This is year two for the front garden, and year three for the Japanese Maple on the left side of the shot.  As this garden begins to mature, it is becoming less of a collection of plants and more of a garden. Does that make sense? I planted the clematis you see blooming last year to add a height element. There will be another height element as well, though you can’t see it in the picture. I have a small Saskatoon berry bush growing in the centre area of the garden. In another year or two it will reach the height of the clematis and taller. The fawn ornament in the foreground is one of the few things I have from the house I grew up in, and it has moved around this garden and various gardens at our old place too.

I’m enjoying watching this garden change as the season progresses. Before the clematis and the black-eyed Susans started blooming, we had some very showy irises and before that, the peonies. We have two sunflowers growing at the very front of the garden, and later in the season these will give us some crazy big yellow blooms that will tower over everything else. I actually planted an entire package of sunflower seeds along the front. Last year, we had several beautiful sunflowers and I was looking for a repeat performance, but only two came up.

Tuffy P has done a fantastic job keeping our front garden weed free and looking beautiful. She has way more patience than I do for the details, and her effort really pays off.