Ready to Mulch...

I think. I still have 4 smaller, two toned hostas to plop somewhere, but overall I think I'm done - at least with the front bed...for now...lol. It looks so totally different from when I started it's hard to believe it's the same yard! If I have to work this hard every year, it's going to go back to weeds. I still have the tendinitis (that'll teach me to try to keep up with a 23 year old!) so hope that clears up. Fortunately, I'm ambidextrous!

Here's the view from the front, near the street:



Next year I most likely will move some of the front hostas further back, since they have gotten pretty big. Then the coral bells behind them will be more visible. I've used about 10 different coral bells so far in the bed (plus one the Peach Flambe, on the other side of the driveway, and another, Amethyst Mist, that I'm going to put beneath trees in the back yard.) I hope they all live, since I like the various colors and textures. I also have used campanula for some flowering, and impatiens and begonia. The begonias are mostly in pots in the front beds. I also used coleus in various spots, with mixed success.

I'll probably fool around more with the sides and back later - the south side gets more sun, so the plants on that side are doing better than the identical ones on the north side. If I get ambitious, I can move the north plants over and do something else on the side by the statue. If I don't get ambitious, it can wait until next year.

I have my favorite garden stores now, and will use them all again. Especially at sale time! I got a lot at Chaska Farm and Garden, Malmborgs, Tonkawood, and a little Farm and Garden Store called Marshall's in Eden Prairie. I also had good luck at one of the Linder's satellite stores. I was not impressed with Halla - didn't buy a thing. I ordered some perennials from Bluestone online, and nothing made it. Humbug. I'd rather buy local, anyway.

I didn't start out with a specific plan, other than the basic shape. I just bought things I liked, and thought would work, and then decided where to put them when I got them home. I just set pots around and moved them until I liked how it looked, then dug. Occasionally I had to shift a little because of all the tree roots - if I buy things next year, I'll buy them smaller so I don't have to try to dig such big holes!