It’s happened. I’ve been bitten by the gardening bug — and honestly, I don’t know what took me so long. Suddenly, I’m dreaming up garden beds, removing sod (so much sod), planting shrubs, and fighting off weeds that are somehow taller than I am.
Somebody stop me! (Although I’d really rather you didn’t.)
I added a picture of a flower garden to the dream board I made at the beginning of the year. It looked something like this.
And this.
We’ve lived in our house for three years now. In that time, we’ve poured our energy into the back garden… and welcomed a few babies along the way. But this year? This is the year of the front garden.
I was tired of coming home to an empty planter (squirrels have dug up everything I’ve ever tried to put in there) and bare garden beds. I want to pull into the driveway and be greeted by cheerful shrubs and flowers. I want to open the windows and let the sweet smell of blossoms drift into the house.
I used to overthink everything when it came to gardening — trying to plan it all online. But I’ve realized gardening doesn’t do well with online shopping. The best approach? A good wander through a local nursery. And, yes. You will come home with more plants than you planned.
Does chicken math apply to gardeners? I’m new to the club — someone let me know!
Welcome to My May Garden Tour
Flowers Make a House a Home
Right outside our living room window is a sweet little shade garden. It gets morning shade from the house, and afternoon shade from our oak tree. I’ve planted four Green Velvet boxwoods here — they’ll take a few years to fill in, but they’re timeless. To bring life and instant color this year, I added impatiens. Consider this the before picture.
There’s a garden bed just outside our bedroom windows. I have dreams of pulling out the old wooden beams someday, reshaping this bed with a softer, curved edge, maybe planting a small ornamental tree or a large shrub. But that feels like a project for another year. That is, until I saw these hydrangeas. And now—well, here they are! Surprise! I love the burst of pink they bring to the front of the house. And before you say, Well, Cara, that’s a lot of plants lined up in a row—yes, it is. But it’s just temporary. They’re tucked into the bed for now, and we’ll figure out the rest when the time comes for the full redesign.
Thorns and Thistles and such
Along the side of the house I dug up and replanted these native violets (read: weeds). I think they’re beautiful, and this is a difficult spot, and weeds will thrive anywhere, right? They’ll fill this spot out well. (Me talking to the plants, really.)
Under the Pine Tree
Moving to the back garden. This spot under the pine tree has become something special. My husband unearthed a bunch of old pavers hidden under the soil while we were removing sod (again: if you’re new to gardening, don’t start with sod removal. Trust me. Just plant some annuals and a hosta. The annuals will bloom all summer, and the hosta will come back next year.)
Inspired by the garden bed these pavers created, and a mosey through the Walmart garden center, where I was “just looking,” I came home with these grape hyacinths. Aren’t they dreamy? In a secret woodland sort of way. Behind them, I planted ferns — a gift from a neighbors garden last year. We’ll see how they do here. It’s a bit sunnier than they might like, but gardening is a dance, isn’t it? You plant, you wait, you move things if needed. So here they are, behind the pine tree. I hope they like it here. I hope they stay.
Gardens Are for Sharing
And for the final stop on our tour: almost two years ago now, my neighbor across the way dug up these hostas, and I planted them here. They’re common in many gardens, but I don’t mind one bit. I nestled them into a shady corner where they get dappled sun most of the day. This spring, I tucked in some impatiens for a little pop of color.
So that’s where the garden stands this May—part dream, part dirt under my nails, and fully a work in progress. That’s all from my garden—for now! I’ll be back in the fall with an end-of-summer garden update. Until then, happy digging, happy dreaming, and may your squirrels be kind.
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