My Gardens, My World - Front Yard; Tier 2

 

Today is Memorial Day.  By this day every year for 40 years, I have completed the most part of gardening and landscape maintenance.  It is a time to relax and reflect on the past in addition to remembering those who gave their lives so we can all be free to choose.  There will always be work to be done as I choose to make plans each day. I walk around to observe and prioritize tasks at daybreak most days in growing season. Along with my garden bag of tools, I carry my memories with me, pull a few weeds as I walk (which is highly therapeutic), and look to the future in my ever changing world. I pray in gratitude, ask for guidance, and praise God who is my Lord and Creator.

This post begins at the top of the hill where our half acre property meets the city street and borders our neighbor to the northeast. We are in the city limits and located on a cul-de-sac with two other neighbors visible from the front. This upper tier has native rock walls on two sides that are dry-set which we built within the first couple years.  The front yard had the first of 22 truck loads of river bottom dirt brought in to terrace our lot over the next several years after we moved here in 1986.  

Some of the first plants that still come back every year are peonies, lirope, sedum, clematis, English ivy, and juniper.  Other successful plants in the above photo that come back every year include Autumn Joy sedum, several succulents, coneflowers, Russian sage, blue salvia, irises, jonquils, daffodils, phlox, and Oak Leaf hydrangeas.  This is a full sun area after we removed four large trees about 20 years ago.  Lots of plant changes from a shaded front yard to full sun!

Clematis and Succulents

Clematis Blooms

Newly refurbished decorative rock and all property fences stained in 2025-6. The city water main is located here and we added a concrete access.  Plants here include a short blue salvis, several phlox which bloom early, and the Autumn Joy sedum which blooms in the fall. A variety of succulents are on the right side of the concrete access.

I named this turtle Pavel after my Czech cousin.  I purchased him shortly after my cousin found me through this blog in 2015.  We have been in contact regularly by email and twice in person ever since!

More of the refurbished decorative rock which leads to the bluebird house.  There are hybrid oak leaf hydrangeas on either side that bloom at different times.  Other plants include irises, daffodils, jonquils, peonies, and Russian sage here.

Pavel the Turtle oversees this garden area and greets me as I enter it on a lower right incline.  The peonies have already bloomed and gone which seems early as I always expect them closer to Memorial Day. The sedum is in full yellow bloom now.  The lirope at the base of the rock walls will have a blue spike flower in late summer.  There is a large tall blue salvia that is just starting to bloom and two purple Russian sages.  A tall pink phlox will bloom soon at the wall high corner.  There are also several coneflower plants and all will stay blooming summer and fall.

Russian Sage

Blooming yellow sedum grows well in the rock walls and as a ground cover in many areas.  When the blooms fade, the plants are spindly and transplant well or can be mowed. They always come back.

This is the northeast corner of our property.  The house number is easy for emergency medical assistance to see as well as anyone else trying to find us.  It is a prominent display for our American flag.  Below the flag are native prickly pear cactus which are just starting to bloom in the above photo on this Memorial Day.  There are some iris and a variety of succulents  in this area that my 100' water hose can barely reach. Along the street were planted six junipers about 30 years ago; only two are remaining and have lost all the lower branches.  Just like the corner fence was built for privacy from all the neighbor activity across the street, so too were the junipers planted originally.  Two new junipers were planted two years ago in the gap made by the ones removed.  They are growing fast and will soon fill in enough so the remaining original ones can be removed when they die.  

Prickly Pear Cactus are starting to bloom.  

Prickly Pear Cactus in full bloom (last year's photo)

Violet Wood Sorel has now completed it's spring blooming

One of the few remaining fancy irises named SwingTown that I transplanted from a larger garden in the backyard that had gotten burned out last year destroying dozens.

This is the corner of the wall of Tier 2 where it meets Tier 1 under a white dogwood tree.  I have a butterfly shaped paver in between ajuga and sedum ground cover.  This is next to a tree stump we left for woodpeckers and I had decorated as a fairy tree until last year.  There are some blackberry iris around the tree.

Also at this corner between tiers is where we buried our first cat who died in 1988.  St. Francis watches over him.  There is a couple of steps up at this corner so I pass by here often.

This is what remains of the old woodpecker tree at this corner between the tiers.  In the hanging planter this year are purple and red petunias and calibrachoa.

Below the woodpecker tree area is the row of redbud trees we planted over 30 years ago. They still provide much shade on this northeast side of the property although the branches are up high.  This species lives 30-40 years typically.  Along this row in the front yard are coral bell plants.

Coral Bells have a wire cage around them to protect from deer and keep the flower stems off the ground.

There have been many pileated woodpecker families over the years and this female is pointing in the direction of her woodpecker tree.  I enjoy watching a variety of birds especially in my front yard where I provide black oil sunflower seeds and suet.  They are always welcome in My Gardens, My World.

 

My Gardens, My World - Hammock Area, Rain Garden, & Ditch

 

In this post, I am sharing a relaxing area at the property line bordered by the road where I put up the 45 year old hammock I made to enjoy the shade from the redbud trees.  Most of the backyard can be viewed while swinging which includes the main Rain Garden that is partly in the sunshine.  I will end the post with a few photos of the Ditch next to the road to identify many native plants on this wild side up to the next main shade area under the oak tree.  There is a sloped lawn between the hammock area and the oak tree mostly in the sun.

Pussytoes will have cute white flower heads soon.  They are located at the base of the north pole of the hammock.  There are Star of Bethlehem by the broken pottery pieces and rocks that have already come and gone in white blooms.  Both are native to Missouri.

Sedum is in full yellow bloom now in mid-May.  This ground cover is in many areas of the landscape; sun and shade.  It is easy to grow and transplant.  It can be walked on and mowed over.

The blooming yellow sedum is in abundance here as access to the dry mulch bin is used a lot at times.  It is an open area should anything large needs to be moved in or out of the house lower level without damaging other plants.  It is now the largest opening to access the property from outside the property lines.  Behind the bin are contained Solomon's Seal as the deer really like to eat them.

Solomon's Seal is mostly container with hog panel wire but plants escape and are available for the deer to enjoy and keep the area tidy with my hammock is use. There are lilies-of-the-valley and sedum all around.

Solomon's Seal blooms 

Common Native Violets are scattered in many areas

Early spring has native Virginia Bluebells which are gone by the time the hammock goes up here.  The foliage from surprise lilies aka naked ladies can be seen dying back in the background.  The pink lilies will come up in August here for a surprise!

I've had mixed success growing ferns under this redbud for several years.  With only a couple returning this year, I went to the woods by the river and found a bunch of ostrich ferns growing wild that I transplanted here recently. 

These are the first pipevine swallowtail caterpillars I noticed this spring.  There will be dozens.  Many will survive and stay in the yard as butterflies.  Their host plant is the Dutchman's Pipevine.

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly

 

Dutchman's Pipevine is a native host plant in Missouri for the pipevine swallowtail butterfly.  It grows well on the hammock post.

Dutchman's Pipevine is named for the June bloom which resembles a pipe.

New hosta plants with day lilies

This little trail through the hammock area has newly planted native hydrangeas and a hybrid oak leaf hydrangea transplant from the mother plant in the from yard named Alice at the corner.  To the left will grow the surprise lilies in August.

This native hydrangea is 3 years old with the new hostas on the left and the Dutchman's Pipevine on the hammock pole above.

Four more native hydrangea have been planted this spring from the mother plant nearby to create a new hedge along the little hammock path.

Native Lamb's Ear also grow along this little hammock path.  It will grow a purple spike bloom later.

Overview of the major Rain Garden in the morning sunrise looking northeast.  The rocks are roughly laid in place with concrete on two sides. This Rain Garden catches the rain overflow from the north side of the house.  It is in full sun. All plants come back every year.

Rain Garden corner looking towards the Hammock Garden. Plants close to the lawn include the yellow sedum ground cover, a hybrid blue hydrangea at the corner, and three blanket flowers.  The larger shrub is a hybrid oak leaf hydrangea in its third year and starting to bloom large white flower clusters.  

Blanket Flower Arizona Sun; Gaillardia

This view of the Rain Garden shows a native Button Bush in its third year. It will have round white ball flowers.  The backyard is a sloped lawn that ends at the ditch which runs along the road.  

North corner of lot looking south along city street which leads down to the Pomme de Terre River.  The white pipe in the center is a sewage pipe trap where it connects our house and the city. Any problems with the city causes the sewage to overflow here into the ditch instead of backup into our house.  This happened one time when we first moved here and was corrected with this trap.

This view of the Ditch is wild for the most part.  All excess irises, day lilies, lirope, and whatever else I don't transplant from my gardens ends up here on this steep bank between the yard and street.  There are many native plants and weeds.  We have tried to keep out tree saplings, honeysuckle, and briers.  The original builder and owner of this house had this steep bank planted in crown vetch in 1978.  There is still some in the ditch but I have worked hard to keep it from invading the attempts I made at gardens along this edge and just keep it mow back in recent years. Below are some plants that I started and just let go wild in the Ditch Area.  Most are now native plants.

Variety of Irises

Common Milkweed and Joe Pye Weed

Spiderwort and Lamb's Ear

Spiderwort Bloom

This view is from the Oak Tree Area looking along the Ditch Area north. Recently planted are several service berry shrubs along a rock wall.  Then there is a row of Stella D'Ora deep yellow day lilies. This Ditch Area is full of Yucca Plants and orange day lilies aka ditch lilies.  We also like to keep sumac shrubs here for the fall color.

Yuccas in full bloom with closed-up day lilies to the left and Stella D'Ora lilies in front.  Lirope are along the sidewalk.  This is a sloped lawn. 

Stella D'Ora Bloom