After 2 years of neglect, I'm reclaiming my gardens The tenacity of plant life has amazed me, it's been a joy to see so many perennials rebound as if they've been babied consistently all along! Here are some pics of the entry garden from May:

Looks great, Neal. It is amazing your potted plants stayed so healthy with neglect - or maybe your definition of neglect is what I consider normal care

Some June shots from the same area:

Well, I did lose several plants that come in for winter, but thankfully most were resilient! Several are tender bulbs that at least got set inside for winter and back out for summer, but other than watering, that was about all the care they received.

Some July shots of the same area:

The front yard is where I have my largest beds- the yard is basically just a network of lawn paths around the garden beds. From the house the view of those beds faces west and northwest, and we have a great view of the sunset here, so I call it my "sunset garden". While it's certainly poly chromatic, my color palette is inspired by colors I see in the sunset, especially peach, salmon, and coral shades. May didn't have much to offer in those tones this year, but I have added some peach bearded Irises and a Pink Hawaiian Coral peony to that bed


In June it went from pastel to bright!

A couple of July shots of the "sunset garden"

Wow, Neal!

Everything is just beautiful!!

What is the big Rose climber? It sure looks happy there.

Fabulous combinations everywhere you look!!

Thanks for the fantastic tour!

Thanks Janice! That monster Rose is 'Leontine Gervaise'. Hard to believe it started as a rooted cutting in a 4" pot.

A 4" pot!!! And how long ago was that, Neal?

It is so impressive!!!

Hmmm...let me think. I've lived here 6 years, and I think it was year 2 I planted 'Leontine Gervais', so pretty sure it's been there 5 years now. By the 3rd year it had totally outgrown the trellis I had there and had sent out long canes throughout the garden like a thorny octopus! It only blooms once a year, but what a show. And I've never given it the first drop of fertilizer, nor has it ever been sprayed. The foliage is still healthy and shiny- no black spot

That is quite a testimonial, Neal! What a fantastic rose!

Hello Neal. I've been away a while too and wishing there were a few more of the original posters on here...I'm wondering about the old dg and cubits members..

I think 10 of us are lurking for every person who is posting.

I didn't get ANYthing planted this last spring, and untill recently, weeds ran amok.

Sorry to hear that ,Rick.

Hey Veronica! Good to see you're still around!

Rick, I know how you feel- the weeds took over last year and I never did get a handle on it. The good thing is (if your experience is anything like mine), the big weeds pull out easily and seemed to shade and prevent a lot of new seedlings. We have had an extra wet summer, so that has made weeding a lot easier.

I used to beat myself up for neglecting the gardens so terribly, and wouldn't allow myself any new plant purchases, thinking "if I'm not caring for what I have, I have no business bringing another plant home". Now I realize, a new plant inspires me to tidy up it's new home, then when I see the progress, I'm motivated to keep up the momentum. I also kept seeing the weedy beds as a monumental task, and felt overwhelmed, not knowing where to start. Now I've adjusted my attitude- it's not a monumental task, it's just a bunch of little ones

>> the big weeds pull out easily and seemed to shade and prevent a lot of new seedlings

YES! My newest omnipresent weed is an undistinguished Snapdragon someone gave me. She said "this is easy to grow, in fact, it will spread without any work".

Well, the work comes when birds drop the seeds in every raised bed you own. These snaps grew fast and thick, and no other weed has a chance to compete. They do pull out easily, and a lot of root comes with them.

I had let my beds get weedy because of no mulching and no Preen..we had a lot of rain earlier and then went on vacation ..oh my I had 2 ft tall poke weed where I would swear there was none when I left home!!! I was so discouraged that I pouted a few days and then went to work..it took a while and especially the last AND biggest one I kept putting it off. Finally got it done and now looking back am really glad I did..It
Did wonders for my moral but was sure hard on my knees and back.

>> I pouted a few days and then went to work..
>> .It did wonders for my moral but was sure hard on my knees and back.

Veronica, I know JUST how you feel! My legs and back ache for days after a burst of work. I "should" do a smaller amount of work every other day, but this place where I spend 9-6 every week day seem to think they have first call on my time.

Neal said:
>> wouldn't allow myself any new plant purchases, thinking "if I'm not caring for what I have, I have no business bringing another plant home"

For me, it's new raised beds. "If I don't have time to weed and seed the beds I have, how can i make ANOTHER bed??"

Since I have to chop up the ground and make new soil from pure clay for each bed, making a new RB is not exactly an impulsive act. But I have two big new spots aching to be amended and built up. One place was weeded to within an inch of its life, and bushes chopped back. The other site used to be my back deck, but removing the rotted wood left so little that I had it all taken away, and now it wants 6-10" of soil to be created.

We gardener s just don't give up! Last year I decided to downsize and turned a large bed back into lawn and dug out some older plants.. Now I am planning on moving mt hosts bed and getting several new plants for next year..right now I am watering every day..ugh!