Yes, welcome to my Garden Party! So glad you could stop by today and I hope you’ll make yourself at home. You might not know this, but as much as I love to decorate, gardening is right up there for me too in things I enjoy doing and I love to grow pretty flowers. I’ve got a pretty good green thumb, although I’ve managed to lose a few here and there too, but right now is a good time to show off what’s blooming.
We’ve just had a nice rain for the last 2 days, so everything is looking so green and lush (and a little windswept too, but that’s OK). I started all of my beds 3 years ago when we moved to Birmingham, so they are finally coming along and looking good. This bed has an Endless Summer hydrangea, underplanted with hostas and I always add pretty impatiens to the front that peek out over the edging.
I have always, always loved impatiens. They are probably my all time favorite flower to grow.
These Endless Summer hydrangeas are doing well and if they bloom like they did last year (which they are covered with blooms now), they will be busting out in just a few weeks. You can see that they will be a nice deep blue.
This little bed has evolved over the last 3 years and almost nothing made it from what was originally planted. I can tell you that if you’re looking for a good shrub to add in your beds, that Spirea that lines the fence is a good one. It is a gorgeous shade of lime green with little pink blooms in the spring. I planted 3 of them three years ago and they have really grown. Unfortunately, all the other perennials I planted in this bed did not make it for the long haul, so I’ve had to replace them in the last couple of years.
I added mostly dianthus and I hope they all make it.
This is a spiderwort that my mom shared from her garden and it does well.
Those purple sage are newly planted this year. You can see the delicate pink flowers on the spirea. I love this shrub & will definitely plant more of them.
This hot pink dianthus I just planted this year and it’s doing well.
Here’s that $4 birdbath I found a couple weeks ago, looking right at home here in this bed. Found the glass ball last year at a sale and I love it in the water.
Closeup of the spirea and my iron armillary.
The glass ball just sits in the birdbath.
These dianthus were planted last year and have grown a lot. If you’d like to see how these beds have evolved in the last 3 years, you can go here and take a look. And this next area by our front sidewalk is where I built a stone wall all by myself and that’s on the link too.
Moving on to the bed beside our front sidewalk. This bed was full of overgrown boxwoods when we moved in and I knew I had to work on it, so I built this little stone wall out of paver stones from Lowes and planted it with knock-out roses and Dwarf Mock Orange shrubs which have done pretty well. I was featured with this project in the Birmingham News 2 years ago and that was fun.
The double-knockouts have done well for me too.
This urn sits a the end of the stone wall and I just planted it with some cheapie annuals.
Mulching with dark mulch makes any bed look better, I think. Found that armilary at a yardsale a couple years ago for $10. I’m always on the lookout for more garden stuff.
And of course, there are a few bunnies in my garden. I’m sure you are shocked to hear that! 🙂
Down by the mailbox, I added a new perennial purple verbena this year. I hope it does well here. I had some of this planted in my other bed up by the fence and it almost took over the first year. Then, for some unknown reason, it just completely died. Plants are hard to figure out sometimes, but I sure love to watch them grow. Flowers just add so much to the landscape and I enjoy walking outside to see them blooming this time of year.
This clematis is 3 years old and has the prettiest blooms every spring. Too bad they don’t last longer.
Purple verbena up close.
I had tried to figure out what to plant down by the mailbox, since it gets full sun, so I decided on this Miss Huff lantana which is supposed to be really hardy and drought tolerant and hopefully it will get big and fill out. I planted 3 of them. Most of my garden is pinks, blues & purples (my fave colors in the garden), but since I needed something here that is tough, I decided I could stand some orangey yellow down here.
So, how about you? Have YOU been digging in the dirt this spring and how is it looking? Share with everyone by adding your garden to Mr. Linky and add a link back to THIS post so everyone can find our party. I can’t wait to visit everyone’s garden too.
Happy May, ya’ll!
Don’t forget the rules on how to play with Mr. Linky. Go here if you need to learn how to do a permalink and don’t forget to add a link back to MY post here so others can find the party.
Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.
Hey lovely Rhoda
thanks so much for hosting this event, I have to say my contribution seems a little pathetic compared to all the beauty I see here…hey ho, I guess it takes all types
I think I must have missed the post about the birdbath, found at a sale for a ridiculous amount! I am after one too and woulda snapped it up, for sure that is on my cottage Most Wanted List
oh and like, you, I have always loved impatiens, so easy, so carefree and not too much fluffing around to keep them looking good – I guess that’s my philosophy in life all round though lol!
happy days and happy outdoors, I’ve loved being outside in my day today and enjoying all you have to offer here too!
thanks for the great inspiration
sarah
ABeachCottage
and OMG I think I am the first,
ahhhhh, a miracle happens Down Under..!!!
S
x
Hi Rhoda,
thank you for hosting a lovely Garden Party. I love the look of your Garden, so very pretty. Mine is just starting to bloom but for the Party I shared the progress of our veggie garden which is a new feature in our yard.
Have a wonderful Wednesday,
Tam
I have been so excited about this one! When I finally got home last night, I told DH I had to hurry to get pics for Rhoda’s party, and he knew who you were! Funny how our bloggy friends become so “close.”
I love your gardens……soooooo dreamy!
I love gardens. Didn’t used to, but the older I get, the more I love dirt – flowers – plants; beautiful.
Don’t have one yet, but I will. Someday.
Rhoda,
Wow! You southern gardeners sure are fortunate to have everything blooming so early. Your flowers look very pretty. I think we are at least two-three weeks behind you here.
You mentioned how old some of your plants are. I thought I’d share this little garden rhyme with you:
First year they weep,
Second year they creep,
Third year they leap!
Ain’t that the truth!
Thanks for hosting, it’s always fun to visit someones garden.
Hi Rhoda…your gardens are beautiful as usual. Thanks so much for hosting this event.
We were J’s Aunt Ruth’s and I got several photos of her iris collection and other things. J was planting new iris, for her yesterday morning. Her place is for sale. He said he’d go back and dig irises when it sells. We have some of her irises.
I also got some photos around our gardens. Some things aren’t blooming yet. Still a tad early here. But everything looks so healthy, we’re hoping for a great season.
Hi Rhoda,
Couldn’t wait for your garden party and our weather has been so wet, my yard is waterlogged. So I thought I would share a post anyway about my dream garden. I love your pictures and on of my favorties is the spirea too! Love that lime green. Your beds are beautiful and you obviously have done a lot of work! Thanks again-I enjoy your blog! Miss Bloomers/Sonia
Everything is looking great. You’ve done a great job at mixing shrubs and flowers.
We’re getting there over here. This will be our third summer here and I hope to get some things started. There is a huge tree in the back that we have been waiting to take out. I didn’t want to plant all shade gardens and then have to redo when the tree was gone. It’s coming out in a couple weeks so my wheels are turning now!
Have a great week!
~Michelle
Oh, Rhoda, your yard is stunning! 🙂
Rhoda, I really enjoyed seeing your garden. Wanted to join in but it has been raining here for 10 days! It’s a blessing that is driving me crazy right now.
How pretty!! I love diggin’ in the dirt!! It’s right up there with running in my book!! I had mock orange at my other house, but it got out of control. I’m going to look for some plants later today, and I will see about the dwarf mock orange. That’s new to me. With all the rain we’ve had, the ground is just’a calling to be played in!!
Thougth of you on Sat.–I went to our church yard sale!! Woohoo! I got some good stuff. I’ll post about it next week–I’ll let you know when!!
Hugs,
Susan
beautiful! my 6 yo was looking over my shoulder when I was reading your post- she ohhhed and ahhhed at your garden and said “mom can we go visit her garden?” hee hee
Do you think my garden will grow up to be like yours one day? Sigh. It is so beautiful Rhoda – you’ve created an enchanting garden for sure.
Love to you Mrs. Greenthumbs.
xo,
Kim
Beautiful!
Thanks for the reminder that it takes a few years to establish a perrenial garden. I am also in my third year with my gardens.
You are so right about dark mulch. It really sets off the plants nicely.
I’ll be out in my garden if it ever stops raining here.
Your flowers are absolutely beautiful, Rhoda! I wish I could participate, but we don’t have blooms yet in Michigan. We have little buds, but I don’t think that would have made for a very good post!
Rhoda – your garden is lovely!
Ours is a work in progress, I’m afraid. The previous owners of our home were an older couple who didn’t want to keep up with a garden, so the only thing they had planted were some hedges in the front of the house. We’re in it for the long haul though, and hopefully in a few years we’ll be a little more colorful!
Thank you for sharing and inspiring me!
Lisa
Hey Rhoda..
I just love everything you have planted.. I think I’ll try the spirea along my woodline, it looks like it really fills out nicely. We have lantana and it is very drought tolerant and have always had great luck with it. As you know here in Georgia we are always under a watering ban and lantana is our worry free plant. Ours is just now peeking up through the mulch and is the multi-colored.. Husband calls it the Fruit-Loop bush lol.
Thanks for hosting this fun fellowship event.. I love seeing everyone’s garden’s and getting new ideas.
Happy Garden Party Day!
Hugs,
Debbie
Rhoda, you’re my hero! Such lovely, lovely flowers gardens!!
I can’t believe your hydrangeas are already blooming. We are just a little north of you and ours aren’t even close, but that gives me something to look forward to.
BTW, think you will find the lantana you planted a wise choice. We planted it several years ago and it’s flourished even through drought. Also, I know it’s not supposed to, but we’ve found if you cover it with mulch, it comes back even bigger and prettier the next year.
Thanks for letting me join your party. I’m so enjoying all the pretty gardens!
Beautiful gardens, Rhoda. We have nothing blooming yet and cannot plant anything here in Winnipeg for another ten days. My perennials are just peaking above the ground. So, I really enjoyed seeing yours already blooming! Hugs, ~CINDY S~