Earlier this summer I shared a tour of the front yard at our new house… Here’s the link in case you missed it.
The yard wasn’t in great shape anywhere, but the backyard and sides looked especially tough.
I thought we took some photos of it but…no luck finding them so you could see the BEFORE.
Most of last summer I focused on having all of the “uck” relocated and getting a good foundation established.
This spring and summer have been about starting to make it look better…
While it’s going to be a “work in progress” for the next few summers, I wanted to give you a peek of what we’ve gotten done so far.
Welcome to the Backyard Garden Tour
If you were here in person, I’d give you a glass of my homemade Raspberry Basil Lemonade and a lemon cupcake or two to enjoy while we rambled around the garden…
If you ever stopped by for a tour of the garden at our old house, you might remember this arbor is one my Pops made for me. It’s a hobby he picked up after he retired… Beautiful work right?
Most people find their way to our backyard through the arbor gate right under this salvaged light.
On your way to the arbor, you’ll pass my little red wagon (and our worn out door that will soon be getting a facelift), as well as the veggie garden I’m growing in a water trough.
Do you think I’m gonna need to buy a second water trough next year? The pepper plants have gone crazy…
After you cross under the arbor, you’ll make your way to our patio and pergola…
These two projects —the patio last year and pergola this year—were a lot of work and stress but are well worth it now.
Backyard Garden Tour: Whimsical Container Gardens
One little corner is a mix of annuals and herbs in containers…
They are on the steps just off the kitchen slider which makes it easy to grab herbs whenever I need them.
It’s a real hot spot for bunnies, birds, and butterflies…
And other spot is an old desk that’s been painted at least twelve different colors over the years.
It serves as our bar and a place for “stuff” when we have cookouts and parties out here.
Backyard Garden Tour: Hummingbirds and Butterflies
This border runs along all of the big windows at the back of our great room…
I planted miniature butterfly bushes like this one…
As well as the full-sized ones like this beauty…
My goal was to attract loads of hummingbirds and butterflies that we could watch from inside the house, too.
The border is filled with butterfly bushes, a fountain, and hummingbird feeders all the way down to my new hydrangea bushes.
The combination definitely works! We have birds of all kinds, butterflies, and bees zipping around all day.
A friend of ours said it was like “Snow-freaking-White” lives here. (He’s a Jersey boy, can you tell?)
I managed to grow cucumbers along side our fairy garden chair… on one of those wicker wigwam kind of things.
If we take a peek around the corner, you’ll see this cute little spot.
Right now it is home to clematis finally starting to grow on the fence and a few hydrangeas…
Fingers cross, we are hoping to have a pool installed and this is the only access point for the heavy equipment. So I’ve had to chill on planting until that whole fun process is finished.
Backyard Garden Tour: Creating a Part Sun/Part Shade Perennial Border
I took this picture on a fairly cloudy day, and you can get a good idea of the lighting challenge.
It goes from all-day sun to deep shade in a matter of two feet.
Another challenge is that the area surrounding the blue bird bath is sloped. I’m trying to use plants to keep the mulch and dirt from rushing “downstream” when it rains hard and ending up on the patio.
I try to remind myself that I need to chill and give the perennials I’ve planted time to grow and fill in and then it will look better.
The side along the neighbor’s fence has really blossomed though…
My sweet peas have continued to bloom all summer long…
This end of the yard is where—fingers crossed—the pool will be installed sometime soon!
See the fun stakes we’ve been mowing around all summer? That’s where the back corner will be.
And that’s a wrap, my friends!
If you liked this tour, I hope you’ll consider Pinning the images to your Pinterest boards.
And, signing up to receive my updates — never spam just a notice when I have a new post!
Until next time,
Shelley
An easy image to Pin and Save!
Shelley – I loved your garden tours, so much to look at and so much character. I’ve got lots of pinning to do. Happy gardening!
Thanks, Joanna! I see that you are a garden blogger too, so I’ll have to visit your site. Thanks for stopping by.
You have a lovely garden just made for relaxing and enjoying sunny summer days. We are now having a mix of sun and rain. We need the rain, but I hate to see summer on the way out. – Margy
We have had a hot summer with little rain here in Michigan! Thanks for dropping by…
Your backyard gardens and patio are wonderful! Obviously the little bunnies agree! 🙂
I love rug, cushions, and the variety of container gardens that you have.
Thanks for joining the garden party. I’m happy to pin this!
Thanks, Stacey! The garden party is great…
Wonderful garden tour! Love the patio you put together- lots of work but as you said well worth it! So glad you joined our Garden Party!
Thanks Liz! Glad to have joined the garden party, too!