I always thought that if I had to name my garden I would call it 'Cheek by Jowl'. That pretty much describes my approach to plant placement. Roses, perennials, shrubs, native bi-annuals, vines, and annuals are all packed in closely together - much like a cottage garden, but on a different scale. The garden is enclosed and has several entry points. The front gate is on the east side of the house and is shown here (adjacent to my neighbor's yard). The gate has an inlaid ceramic tile, and is covered by a wooden arbor that I built a few years ago. There is a second gate made of decorative iron and wood in the lower back yard on the west side of the house, next to the sloped rock garden. And of course, there are entrances through the back of the house itself (from the second floor deck and also the ground floor patio).
In previous years the gated arbor was covered with a Joseph's Coat that climbed up the left side (shown here:
http://cubits.org/roses/thread...), but it developed a gall at its base that caused it to dwindle over the past two years, so I replaced it this spring with a climbing Pinata and a climbing Jacob's Robe, and added two purple clematis. Hopefully the new climbing roses will cover the arch in another year or two the way Joseph's Coat did. A Berries 'n Cream climbing rose is shown on the right. I had to cut it back a bit this year to prompt some new, fresh growth.
