unfortunately it also came with all of that untended, everything (including the front doorframe) covered in poison ivy, no grass and two lovely roses that were almost dead from overgrowth. so, currently, rather than really landscaping we’re rehabilitating.

even my dad couldn’t get a shovel into the front yard, the ground was so hard. so we covered the whole yard in the fall’s leaves to start a bit of composting, and we’re about to spread black-eyed peas (which add nitrogen to the soil). we’ll probably follow that with daikon radishes in the fall (to “plow” the soil). then in the spring we can actually plant! don’t know how mid-century that is, but it’s the garden on our mid-century house =)

Also have two 80 foot V-shaped pin oaks, 80 foot sugar maples, a black walnut tree, and several specimens of Japanese bushes and maples. I have a giant Kerria Japonica bush, which looks like thousands of button sized chrysanthemums in bright yellow.

Having a 1/2 acre helps with so many varieties, still trying to identify many plants which have been there for 50+ years.

We ripped out the entire over-grown front and redid it with a border made of two-level retaining wall border blocks and planted a Japanese maple, mugho pines (my favorite) a red twig dogwood, an azalea and something new I’ve never had before: two hyrdangeas (one on each side of my front porch steps). I can’t wait for them to bloom!! I thought they would be appropriate for an early 1950s landscape. We left two small yews in the front, which were REALLY popular in the 50s.

Elizabeth Mary, I NEED to get down to your house!

This was a good — really good — year for the magnolia, the lilacs (seen in front left of the picture), the beauty bush, peonies and the rock gardens by the driveway. Not so good for my beloved iris. Many that bloomed last year did not bloom this year. Nor did the ones that were divided last year. Sort of makes me very reluctant to divide others that need it — a year without bloom is too depressing for me, it seems.

Nothing new going in this year as the outside has taken a lot of $$ over the past few years, much going to the magnolia: lots of cables, feeding, trimming, etc. And, I thank my lucky stars I did that because it came through December’s ice storm with nary a break.

Already here (front):
Huge gardenia on the east side of the house
red and pink azaleas lining carport
clematis crawling on carport trellis
perfectly manicured holly by front porch
some evergreen bushes (that will be replaced by azaleas) lining the long front part of the house

Added (front):
Japanese Maple

and in built in brick container running length of living room and wrapping around the front…
“elephant ears”–huge
canna lillies
pink caladium–smaller elephant ears
rosemary
tarragon
basil
thyme

Already here (back):
Massive live oak circled with multicolored azaleas
hydrangeas
ferns
ivy
clematis on original double-loop wire fencing
4 rambler rose bushes
two unidentifed trees
2 huge forsythias
10 white lillies
irises

we’ve had to slave to uncover the backyard as vines had overgrown a lot and weeds were/are everywhere, but it is looking great! We’ve kept some ornamental vines crawling up the original posts for the clothes line.

Question: Any online resources for building your own brick or slate stone patio?