"New" Gardens in May

 Those of you who follow my blog may remember the big garden overhaul from last summer. I had all of my perennials dug up, split, and moved, and added lots of new plants to my existing beds. Long story short, the work ended up being done in the hottest part of summer (not the best time to be planting perennials) and even though I watered like crazy, I didn't know how things would look this spring.

I'm happy to report that about 95% of the new plants returned! We had a late start to spring here so it took a long time for the plants to emerge, but most of them did finally come back. I lost the new rose and several smaller plants, and unfortunately some of my old perennials did not survive in their new spots. But overall I am happy with how everything is shaping up. Now that the weather seems like the tropics (!!!), the plants are really taking off.

So let's take a quick walk around the yard! :)

 I am still a little skeptical about the design of this skinny bed (I'm not too keen on how the lilies are all in a straight line), but I think it will be OK. The lilies have spread a little and are less lined up than they were when they were planted, so we'll see how it looks as things fill out. The peony on the right has budded but not bloomed yet. The hydrangea at the far left was slow to start but is finally filling out. Once the tropically-colored lilies bloom, it should be quite pretty.

 

  This is one of the large beds we re-worked. Even in the short time since I took this photo, the plants have grown much larger. The few that didn't make it will be replaced.

 We split and moved my very old purple iris to several new spots. They bloomed quite beautifully this spring, and it was nice to see pops of purple throughout both gardens! I shared these iris with many friends and I hear everyone is enjoying the color! We brought these iris from our old house 24 years ago, so they are very special to me. I'm glad I could share so many of them!

 

 This photo shows several empty spots along the front of the garden. The coral bells which didn't make it will be replaced.

 We planted five new clumps of Japanese iris, a new perennial for me. They are so tall and elegant! Two of the clumps bloomed well this year. I'm hopeful the others come around in time.

 As you round the corner to the side of the house, you can see a large empty spot. This is where we had moved my existing rose bush, but unfortunately it didn't survive. It was attacked last year by those dreaded Japanese beetles, so maybe that had something to do with it. I will put something different in that spot.

   This is a picture of the other bed which, as you can see, has filled in pretty nicely. In fact, some plants are quite close to each other which was not evident last summer! I have several clumps of the old purple iris in this bed, and I'm really pleased with how they look.

 The landscape designer helped me select plants to stagger the bloom time throughout the season, and so far I've been pleased with the color. After the iris bloomed, the lilac bush came on in full force, and now we have a variety of other plants blooming, including this salvia.

 

 I'm really happy so far with how things are shaping up! Since everything has either been moved or newly planted, I truly feel like the spaces are all brand new...yet still have the familiarity of my favorite plants from years past. I know I still have a few issues to deal with in these gardens, but that's just the nature of perennial gardening!

 I'm enjoying my garden spaces more than ever! I'll share more pictures in the coming weeks as new flowers bloom. :)

jp