As the years go by it’s interesting to reflect on how a garden evolves over time. By comparing photographs taken at roughly the same time each year it’s easier to see the differences. Since my gardens are going on 8 and 9 years old, I decided to see just how much has changed.
Pictured below is my main perennial bed next to the driveway, looking from front to rear. It is a long narrow bed squeezed between the drive and a low wall of pavers.
Originally in 2016 this bed was bordered by a forsythia hedge, as seen in the first photo below. The hedge was then replaced with dwarf Japanese maples, ginkgos and purple smoke tree along with more perennials.
Chock full at this point, in 2024 (second photo) the bed borders on overstuffed, especially after all the rain we’ve had. Excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is also contributing to growth. The peonies now routinely get four feet tall! At least their cages keep their massive heads off the ground.
Below is the same garden, looking back to front. Two years ago in 2022 (first photo) the color scheme was almost exclusively purple and white, with salvia and catmint predominating. This year poppies, geum and iris joined the crowd. The effect is more colorful, even chaotic. Is that a good thing? I’m not sure. The effect is neither better nor worse, just different.
A few changes that aren’t so welcome…the “dwarf” Japanese maples (lime green foliage) are growing much faster than expected, so I’m having to prune them every few weeks. Yikes, at this rate soon they will be too big.
Crown rot claimed a few things and root rot has infected a number of perennials. Blotchy, dark brown or reddish discolored areas on stems is a telltale sign of root rot. Leaf spot is claiming some phlox. Pill bugs tend to congregate around diseased plants, feasting on all the decaying matter. Still, I’m glad most everything survived the winter for once.
Below, geum Totally Tangerine is maxed out. They are fading now but I really like them. Soft golden-orange is unusual among the spring colors, and they are a cheery presence.
Out front, the utility box bed has changed too. Originally a hedge of Magic Carpet spirea bordered the rear. Evergreens, grasses and heathers were the main plantings along with cerastium and barberry, while roses became established. Over the next few years I lost a golden fir, all the spirea, several roses and many heaths and heathers.
By 2024, below, roses and barberry predominate along with peonies, betony, bulbs and penstemons. The bed has filled out handsomely. Fothergilla, kniphofia and liatris went in where the hedge was. Fothergilla Blue Shadow is surprisingly complimentary to pink roses. Another happy accident is how well the penstemons echo the roses and peonies.
Only one heath cultivar survived from my initial batch, Prince of Wales, but it’s doing great snuggled against the rocks in front. (It blooms in February.) Festuca grass, betony, and summer alliums repeat the color scheme.
Shrub rose Claire Matin, a soft semi-double pink, was added last year in place of a diseased Knockout. It is still young so blooms are sparse, but already showing the lovely clusters Claire Matin is known for. At maturity it will be a 5-foot ball of repeating color and fragrance.
Two years ago I got a hankering for a flashy-looking penstemon called Dakota Burgundy promoted as the next big thing in penstemons. I must admit, I was seduced by the oversaturated photo (below left) showing rich pink flowers on very dark foliage. Being a new introduction there weren’t any other images to compare it with, but I took a chance.
Now in its second year, here is Dakota Burgundy in my garden (below right). The coloring doesn’t match the catalog image at all. In fact it so closely resembles my other penstemons it’s hard to tell them apart. Sometimes you just fall for the hype, right? Oh well, still nice.
Peach-leaf bellfower is one of my favorite perennials, and this year they didn’t disappoint. Here are Takion Blue and Alba. They have a simple freshness and purity that’s hard to top.
The iris this year were spectacular. So much so that I made an entire gallery out of nothing but iris images! Check them out here.
Of course the woodland bed was pretty too, now transitioning from the earlier show to astilbe and goatsbeard and all the rest. On the bank the coneflowers are budding up, and tall phlox are starting. Soon we’ll be in the zenith of the growing season!
Enjoy it all before the heat waves chase us indoors…these few weeks of perfect temperatures is so fleeting. I wish you a lovely June and July out in the garden.
