Sorry I didn't get back soon. I did find some treasures, especially in the roses - some real antiques.
Here are a couple of pictures from last spring

Oh Kathleen, how beautiful!! And to find old roses, what a treat.

Love the forget me nots. We have a roadway to our house that is about 1/2 mile, with woods on both sides, and I am slowing going down it each year sprinkling forget me not seeds.

Looking at your house and gardens reminds me of Tasha Tudors gardens, have you seen pictures of those?

Trish, we're not hijacking, are we?

What a really sweet place you have Kathleen.
I want to see the progressions over the years. Where do you usually hangout?

Thank you, ladies. Yes I have seen Tasha Tudor's gardens. I think she had stony ground, too! When you have rocks, you build rock gardens.

Jo Ann, I used to have a bench under the tree in the first picture, but it went to pieces. The last few years, I've been sitting on the rock walls. I really need a new bench! Here's a picture of the bench and Mitzi as a puppy.



I had bricks under it. Most have been moved, but there are still a few on the west side. I don't know as I really have progression pictures. When we first bought the farm there were two enormous evergreens where the rock beds are now. One blew over and the other had to be taken down so it wouldn't. Fortunately the winds blew away from the house.

This random idea popped up today, and I'm definitely on both teams. We built our house which took several years (mostly on cash basis, hence the delay). There was never any particular time that we sat down and thought, what about the yard? Initially we started weedwacking the thistles and nettles and eventually mowing the incoming pasture grass. We fenced in and tilled a vegetable garden in the sunny front yard. The rest just kind of slowly evolved and we randomly added hardscape to better define beds and walkways. I received lots of plant starts and young saplings from friends and neighbors, which were plopped in the ground where there was room and then moved as I better understood their needs and growth habits. As the garden beds emerged, I would go to the nursery with a rather vague list that might read "something red in front of the lilac" etc. Or a particular plant might catch my eye and then I'd have to figure out where to put that.

Now to the planning: As I sit in the evening enjoying a glass of wine, I look over the garden beds and make notes of what needs to move where, what is missing, where there is too much of the same color, etc. Over winter, I then make up my Wish List for the following season, along with a to-do list of things to move. So my style is go with the flow first and design second. Probably inefficient, but certainly enjoyable.

My husband absolutely does not understand why I keep moving and moving the same plant from one spot to the next (often I am really dividing) and I likewise don't understand his enamor of hitting a small round ball around a course over and over. We get along fine.

Sounds a lot like how I let my yard evolve. Plunk, then assess with time. Have moved the same plant more than once, too, when trying to find where it would look best and grow happiest.