Pond, path and side garden tour.

 I've been enjoying the front garden so much lately that I've hardly taken time to enjoy the rest of the garden this summer.  Our front yard is the sunniest and warmest place to spend the day, and with the lack of sun we'd been having for most of the summer, I chose not to spend the sunny days in the shady backyard.  After lots of sunny days in a row, and more predicted to come, I took some time to clean out the pond and enjoy how pretty it looks in the backyard now.  There are still plants that are behind in their blooming, but I'm hoping they'll just bloom longer into August and September.

 A fairy sitting in a mass of Geranium 'Rozanne' flowers enjoying the view.  I have to echo what everyone else is saying about 'Rozanne', my longest and best blooming perennial in the garden.

 The red Fuchsia magellanica by the waterfall has been spreading and so huge and wide I actually had to cut it back quite a bit.  I had no idea they spread like that, but it must love where it is.  Agastache, Daylilies, Hostas, Oakleaf hydrangea, Hollyhocks, Coneflowers and Clematis are all blooming behind the pond.

 The fish love when I fill the pond with new water, they can reach the edges and find lots of bugs to eat.  There have been fewer waterlilies this year and lots more algae than usual.

 Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' is finally starting to bloom, but the flowers are much smaller than usual.

 This time of year the path garden has pretty much finished blooming and isn't at it's best.

Oakleaf Hydrangea 'Snow Queen' is just beginning to bloom.  It's finally starting to get tall.

 Halfway down the path things are a little greener.

 I finally found some plants that like this wine barrel planter.  Lamium, Japanese Forest Grass, Hosta, Cardinal flower and Astillbes are all doing great.

 The corner under the big cedar tree usually looks fuller, but I found that Sawfly larvae have just about completely defoliated the currant bush.  I've never had that happen before and didn't notice until it was too late.

 The side garden was a bit neglected this summer.  The Sunflowers coming up are from a package that spilled there.  Of course the ones I planted did not come up.  Clematis 'Etoille Violette' is blooming on the fence.  The blueberry bushes are loaded and very late in ripening.  We've just started picking them in the last week.

 Most are still green.

 In one of the raised beds the Littlest Gardener and I sprinkled in a Fairy Mix packet of seeds.  Unfortunately all that came up was lots of Candytuft and this one beautiful pink Poppy.  From looking at the seed list on the packet, I think this is a Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas).  I will be saving seeds and if I have enough I'll share with whoever else wants some.

Hope everyone is having a beautiful summer and there has been some letup in the heat.  We are finally enjoying some consistent sun here in the Pacific Northwest, and it's amazing how quickly I forgot about the rainy cool weather we'd been having.  Gorgeous blue skies and temperatures in the mid 70's are our reward for months of rain and gray skies and cold temperatures.  It was worth waiting for!

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

A walk through the back garden.

Has it ever been windy and rainy here!  The winds have finally calmed down but the rain keeps on falling.  These first few windstorms are always good for helping the evergreens to drop most of their dead needles.  Most of the deciduous trees still have their leaves here, although many have started turning shades of red and yellow.  It will be at least mid November before most of those trees are bare.  We've had so much rain here this year that people are saying now they would just rather have snow because at least it's something different to look at.  I'm feeling the same way, although I'm sure we'll be thinking differently later in the winter.  I just hope I can get the bulbs planted before too long.  I might just have to tough it out and plant them in the rain.

 The shed garden is looking pretty good.  The color of the Japanese maple is so pretty now.  The Hellebores, Heuchera, Bergenia and the variegated Rhododendron will give it a little life over winter.

 Facing out from the shed the garden really filled out this summer despite the lack of warm weather.  It probably was a good year to get these plants established since I barely needed to water them with all the rain.

 Still lots of color around the pond.

 Last year at this time it was bare and brown down the path.  I'm surprised at how green it still is and that some plants have bloomed again.  The big Japanese Maple has just begun to turn yellow.

 About half way down the path.

 This little corner of the path is popular with the birds.  They're always hoping around the ground here under the shrubs.  A pair of Wrens had started a nest in the birdhouse early in spring but moved on.  Maybe some will stay next year.

The side yard with the raised beds is littered with Cedar needles.  It's tricky raking them up from the pea gravel.  I wouldn't use pea gravel again in this type of area, crushed gravel is much easier to deal with and is what we've used as a path around the pond.  The Blueberry bushes have such pretty fall color now.  I had wanted to paint the pavers, but just didn't have time.  I still like the idea of painting them bright colors to add some fun to this area where the kids like to play.

I've still got plants sitting on the back deck waiting to be planted, they make me feel guilty every time I look out there especially since some keep getting blown over with the wind.  As much as I love gardening I don't really love doing it in the rain, especially when it's windy as well.  I hope I'm not the only one that's still got plants sitting around needing to be planted.

Side yard and driveway gardens.

Two parts of the garden that I realized I rarely take pictures of are the raised beds in the side yard and what I call our driveway garden. Both of these areas are on the same side of our house which is separated by our backyard fence. I tend to focus most of my energy on the rest of the yard, but this year I'm trying to pay more attention to these places as well.
The side yard is by far the hottest part of our yard. I've put up a thermometer and have found on sunny days it's usually 5 degrees or more warmer there. The kids tend to play a lot here as you can see by the buckets and other toys. After being inspired by one of the displays at the Northwest Flower and Garden show I'm planning to brighten up this area and make it even more kid friendly. We may paint the stepping stones bright colors as well as repaint the raised beds something a little more colorful.

Looking towards the front gate the Littlest Gardener's rainbow garden is in the whiskey barrel. She's chosen quite an assortment of flowers for it. I've let her pick what she wants to plant in here and she does a surprisingly good job of digging little holes to plant in for a 3 year old. The closest raised bed to that is Sweet Pea's garden. She has Sugar Snap Peas, lettuce, carrots, potatoes and chives in there so far.

Growing in one of the beds is some Broccoli. So far the slugs have left this plant alone.

Here are the blue potatoes we're growing after seeing them on Gloria's blog Dakota Garden. We shared the left over potato starts with another little friend of the Littlest Gardener so she could grow some too.

"George" the garden snake. Thankfully these are the only types of snakes you see in our garden.

Just over the little fence at the entry to the side yard is the big purple Rhododendron in full bloom.

Now out on the other side of the fence is the driveway garden. This has been an area that has been fairly neglected. It's full hot sun here and until we moved our faucet (the pipes froze over the winter and we rerouted the plumbing) it was really difficult to water this part of the yard. There are a couple of roses, lavender, Lamb's Ear and daylilies in front of the raised bed. In the raised bed is a very small Magnolia tree with mostly annuals under it right now including Poppies, Larkspur and Cosmos. Towards the front are Coneflowers, Oriental Poppies and hopefully the Dahilas. Behind this bed is Lilac 'Miss Canada', which are the pink flowers you can see, and behind it is a huge Lacecap Hydrangea that was here when we bought the house.

The unknown Pink rose is beginning to bloom.

And 'Tamora' is flowering too. The fragrance of 'Tamora' is very nice, not as strong as 'Gertrude Jekyll' or 'Abraham Darby', but still very good.

Hopefully the weather will improve once school is out and the girls and I will have some fun projects to work on in these two areas in our free time.

Where do you garden in your yard?

I often wonder where most gardeners do the majority of their gardening. And by that I mean where in your yard do you put your best efforts? I've read about gardeners that mostly garden in their backyard, and have the front yard more of a lower maintenance area. I know many people like the privacy that the backyard gives them. If you're in your backyard maybe fewer neighbors or passersby will see some of the odd combination of clothes and shoes us gardeners are known to wear. Or maybe it's where the most gardening space is.

In our yard the front is the only full sun part of our yard, it's also the biggest part of our yard. I've mentioned before that the builder for some reason set our home far back on the lot. Our front yard is probably closer to the size of many backyards. I spend a lot of time gardening out front and so I subject my neighbors to watching me in sweat pants, old t-shirts and whatever shoes happened to be by the door as I left the house. They see me when I get a sudden urge to remove more grass or need to haul something heavy that requires repeated times of lifting and setting down the item until I get it to where I need it. Sometimes I do feel a little embarrassed that someone might see me struggling with something physically difficult, but then I decide at least I'm trying, and if I want to grow roses and other sun lovers I have to be seen out there.

Part of the front yard from the end of Summer '09.

Our backyard is where the pond is. Back there no one can see me trying to walk along the edge of the pond or lose my balance and almost fall in as I have done many times. They also can't see me kneeling down in my pajamas stretching to reach for the plants that the raccoons have knocked into the pond again. No one knows back there if I'm moving a plant in the wrong weather and for the fifth time that summer, I like that about the back yard.

The pond at the beginning of fall. The Hellebores stayed there for a couple of days, and then were moved to a shadier spot.

The pathway next to the deck and under the big trees are in the back as well. This is where I "get" to do my dry shade gardening. As many gardeners make their front yard more low maintenance the backyard is where I'm trying to cut down on so many gardening chores. Maybe so that when I do come to the backyard, it will be to sit and relax and enjoy the view. Of course I know that really isn't true, I rarely sit and enjoy the view, even if there was nothing to do I'd find something to do.

A look down the path during the Summer.

Our side garden is the lowest maintenance area of our yard. It's where the raised beds are, now mostly filled with blueberry bushes, strawberries, a fig tree and the few vegetables we grow in the summer. I had wanted a cutting garden, but we decided the Littlest Gardener is only little once and should be able to have a sunny place for a little playhouse. Instead we'll plant Sweet Peas and a few other easy annuals near it.

Part of the side yard, Sweet Pea and the Littlest Gardener running and playing.

To answer my own question I garden everywhere, some beds in the different parts of the yard are "easier" but I divide my gardening time all over the yard. Currently the other side of our house holds our metal garden shed and the compost bin, but I'm hoping this Summer to turn more of it into usable gardening space. Some days I'm in the mood to do sunny gardening out front, while other days I feel more like gardening in the privacy of the backyard.
I'd love to hear where you garden in your yard and why.