Viewing post #1239075 by Legalily

This last garden, the Back Deck Garden, was started in 2015 and runs along the back "walkway" from the screened porch to our driveway. When we moved to this house we had a deck on the South side of the house that was always hot, you needed a potholder to open the grill before it was even lit , and the bugs were bad so we basically couldn't enjoy the back of our home and that is where the best view is! You couldn't access the deck from anywhere but the kitchen and couldn't get to the back yard from it. Finally late Fall of 2014 we had someone take the existing deck and turn it into a screened porch and then built a small deck and walkway from the porch to the driveway. He finally finished in the Spring of 2015 (he was a friend - 75 yrs old and worked a couple hours a day but did great work and the price was right ) Best investment ever!!!! Now we can spend time outside (awesome listening to the storms come in and watch the lightening at night and checking out the birds at the birdfeeder) and I needed something to look at too! That gave me a new palate for plants behind the walkway and then I expanded that area this summer to add a water feature and more daylilies and plants! I love to plant in layers when I can with bushes in the back and perennials in the front. In this garden I wanted an Oakleaf Hydrangea in the corner for height, Ninebarks for the deep wine color and Limelight Hydrangea for the contrast and also so they can fill in and cover under the walkway. This year I added some hybrid Daylilies (boy did I learn a lesson on enhanced photos on that one!!!!) and am trying to put the light colors in front of the Ninebarks and the bold colors in front of the Limelight. It starts with the porch and plantings the first year and then progresses:


















I'm trying to pull out the green throats on the daylilies with the Green Jewel Coneflowers:



The groundcover between the stone steps down between the Driveway Back Garden and the Back Deck Garden




And these are the new daylilies (lesson learned on the cost but I love them all!) When I purchased them from their advertised pictures they didn't all look alike - seems to me there are many that look almost identical!!!
These are all planted in front of the Limelight Hydrangea:
Blueberry Dream

Curb Appeal

Mystic Image (This was a freebie from Gaskins and has been awesome!)

Bella Note (Boy was this photo off base as to reality )

Cradle of Bethlehem (purchased from LarryR!)


And these are my new daylilies planted in front of the Ninebarks and Miscanthus (which is in front of the Oakleaf)
Autumn Jewels

Faberge Easter

Count Your Assets (The latest blooms have been huge!)

Dragonfly Dawn (another one I should have checked first on true colors!)

Limonero Squeeze

Born to Be Wild (The biggest disappointment so far - see what next year brings!)

Racing the Moon

White Perfection (also purchased from LarryR!)


And the last thing I have added (last weekend actually) is my bubbling rock water feature. My husband gave me a GC to a landscaper for Christmas so the rock and fountain kit were a gift, and I scrounged the rest of our property for the river rock and larger stones to finish it off! We have a Humming Bird that loves it!
In the beginning:

Finished Product:






I can't wait to see how it looks next year when everything blooms around it! I'll have to add more pictures Thanks for not rolling your eyes like my friends do when I seem to go on and on about flowers!
And that is where I am today on my new adventure! I wasn't going to have as many areas here, but when your husband says the hill is a little steep for mowing, well I take that as MORE PLANTS!