ah, hadn't thought of that trick! Yes we had a push mower w a bagger. dh hated it because we had to empty the bag constantly it seemed and the process was slower than just buzzing over everything lol. Rebar fixes that urge though
Does anyone have arbors or gazebos? I don't have anything like that, wish I did...

Slowly developed the beds over the last 10 years or so when I started getting into flowers. Really would like to start a new bed, but just haven't done it yet.

oh, wow I am totally impressed with your grass!

Thanks, Frilly. That is totally my husband's doing and he is very fastidious about it (better way of saying fanatic!). He really works at trying to keep the grass from browning out in the summer. We do not water it though, he just makes sure he mows it high enough so it does not die out.

He is a dear. Without his help and giving up some of his precious lawn, I certainly wouldn't have the flower beds I have.

everyone's gardens are absolutely beautiful.

Oh, I LOVE seeing pictures of peoples gardens! I will share a few. Although, I am not that good at taking pictures of my back yard.

Here is my husbands native bed on the left:






Daylily beds around the yard:

Let me just say that there are some really lovely gardens in this thread!

I love looking at other people's garden areas to get ideas. I've been working on my yard to add more garden beds and a lot less grass since 2004. I've probably got a couple more years left in me for heavy lifting and then I will have to resolve to getting help or just forget adding anything new and stick to planting and weeding.

I came home from work today to a husband who was complaining about his back hurting. He is saying this while he is watching TV. This was one of his days off from work this week. So I am thinking ... yeah, right. What did you do today that would strain your back? He says, did you see the back yard? I am thinking I was just out there when I let the dog out minutes before and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He says go look over to the west side of the backyard. So I head out there ..... having no idea what to expect!

Well, this is what I saw:











I figured there was well over $200 worth of concrete border/wall stones and pavers there. I knew exactly where he had gotten them. A major yard clean-up and a make-over by a neighbor, yielded this bounty! I love it when I can get used concrete garden border stones and pavers in good shape .... for FREE! Just need a jet spray with the hose, a little spray bottle of bleach water, and let them dry out in the sun and they will look good enough! I don't like bright white concrete, so aged is perfect!

My husband had run out of steam before he could haul all 99 wall/border stones over to our backyard. He was going to try to haul the rest tomorrow. I said, no way ... I am on my way over there right now to get the rest. And I did! LOL! I haven't stopped smiling since! My dh did good!!!! I already have a very good idea what I am going to do with them! I had been pricing them at Home Depot and was debating how to do some terracing for cheap! Free is better!!!!

The stacks of concrete wall/border stones isn't so pretty right now. Here is some photos of the better part of my garden areas. I have much, much more I want to do!

I garden for hummingbirds and butterflies. Most of my nectar plants are red or purple. I decided to change it up this past year with some cool blue. I started by added some Blue Plumbago bushes around my yard:



I have been getting rid of all the wooden borders in the yard because of rotting and insects. Replacing everything with concrete. Picked up 2 pieces of unexpected garden art concrete statuary at a dear deceased neighbor's estate sale for unbelievably cheap. Painted the cinder block raised garden bed blue to compliment the blue plumbago bushes. Added Daylilies to that raised bed. Along with butterfly host plants and hummingbird nectar plants.





Painted 2 large concrete pots that were offered to my son because the homeowner didn't want them. My son asked if I wanted them ... I said absolutely! They just needed cleaning and then I painted them blue to match the raised bed and Plumbago shrubs:





I placed them right next to the arbor entrance:

Becky, that man has earned some extra TLC.

Debra - You got that right! He knows how much I love gardening and adding hardscapes in the yard to add even more garden areas. LOL! That was a heck of a lot of heavy hauling! More than he should have been doing! Perhaps a nice back massage tonight is in order!

Becky--What a wonderful find! And a wonderful husband, too. My husband brings home goodies, too. They know what we like and free or real cheap is good. I like all the color in your garden and the statue. Blue is such a soothing color and a color that I like in the garden. What kind of paint did you use for your pots and cement blocks? I want to make a yellow brick road for our Wizard Of Oz daylily bed. I could paint the bricks or whatever we use while it is too cold to get outside.

Amy---I love all the color in your beds. I especially like the pink Echinacea. I want to incorporate more perennials with the daylilies in some of our beds. Got to move out more daylilies to do that! I like how you have done it. You do take good pictures!

Vickie---You have done a good job of mixing plant varieties and colors, too. I also like your husband's green lawn. All the lawn we have is up around the front of our house. Every year I plan to put out herbicides to kill the weeds but there is never enough time. I appreciate a pretty lawn for it sets off the flower beds.

I hope more will show us pictures of their gardens. I love to visit gardens whether it be in person or through cyber space.

Doris, I agree with you on the lawn setting off flower beds. As much as I hate the grass here, I have left some of it for border/color break/change in texture.

This first image is from the fall of 2002, I had just bought the house that spring.


This second is from the summer of 2012, 10 years later.

I love seeing everyones gardens to me they help make a house a home.

Great find Becky your hubs did good.

Brian, that is one beautiful garden.

Brian, I love what you have done! The red daylilies and white hydrangea mimic the trim colors of the house. Is that an Annabelle hydrangea?

Thanks Debra and Doris & David. It is an Annabelle hydrangea and the smaller pink ones in front of the porch are the newer pink variety that I forget the name of at the moment.

I wondered what that pink flower was. Are the blooms always pink in color or just when the soil is alkaline? I am asking because I am adding more varieties of hydrangeas. We grow Annabelle, and it is such a beautiful addition to the garden when the daylilies are in full bloom here. I have several that I rooted last year. I cut ours back each late winter since they bloom on new growth and then root some of the cuttings. When garden visitors ask me what that white bush or hydrangea is, I tell them and ask if they would like to have one. Faces light up, and I get a "YES!" At our daylily garden tour last June one man wanted one for his wife because she really liked it. We were having a plant sale in the garden in conjuction with the tour. I sold him a pot with the money going to the daylily club. I think I will offer some pots for sale this June when we have the tour again.

Doris

Very nice gardens everyone.

Hi Doris. The pink hydrangea is called Invincibelle Spirit and there is another pink one called Bella Anna. They are pink in all soils I believe and do not change with the pH. I have the Invincibelle Spirit variety and find them to be much slower and weaker growing than the Annabelle though I must admit to having them in a shadier dryer spot.