When we first moved into our house it had a garden, but not a great garden. It had a lot of weedy plants that spread throughout the garden and even into the grass. I can’t remember the name of this simple green leafed plant, but it was everywhere and it’s notoriously invasive.
Other than the weedy plant that took about four years to completely get rid of, there were mainly veggies, rhubarb, raspberries, strawberries, lilies and what appeared to be a fairly young apple tree and pear tree – planted in the middle of the yard!
I know I’ve got a few pictures of what the garden looked like before we started landscaping, but I think they’re on my other computer. Anyway … you can probably picture it. It was pathetic!
At the front of the house, beside our very narrow driveway there’s a very small garden bed. This was filled with hens and chicks. They were straggly as they were trying to grow in a very shady area.
When I was planting new plants in my newly created raised garden beds in the spring of 2002 I moved most of the hens and chicks to the back garden beds. As you can see from the photo above they are thriving in the sunny backyard. Click on the photo for a larger view if you’d like – the larger photo is quite nice.
The Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum), particularly in this especially sunny area have spread out and grown into the crevices of the interlocking stones. They look lovely … even better after I’ve picked out the dead leaves and mulch that get stuck in them over winter!
As for that very shady garden bed? Once I removed the hens and chicks I planted shade loving plants like Bleeding heart, lily of the valley, a fern, hosta and in a less shady area a Stella D’ora daylily, plus a few other plants.
Actually, I spent some time today adding new plants to that small flower bed and later today I’ll be planting more plants (that I purchased two weeks ago!) in the front boulevard. I’ll tell you what I planted in a new post once I’m finished the job. Hopefully I’ll have a few photos too.
In the meantime … if you want to see an older picture of what my back yard garden looked like in July of 2003 – one year after most of the plants had been added to the garden, here you go:
The garden has matured quite a bit since that time and I’ve managed to add more plants! Oh and I’ve moved a few around too. So it looks similar … but different … better maybe.
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. GTS participants remember to check in at As the Garden Grows each week so that we’ll know you made a new post!
Hi All, just wanted to remind you that as usual I also have GTS posts at Tricia’s Musings and My World. Come visit.
The Hens and Chicks look great. I love the spring when everything is starting to grow. We’ve had a bit more rain this year than last, so everything down here is starting to come in nicely.
I love how they’re starting to work their way down the stone. Happy GTS!
It’s wonderful what you did with such a small space. Your gardens are proof that you can always add another plant. You’ve made a lush oasis that must be very inviting to your urban neighbors 🙂
Wow, I hope my backyard garden looks this lush one day. The first of my tulips are now blooming. Pics are up at min hus.
Your Hens n Chicks looks great… but your yard is beautiful! I can’t imagine where you’ve managed to squeeze anything else in!
Your hens and chicks have made such a nice “flock!” 😉 Your yard is beautiful. Will you post a photo so we can see your changes? (I have posted GTS.)
Gorgeous hens and chicks!! The majority of mine did not survive the winter. My neighbor calls them cats and kittens. Imagine the confusion before I figured out what she was talking about! It took me several days to figure out why she thought I had a basket of cats and kittens on my front porch….
Your backyard looks great with those beautiful flowers.
You`ve turned that into a beautiful space. I am looking forward to seeing what it looks like by the end of this summer!
nice garden
Your garden is gorgeous! I wish I had such a lovely space, but here in NYC it’s pretty rare. Great job!
That is quite a backyard! I also keep my hens and chick in direct sunlight as much as possible. Cheers!