Today we’re visiting Jane in northern Illinois, who is sharing some views of her garden from different times in the year.
I have been gardening on our four-acre property for 34 years. This property was originally a hayfield before we purchased it and built our home. It all started when a fellow gardener gave me some lily and iris plants, and it has developed into the best adventure ever! I keep creating and expanding with flowers and shrubs and shrinking our lawn.
I’m including a picture of our yard on March 7, as it was once again covered by a late winter snow. You can see the “bones” of one small part of the backyard. We are fortunate to have lots of space and good health to keep this up in retirement.
This a summer view of the same area also showing some of our garden produce. My husband has a huge vegetable garden that keeps him busy so I can wile away hours digging, moving and planting.
‘Fire Light’ hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Fire Light’, Zones 3–9), coneflowers (Echinacea ‘Pow Wow White’ and ‘Magnus’, Zones 4–9), peonies (Paeonia hybrids, Zones 3–8), baptisias (Baptisia, Zones 3–9), and lupines (Lupinus hybrids, Zones 3–6) cover this area in midsummer.
A deep purple heuchera (Heuchera hybrid, Zones 4–9) brings deep contrast to the pink flowers around it.
‘Sun King’ aralia (Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’, Zones 4–8) has brilliant yellow-green leaves that light up lightly shaded areas.
This is the little tree that could! Planted two years ago, this ‘Autumn Brilliance’ serviceberry (Amelanchier ‘Autumn Brilliance’, Zones 3–9) has survived two years of near-drought conditions to put on a beautiful display in fall. But the best part is it also has white flowers in spring followed by berries in summer.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
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Comments
Your Sun King caught my eye. Mine was also planted in a lightly shaded area. It took a few years before it could withstand strong late afternoon sunlight without wilting.
But now—maybe seven years or so after planting—it’s thriving in a sunny area (a diseased shade tree had to be removed). In fact, we need to figure out how/when to prune it because it has outgrown its space. I wonder if anyone else has seen their Sun King adapt to sun?
Everything is just lovely.
That's a beautiful countryside you live in and you made it even prettier with your garden plantings.
Your Coneflowers are huge! I can't believe what a hard time I'm having getting mine to even survive for some unknown reason.
The pumpkins and gourds from your vegetable garden are amazing!
You've created a beautiful life!
Lovely garden but especially nice to see the same area in different seasons. Thank you for sharing these views.
Wonderful garden! The snow scene should be on a Christmas card...
Great photos! Just added 2 of your featured plants to my ever-growing list of plants to shop for!
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