Power just went out due, I suspect, to the building ice on something. Thought I had lost my previous post and was freaking out -- but, yay, it seems to be intact! Enjoy!

Oh, I'm in absolute heaven looking at your photos. Makes my heart sing. What a haven you created and enjoyed for many years.

P.S. I sure wish Houzz had a "love" emoji.

prairiemoon (may I call you prairie?) -- Yes, the dreaded red lily beetle wreaked havoc amongst my true lilies, the bloody little things. They are a very pretty beetle, but their excrement and voracious appetites were a scourge. You are right that they have been fewer of late -- perhaps the introduced wasp to control them has reached our neck of the woods. I hope so! True lilies are just about my most favorite flowers.

My astilbes do prefer lots of moisture. I have two of a giant-sized type now, called 'Mighty Pip', a good pink that is over 3 feet tall for me -- there is a sibling in a lovely shade of red, equally tall, that I should get as well. {Being less than 5 foot tall myself, I have a "thing" about tall plants, lol]

The mountain laurel nearly succumbed to some sort of virus, and we freaked out. Twice annually now we have them all sprayed with something by our tree people, and it is working well, thank goodness.

I am in awe of your gorgeous property and your dear little frog. Were you ever featured in a magazine? It is deserving so many can view this. LOVE!!

lily316 -- LOL! I'd likely have to self-publish! But thanks for your kind words.

Ha! A light bulb moment here: some years ago, my DH had some family and Christmas photos made into a couple of softcover bound "book" by Snapfish which are very nice. Maybe I will figure out how to put all these photos and descriptions of mine into such a format, if it doesn't cost so much as to deplete my progeny's inheritance, lol. Might make nice gifts for some folk. Or "sell" on eBay? Etsy? LOLOLOL

orchidrain -- thank you!

I have often wished for a "love" emoji here as well. It is definitely needed for so many posts from so many folk here over the years.

Super GORGEOUS! We have spade foot toads in our forest....is that what you have? So cute...

nicole -- mine is a gray treefrog, such an adorable thing. His song is a high, loud trill that is astounding in its volume. I just love seeing and hearing them.

This is so lovely. Looking forward to more. I realize it's still early in the photos, but maybe don't think of it as a decline. It's transitioning- again. What once was wild became a carved out space with lawn. That transitioned into lovely and varied gardens. Sometimes that transitions into more wild spaces again. It may not be intentional, but it sounds like it's working :)

My goodness! Thank you so much for taking your time to post all of these photos. I’m enjoying visiting all of the beauty of your grounds and watching the transitions.

So beautiful in its prime. Non gardeners often think of all the work but of course that is one of the charms of a garden. You get into the dirt while surrounded by beauty.

What a beautiful property!! Do you have anyone helping you with the garden? I am always behind on weeding. Yours looks weed free. Please share some garden tips with us.

beesneeds -- thank you! That is perfectly expressed and I realize now that that is just what has been going on. So I am more contented now to realize that, and will no longer fret. It is an excellent way to look at it all over the past years and going "forward". (heart emoji insert here)

summersrhythm -- I have been very fortunate with my garden helper for the past five years or so. She is my postal carrier. We met when I moved here, she admired my flowers and said she'd be thrilled to do whatever I could need doing. She is about 15 years younger than I, has boundless energy and has handled 90% of the weeding for me. Well worth the money I pay her! And she's lively and fun, altho she has a tendency to forge ahead at top speed often without first listening to my instructions. Still, she is a treasure, and the jungle would have taken over far sooner without her efforts!

Moving onward -- 2006:

Below -- the giant stones were dug up when the river birch was planted, This area is now in complete shade from that as well as the mature crab seen here in its youth to the left of the bench, so the plantings are totally different, I expanded the garden bed as well here:

I hit the submit button too soon... Still 2006:

To the right is the Japanese Maple we planted (reddish leaves) -- I wanted one with great autumn color, but this one does not . It is huge now, another thing I did not realize at the time of purchase, but c'est la vie. You can see the slope from the front lawn to the back gardens:

Ice Follies, a favorite old one:

I adore this plant -- over the years it grew to a full 4-ft diameter and equally high clump, then began shrinking several years ago. Not dead completely.

Below -- notice that gorgeous white dicentra on the left at the house corner hidden in the shadows:

This trollius is amazing -- I bought a quart-size pot in 2006, dropped it at this location (near the swampy area) and completely forgot to actually plant it. And for almost two decades, it has not fussed about its treatment, and has bloomed every year still stuck in its original pot. I am so contrite, but as it doesn't complain, I am appreciative of its fortitude. A few years hence from this fiasco, It managed to create an offspring several feet away, so now (2024) there are two of these beauties:

Epimedium and lady's mantel near the swampy area as well:

No, it isn't a brook, tho I wish it was...

Lunaria, I believe. I like it very much, tho many folk would not:

This was the Year of the Lilies:

The tallest lily in this photo was so weird -- in a future year, it fasciated, subsequent years it normalized. And a few years ago, it topped out at 12 feet! I kid you not, I measured it.:

And some well-loved daylilies:

Tall phlox showing off. I grew up with these in my mother's garden, and have always loved them.. Their tendency to mildew? Not so much, but I live with it, unless I remember to get pro-active with my milk-and-water preventative spray routine (it does work! mostly). Notice how the amelanchier trees have begun to decline -- grrrr:

Now used as a watering station to handle pots on the deck. I like the look of it, but it never worked well as a fountain. Caveat emptor:

And that is what I have for 2006!

I hung bars of Irish Spring around the perimeter of my home garden. I'm planning on putting shavings down in the HOA gardens. It's keeping the deer away. Any other tips for deer? I planted a ton of lily bulbs & deer will eventually find them.

Beautiful flowers!!

I had to stop growing lilies because of the deer. My veggie gardens have t-posts and netting on them or I would not have any veggies. My next door neighbors did the same thing.

At one point Virginia brought in deer from PA. They now regret that.

I used Irish Spring soap one year and something stole all of it! I even had it cut into pieces.

Glad to hear you have a nice garden helper. I hope your helper continues to maintain the garden for you. A garden that size requires a lot of work indeed. How do you keep your flowers safe from deer, rabbits? I don’t see any fencing around your beautiful garden.

Wow❣️

You make me want to have ambition and a green thumb. Such beautiful gardens.

summersrhythym -- Yes, I shall likely have my helper until I die! She's almost like family now, and I have given her many plants and other garden equipment over our years together. I certainly could not do without her.

As for deer and rabbits: there have always been both here, with varying degrees of trouble. You are correct that there is no fencing at all here. I truly did not realize how very large deer are until I saw one up close a couple of years ago. They are very partial to my hosta, of course, and have been known to nip off the just-about-to open buds of the lilies. DRAT! I don't do anything except try to fence things in with hardware cloth temporarily, if I can remember to do it. (To be very frank, and hoping not to offend anyone, I learned years ago that if a male of the human variety were to urinate at the edge of the cultivated property that the deer could be persuaded to stay away.)

I grew up with Beatrix Potter books and so do find rabbits to be cute, as she did. However, they can definitely be a problem. Oddly, they don't seem to be terribly destructive of my plants, as they are happy to munch on all the clover that has gradually replaced most of the sod we installed. Live and let live, say I. For now!

Concerning the lawns here -- now they are all full of non-grasses (purple and white violets, some of those daisies from the defunct meadow slope, Queen Ann's Lace, black-eyed susans, the clover and lots of moss. My philosophy is that if it gives the overall impression of being green, which it does, that's good enough for me. I won't spend time or money trying to keep a decent lawn. It all gets mowed upon occasion!

Glad to hear your garden friend/helper will always be there for you. You're so lucky! Thanks for the tip. :-) Since last year I have been using human manure fertilizer from Lowes, it works pretty well with deer & rabbits and plants go wild with it. I learned that from garden friends on Rose Forum.

It takes me so long to comment because I linger over every single picture forever. The only thing I would change about your gardens, is me! Add me to it. It's perfection. You must garden 24/7/365. It's so amazing. A total delight.

rob -- I'd be happy to add you to my garden -- do you prefer sitting on a bench in the shade or in the sun? Iced tea or wine? I have chocolate... =) Hope you do enlarge the photos!

My mother had a few flower beds (dad had the vegetables) and she & I would perambulate around checking their progress whenever I came home from college. It was our time to catch up with each other. But I never really did any garden work until long after I married. I tried to have a tiny garden at our first apartment in San Antonio, which was a dismal failure. 50 years ago we moved back to MA, and I did some gardens there, tho minimal as the kids were young.

Moving here 25 years ago finally gave me plenty of space to indulge myself in a big way. Once the first layout was in place, I gradually greatly expanded the size of all those beds and began to dig out several new ones. Worst job was to heft those stone edging blocks up front and move & reset them to widen the beds -- those are actual cobblestones, and weigh a ton each. I could not do it today, lol.

I've enjoyed posting my photos, but doing so has encouraged me to succumb to the desire to increase the spring bulbs displays since the sun pattern has changed to the ever-growing height of all the trees here. So, two nights ago I sent in an order for a bunch of pretty stuff that I could not resist. Some will be put into containers, some into the ground. I must be mad....

xoxoxox

@summersrhythm...I've never heard of human manure at Lowes. I'll look for it. Thank you! 💚

@roxanna....We need lots of photos when your new purchases bloom. 💚

Oh yes, I am enlarging every photo. More than once. So I can feel like I am there. Are you kidding? I'd help you work in the garden so we could get done double time and then you can use the hammock while I read in the shade. Maybe a meal later on. If we feel like it.

rob -- sounds like a terrific plan! The hammock is long gone, tho... I don't know (roughly, not being a stalker here) where you live, but I can share plenty of plants with you. Dividing huge clumps of hosta, daylilies and daffodils is probably beyond me now (we shall see). The past two years I had a wonderful man who could and did do tons of stuff for me, but he has just bought his new house and will be busy working on renovations. Not certain I can get him to help me this year. And he is the former boyfriend recently broken up with my lady helper, so it is a tad awkward in that respect!

summersrhythm -- I looked on the Lowe's website for the human manure you mentioned, and it is not listed. Perhaps it is something only your local Lowe's carries but the website doesn't? I would really like to check into it.

I live in Nashville, and don't need any more plants, but appreciate your offer. I'm downsizing. I cannot keep up with what I have! I spent four hours straight in the garden yesterday, and I am feeling the effects of it. Ugh.

Roxanna, there's a name for your place. It's Heaven.

It's called " Milorganite 32-lb 2500-sq ft 5-3-0 Organic Natural All-purpose Fertilizer", $19.98 per bag at Lowes.

summersrhythm -- a-HAH! Of course. I have heard of it but didn't make the connection. Thanks.

You're welcome. I have heard of it for years but refused to use it until last year. My roses went wild with it, then I added it to all my fruit trees and veggies.

2007 --

Bird table at front:

June -- filling in more and more:

Weigela when young; it is huge now, and a companion now to a pretty clematis that the birds planted for me -- serendipitous color matching!

Behind this pillar with two clematis is 'Darlow's Enigma' rose, sweetly scented:

DH's favorite iris, 'Caesar's Brother'.. I prefer the bearded ones.

July --

Spring 2008:

The young clumps of small white blooms in the upper right are Leucojum 'Gravetye Giant', stunning as they have grown bigger, and I highly recommend them!

Inexpensive pergola from BJs Wholesale --- I liked the style, so it jumped into my cart and came home with me. Lots of potted lilies. And a foursome of the seasons on the wall which I could not resist:

Crabapple afer bloom, getting big, accompanied by my gremlin:

June -- the daisy meadow has completely become only a memory from this point and permanently disappeared behind this area by now. I do miss its cheerful look:

Lupines did not care for my location, sadly, and died out quickly:

Nice peony on the left, but this area has become a jungle nowadays:

Golden Vicary privet is the bright chartreuse shrub on the left:

On left: the river birch shooting ever upwards. Center is the crab also getting big, with the weigela influenced by them both and trying to do the same. Notice how the lawn has beginning to be infiltrated by clover:

Blueberry bushes and the deep pink fairy rose. And the world's best garden cart, bar none (made in the USA !!), lightweight and I can handle a full load with one hand easily:

Far too hot on this deck for me to enjoy it:

Not fond of the hot pink spirea color next to the other plants! I'm too cowardly to yank them out...

I'm a complete sucker for cherub statues of the four seasons. The roadside trees, mature oak and maple, now shade this garden far too much. And this is the front lawn in its heyday -- it does NOT look like this any longer:

This charmer resides in my front hall indoors now -- he gets decorated for Christmas every year! The other three are stored in the garage. Perhaps I will bring them all out again into the sunlight this year for a change....

August. This is getting a bit too repetitive, isn't it?

2009

Along the front walkway:

A wonderful veronica 'Darwin's Blue', which is now gone, and I wish I could locate a source for it now. It was so lovely.

Variegated willow on right. Bought two to hopefully soak up the excess water back here. Like many willows, they do the job, but have become enormous, and they get severe annual haircuts.

Dancer has very wet feet -- again. She now resides in a different location:

And that, my friends, is enough for one evening. It's a quarter to midnight, and I am going to go out into the cold to view the moon and hope to get a glimpse of the Northern Lights, supposed to be visible tonight. And then, to bed. =)

2007 --

Bird table at front:

June -- filling in more and more:

Weigela when young; it is huge now, and a companion now to a pretty clematis that the birds planted for me -- serendipitous color matching!

Behind this pillar with two clematis is 'Darlow's Enigma' rose, sweetly scented:

DH's favorite iris, 'Caesar's Brother'.. I prefer the bearded ones.

July --

Spring 2008:

The young clumps of small white blooms in the upper right are Leucojum 'Gravetye Giant', stunning as they have grown bigger, and I highly recommend them!

Inexpensive pergola from BJs Wholesale --- I liked the style, so it jumped into my cart and came home with me. Lots of potted lilies. And a foursome of the seasons on the wall which I could not resist:

Crabapple afer bloom, getting big, accompanied by my gremlin:

June -- the daisy meadow has completely become only a memory from this point and permanently disappeared behind this area by now. I do miss its cheerful look:

Lupines did not care for my location, sadly, and died out quickly:

Nice peony on the left, but this area has become a jungle nowadays:

Golden Vicary privet is the bright chartreuse shrub on the left:

On left: the river birch shooting ever upwards. Center is the crab also getting big, with the weigela influenced by them both and trying to do the same. Notice how the lawn has beginning to be infiltrated by clover:

Blueberry bushes and the deep pink fairy rose. And the world's best garden cart, bar none (made in the USA !!), lightweight and I can handle a full load with one hand easily:

Far too hot on this deck for me to enjoy it:

Not fond of the hot pink spirea color next to the other plants! I'm too cowardly to yank them out...

I'm a complete sucker for cherub statues of the four seasons. The roadside trees, mature oak and maple, now shade this garden far too much. And this is the front lawn in its heyday -- it does NOT look like this any longer:

This charmer resides in my front hall indoors now -- he gets decorated for Christmas every year! The other three are stored in the garage. Perhaps I will bring them all out again into the sunlight this year for a change....

August. This is getting a bit too repetitive, isn't it?

2009

Along the front walkway:

A wonderful veronica 'Darwin's Blue', which is now gone, and I wish I could locate a source for it now. It was so lovely.

Variegated willow on right. Bought two to hopefully soak up the excess water back here. Like many willows, they do the job, but have become enormous, and they get severe annual haircuts.

Dancer has very wet feet -- again. She now resides in a different location:

And that, my friends, is enough for one evening. It's a quarter to midnight, and I am going to go out into the cold to view the moon and hope to get a glimpse of the Northern Lights, supposed to be visible tonight. And then, to bed. =)

2007 --

Bird table at front:

June -- filling in more and more:

Weigela when young; it is huge now, and a companion now to a pretty clematis that the birds planted for me -- serendipitous color matching!

Behind this pillar with two clematis is 'Darlow's Enigma' rose, sweetly scented:

DH's favorite iris, 'Caesar's Brother'.. I prefer the bearded ones.

July --

Spring 2008:

The young clumps of small white blooms in the upper right are Leucojum 'Gravetye Giant', stunning as they have grown bigger, and I highly recommend them!

Inexpensive pergola from BJs Wholesale --- I liked the style, so it jumped into my cart and came home with me. Lots of potted lilies. And a foursome of the seasons on the wall which I could not resist:

Crabapple afer bloom, getting big, accompanied by my gremlin:

June -- the daisy meadow has completely become only a memory from this point and permanently disappeared behind this area by now. I do miss its cheerful look:

Lupines did not care for my location, sadly, and died out quickly:

Nice peony on the left, but this area has become a jungle nowadays:

Golden Vicary privet is the bright chartreuse shrub on the left:

On left: the river birch shooting ever upwards. Center is the crab also getting big, with the weigela influenced by them both and trying to do the same. Notice how the lawn has beginning to be infiltrated by clover:

Blueberry bushes and the deep pink fairy rose. And the world's best garden cart, bar none (made in the USA !!), lightweight and I can handle a full load with one hand easily:

Far too hot on this deck for me to enjoy it:

Not fond of the hot pink spirea color next to the other plants! I'm too cowardly to yank them out...

I'm a complete sucker for cherub statues of the four seasons. The roadside trees, mature oak and maple, now shade this garden far too much. And this is the front lawn in its heyday -- it does NOT look like this any longer:

This charmer resides in my front hall indoors now -- he gets decorated for Christmas every year! The other three are stored in the garage. Perhaps I will bring them all out again into the sunlight this year for a change....

August. This is getting a bit too repetitive, isn't it?

2009

Along the front walkway:

A wonderful veronica 'Darwin's Blue', which is now gone, and I wish I could locate a source for it now. It was so lovely.

Variegated willow on right. Bought two to hopefully soak up the excess water back here. Like many willows, they do the job, but have become enormous, and they get severe annual haircuts.

Dancer has very wet feet -- again. She now resides in a different location:

And that, my friends, is enough for one evening. It's a quarter to midnight, and I am going to go out into the cold to view the moon and hope to get a glimpse of the Northern Lights, supposed to be visible tonight. And then, to bed. =)

Roxanna - I don’t normally enjoy pinks and oranges together, but that hot pink of your Spirea isn’t so bad with the oranges, really. Sometimes if you add a deep purple and a very dark red to the mix, and if you took out the pale pink daylily and the yellow daylily, you might find it is a nice hot blend.

What are the trees coming up through your beds?

I see bushes with netting over them, blueberries? Do you still have them?

Great photo of the edge of the patio with a row of those cement outdoor pots on the wall. I also have Leucojum ‘Gravetye Giant’, I love it. I keep meaning to add more.

That pergola from BJs looks pretty darn good…lol.

Your hot deck needs an umbrella for you. You must get a great view from up there. Does it get full sun all day on part of it, or is it just late afternoon sun? It might be a good place to grow some heat loving veggies. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, string beans. Especially if your yard is getting more shade.

I didn’t realize you have all those rock walls. The herringbone front walkway with that wide perennial bed to walk past is great, too. It’s really a wonderful property. I hope you are able to enjoy it and not always look out at a garden that is getting away from you and feel unhappy. What is your favorite part of the garden, now? I love that first photo of the daffodils in front of the wall at the base of a very mature tree and the bird table. Do you get a lot of birds? That photo reminds me of Beth Chatto's Woodland Garden, are you familiar with her?

Beth Chatto's Woodland Garden

Roxanna not only am I loving your photos, but am impressed with how you know the names of so many of your plants. Do you keep a garden journal? I've thought many times of doing so, but haven't in many years. I'll have visitors to my gardens and many times struggle to come up with the name of a plant.

Roxanna, what happened to you, did you wear yourself out!? lol

prairiemoon, LOL -- I was a bit overwhelmed, so my normal lethargy took over for a few days. Sorry about that! Right now I am awaiting for a contractor to show up, so I don't dare stay online here too long. I do plan to answer your previous post, as well as orchidrain's soon. Stay tuned!

Apologies for the above double post -- sleep deprivation, probably, and I am uncertain how to delete it without losing everything...

Should I keep going with this here, for continuity, assuming there is still interest in my proceeding? Thanks for checking in!

Roxanna, we've all been there....lol. There's no rush to get back to the thread, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.

I'd stick with this thread for continuity. And yes, I'm still interested, but not if you have run out of steam. Do what works for you!! As for deleting the double post, I think there should be a delete button under them. And Houzz only gives you less than a week to delete it. If you can't don't worry about it.

I too am enjoying this thread. Thanks, Roxanna. i really enjoy seeing the evolution of a garden over time, and your is one with lots of character that must have given you and your family and neighbors a lot of pleasure over the years.

NHBabs -- So happy you are enjoying it! Thank you. I have had compliments from passers-by (neighbors don't have much direct viewing) but the bulk of my gardens are behind the house, lol. One year (the one "of the lilies') I did have the town's garden club out to walkabout. I had attended one of their meetings as a guest when a friend was giving a talk. But as I am not a joiner sort of person, I never became a member!

Not ever been a driver, either -- trust me, nobody wants ME on the road, and I do not want to be there, either. The first time I "drove" our family car was the last -- I inadvertently hit the go forward thing-y when I meant to gently back up, and promptly careened into the solid wood door of our brick Victorian converted stable in which we lived and knocked it out of alignment. The whole house shook. The family joke ever after has been "Call Roxanna if you want your garage moved". <grin>

I do have plans to continue this thread, so stay tuned...

I'm loving your thread and pics of your gorgeous property. I get that neighbors might not see the view. Years ago a nearby elementary school's fifth grade took a tour of my backyard and gasped...who knew there was a woods and ponds in our town.

Great post

Truly, truly lovely.

I love your pretty photos! Any time you want to share....! BRING it on!

Enjoying these photo's a lot. It actually reminded me of the gardens I left behind at my old house (not as grand a scale as yours!). I see the love and the care and it makes me very wistful.

In the first posting, 7th picture down, I had to do a double-take... it looked just like my arbor on a hill! I also had two walled beds on either side with beds in front too. I was going to post a pic, but seemed like bad netiquette! This thread does inspire me to make a 20 year journal of my former garden.