garden love: bleeding hearts

I considered trying to split my front bleeding heart but since it is one of my most faithful plants I just didn't have the heart to risk ruining it. Next year I need to take a weekly photo of it coming up in the spring. Once the sunshine hits, I swear it doubles in size every day. It is amazing!

garden love: ferns again

These are a different type of fern. Ferns were probably my biggest joy in planting the shade garden up front. I have 4 different types there.

I love the way the new plant looks like a knot waiting to untangle.

purple, pink, and lovely lime

Now that I have completely redone my front and back gardens and filled any available space in the side yard with plants and flowers, I have moved on to an attempt at some container gardening. Something has to scratch my greenhouse itch!

We visited a HomeGoods store when were in Ohio where I picked up the pot for a mere $15. The plants I chose followed the color scheme already established up fronts: reddish purples, pinks, and lime green. I am especially excited to see this hot pink grass get taller!

Note: The white tag is for the plant I know as "sweet potato vine."

garden growth out front

Two years have passed since I redid the front garden. In that time, things have flourished. My aunt once shared a rhyme with me about the pattern of garden growth: The first year it sleeps. The second year it creeps. The third year it leaps.

Here's to the third year!

Newly planted in 2010:

Filling out in 2012:

Newly planted in 2010 (look at those itty bitty baby plants!):

Filling out in 2012:

I've got one empty spot that I popped a new coral bell into. I also filled in pockets along the front with Impatiens, an annual that I have fond memories of planting alongside my mother as a child. She used to do an entire bed of them in the front of our house. I remember being so impressed with how they started out small and thin but would end up thick and lush by summer's end under her patient care. How much I appreciate the things she taught me about flowers and gardening and the way she let me "help" even when it might have been easier to plant without me!

morning glow

I went running bright and early on a recent Saturday morning. When I came back, the sun was up and shining beautifully on my garden. While I am most certainly not a morning person there is something magical about being outside when the day begins.

terrific tiles for a fresh front

 The new, custom house number tiles are installed (thanks, handy husband)! Tah-dah! It's like they are a preview of all the crazy bright colors you will find inside my house.

I heartily recommend the artists – J and R Designs – whom I found on etsy.com. You get a preview of your tile and the option to make changes (which I did, had to have my purple in there) before it is finalized. They were friendly and easy to work with and the tile arrived safe and sound.

Before:

After:

Just another note on how fabulous the "after" is – the black mailbox and light match the black railings. The little curl on the top of the light mirrors the curl on the railings. The numbers are also black with a slight curl detail as well (you can't see this because I hid it in the photo).

And if you're curious about the front yard garden project or the purple glass garden art that shows up in the photo hop on back to these previous posts!