here. Daylilies, Mexican heather, annual coreopsis, achillea, some unknown ground-cover Mom gave me a piece of from her garden... There's plenty of room to fill in here (and elsewhere in these flower beds) before it'll look much like an overflowing cottage garden, but you have to start somewhere! It's already a major improvement over how it looked last year.
More of the north fence border-bed.
From the left, viburnum, Confederate rose, single yellow KO rose, double red KO rose... and 'Joseph's Coat' at the far right. Also in this bed: daylilies, annual vinca, marigolds, and so on. (And torpedo grass, alas!)
Looking more toward the east.
Here's a corner of the covered patio and just a peek at the part of the flower bed that wraps around the southern side of the patio. (I seem to have forgotten to photograph that area.)
On the southern patio edge, there's a bank of purple Mexican petunia. It gets tall by the end of summer-- 3 to 4 feet, I guess-- and blooms profusely. At this time of year, it hasn't quite reached its full potential after dying back over the winter. It can be a bit of a bully, though, so I want to take measures next winter in pinning it back to that one part of the garden.
The Mexican petunia is (mostly) bordered with monkey grass, and in front of that is an area planted with a few "seed-started" perennials that are still very small-- oh, and it's also populated by a few million weeds that want to take over the world.
There's also another double red KO rose, some daylilies, a few marigolds, a few cleome (most have died this year!), and a feeble black-eyed Susan vine.
Turning to the right...
We're back to the roses in front of the bay window and the circular rock bed. In the background, there's the ivy trellis.
Another turn to the right...
More of the pink roses in front of the bay window. Also rather monstrous crinum lilies. A shepherd's hook and hanging basket with a wimpy-looking morning glory. English dogwood behind the roses (against the wall and window). A small clump of ginger lily. The trellis with morning glory (and inconspicuous remainders of passion vine that apparently are too good for our humble trellis ;oP).
See where the monkey grass suddenly decreases in size by half? That short monkey grass is new stuff I planted just last week. (I moved it from around the bald cypress in front of the garage. It needed to get out of the way for the gravel parking area.) Eventually, I want to continue the monkey grass further on this side and in front of the house (as well as a couple other spots), but I'll probably wait for better weather to divide what I have.
Another turn to the right? Who could've guessed?!
There are the "foundation shrubs" Mom gave us and helped me plant all those years ago... They've grown so much since then! Scrambling over them-- see it?-- is the pink climbing rose (that may or may not be 'Lavender Lassie'). There's another "rustic tripod obelisk" here. It's also planted with morning glory, but for some reason, that one's not making much progress. (A good spot for another seed or two.) There are also a few plants in the ground over there-- gaura, salvia, single yellow KO rose.
Looking back the other way...
Not much more to say... Just ignore the dead grass/weeds scattered on the lawn, okay? ;o) I need to rake them up tomorrow, I guess. I totally intentionally left them there for a few days so that some of their nutrients could leach back into the soil... because that only takes a few days in this super-humid subtropical climate, right? (Or maybe I was just too tired to care, by the end of planting the monkey grass extension.)
More of the same...
See, there's the tiny second 'Nearly Wild' rose, on the right. It's been small for a while, now. Maybe a little pruning in late winter would help. There are a few tiger lilies growing behind it, which I need to remember to move, after they've bloomed. It's not a good spot for them. They need more sun, I think.
And that's all, until next time.
