I garden in an old part of town in the southern part of Puget Sound in western Washington state. We are on the boundaries of a temperate rain forest. I love ferns an have several varieties, but our native sword ferns are the structure for my winter garden. I have been tenaciously pulling and chopping out one variety of deciduous fern all this spring since its root balls and size were actually smothering a hydrengea and Alberta Spruce. This fern is one of the main weeds for my garden. Our winters are generally wet and cool (30s to 50s) sometimes cold and snowy for a few days, and our summers cool (40s to 60s and getting into the 70s for half an hour before the sun goes down) and dry.

My yard is ever changing, but most areas are mature plantings. The only grass left are weeds and a small shaded orchard. Here are some photos from this spring.daffs along the driveway
pink cala lilies
slug damage
forsythia
lots and lots of hellebores
Some of my old dwarf bearded iris and two of my new ones, Boo, and Ballistic.


. And of course lots and lots of wood or wild hyacinth
and my favorite little bush


and the Pacific bleeding hearts that are native and a wonderful ground cover for me
and last but not least are the doubled 'Bellerina Cream' primrose. It has been blooming since February.

So pretty Jewel, I love the Bellerina Cream Primrose and your helleborus are lovely!

I do love hellebores, but try to fit a few other plants in

Wonderful spring colors! The hellebores are outstanding. What is the pink bush? It's so cute.

Beautiful Jewell, those pink lilies are great.

Thanks Susan and JoAnn. Susan the pink bush is an old fashioned flowering almond given to me years ago. I love how it looks in bloom.

Busy week-end. Got a new to me clematis, a white double. Then one of my Nelly Mosers (it self roots, so have several placed around the yard) popped into bloom.

The old fashioned lilacs are about finished and the Persian lilac is just beginning

I moved my potting bench..for the third time. Built a front cover so that the clutter of pots and my usual mess won't show.

A little paint on old wooden shutters I found cheap and a little scrap wood made this front cover to finished off the potting area. My potting bench is actually an old converted gas barbeque frame that was stripped down with a piece of plywood over the middle. I cut a hole in the side panel to house an old 2nd hand sink.
With this area looking so good I need to clean and paint our old bench.
Last but not least I have a few dwarf bearded iris that bloomed. This is their first year since I decided to expand from my single variety.

The shutters are a great idea for blocking off your potting area. I need to do something like for in front of my garage where a lot of pots and equipment seems to accumulate. I don't use the garage for a car and use the drive for potting and containers.You little dwarfs are so sweet. Do you know the name of the first one?

Susan, I was given that little first one years again. Have them all over and toss a bunch each year. They are pretty prolific if they like where you plant them.

Few photos from this last week until today

Nice combinations and lot sof beautifulc columbines. I really like the pink and purple alliums. I may have to get some pink ones.

A few photos from June, and also the panels/gates we put up to hide the plastic garden utility sheds, pots, plant frames and mess from the rest of the yard.campanella
impatience and day lilylolipops
hosta and water lily
more day lilies
painted lady & sunset green beans
hiding the mess

Our filberts were dying and had to be removed. I planted these 30 years ago so it was rather sad.
beforeafter
What a mess to clean up! it was like a clear cut, and very depressing at first. Now I can see there are a lot of new options for this area now that there is soooo much moooore light in the yard.
still some stumps to grind
but it is cleared enough to contemplate

Everything is looking great. I like the panels to hide the mess. I has thinking about doing something to hide my compost pile. Good idea.

Thanks Susan. I love having the utility area. It is so much more organized and if things don't get put away immediately I can just shut the gates.

Have been getting things tidied up for the neighborhood garden walk. Emptied a couple of seasonal pots into beds that were sun burnt from the removal of the big filbert trees so that area isn't looking so sparse. Have also done some cuttings and divisions of plants I want to multiply. Here is some of the work.
spotted calla lily moved and divided primula divided heauchera starts potted toadlily in the ground now
The fruits of the labor are in full bloom. Lots of phlox

and a few other perennials






. And then I have been working on cleaning up the patio area so we can use it again. The majority of the work on the interior of the smoke shack is complete so the saw horses and tools were put away. the 4 Amigos Ciara the dobie, buddy (cat) Amber and Max

. And we haven't even covered what's happening with berries and the woodland garden. It is a busy time of year.

All are just beautiful.Great job.

Thanks Jo Ann, it is a restful hobby.

Did very late fall clean up over Winter Break. When most of the country has been suffering from subzero temps we have had mild clear days. Crazy weather.

On one old woodland bed that was shade by the long gone filbert trees we finished moving ferns and hellebores. I laid cardboard and covered them with bark mulch for a veggie garden area. The big old ferns filled in one bed and the hellebores will bring a few more blooms into the new woodland area.

Transplanted two blueberry bushes close to the walkway/patio. They are in an area next to the veggie area to conserve watering chores. Maybe a couple of more blueberry bushes? This bed will be a nice sunny area.

I am collecting materials for a cold frame/green house. Hope to have a protected growing area constructed this summer since our summers are usually so cool and damp. This may be far beyond our building skills but I am willing to try.

Veggie area prep


Trying to get idea of layout for cold frame/green house area. It may just be more of a raised bed this first year.


If this stormy wind blows through tonight maybe I can get out there this week end and do a little dreaming.

Winter has loosened its grip here. Plants are just beginning to peek through. Snow drops are just pass their prime and other bulbs haven't bloomed yet

The hellebores have begun showing multiple blooms but the beds do not have any of the ground covers up . The pigsqueak's pink blooms are beginning to open. I found a new hellebore with great leaf floor. Now I just need to figure out where to plant it. I am feeling like spring has arrived.

Beautiful garden!! Thanks for sharing.