The Deck Garden: Then and Now

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I was out today looking at the sorry state of the gardens and though it might be an interesting exercise to look back at how the gardens appeared last spring and compare them. Over the next few posts I’ll go back for a few photos of the spring time version and contrast it with that same garden today. Let me start off by saying I have a lot of cleanup to do! On with the show:

The Deck Garden Then (May):

I built the timber raised beds around the deck for an additional planting area in conjunction with the patio I built.  The hand me down irises are blooming here as is the pink phlox from Gail. I’m looking forward to that combination this spring since the phlox has had some time to grow and should have filled in . To the right is a ‘Walker’s Low’ catmint about to bloom and just past it is a salvia – one of my favorite perennials. You just can’t go wrong planting a salvia.

This is a little later in May when the red ‘Firebird’ penstemon is beginning to bloom. It’s very easily propagated. Sometimes a glass of water is just fine.

Here we are standing back a little to look at the garden as a whole. The irises are done blooming and the catmint is coming into its time.

A little farther down the bed you can see gladiolas, a daylily, and caryopteris. Caryopteris is fantastic perennial for late summer and fall.

The Deck Garden Now (February):

The scene is much different. Please excuse the messy foliage and dead branches. I like to leave the perennial foliage to provide a little extra frost protection. It’s time to cut things back and start getting them cleaned up for the season.

 
In the center is the ‘Walker’s Low’ Catmint from the earlier picture. The penstemon is to the right and on the left is a Sweet Autumn clematis. 
  
A viburnum anchors the deck corner.  I’m always excited this time of year about the potential the garden has. Each year there are changes, plants grow larger, plants die and get replaced, and of course new plants get added. Spring is a time of excitement in the garden, now if it would just get here!
 

4 thoughts on “The Deck Garden: Then and Now”

  1. Congrats on the honorable mention at GGW…I loved the snowy shot. We so rarely have traditional wintry scenes so this was a treat! gail

  3. I saw this on Linkin last night and really enjoyed it. I like the progression pics. This year's Montgomery county master gardener garden tour will be in May-think irises. Usually it is in late June so I am most excited to see them all. Pink and purple should look great!

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