the ebb and flow of the garden

Posted on by Cattywampus Fellow

Two steps forward, one back. Develop two new beds, lose another to invasive Johnson grass…

So it goes down in the garden lot. Except that, this year, even with all the dead noxious overgrowth from last fall, the garden is full of life, and color.

yellow alyssum establishing itself from last year, mingling with blooming ground ivy, grape hyacinth, and drawf iris.

I can see the work done as much as the work to go.

the far gateway path leads past a long mixed veggie/flower bed and down to the newest bed with bearded iris, chartreuse spiderwort, varigated sedum, and white balloon flowers.
a close-up of the newest bed. if I did it right, most of the bearded iris are frangrant, smelling like grape nehi.

In the past, I would carefully crop out the disastrous mess and just highlight the pretty bits, but I want to break from that habit. I want to present our whole garden, flaws and weeds and all, which is more in keeping with the Cattywampus Cottage bit.

the best most lilyfest bed. one of the most established flower beds down in the garden lot.

Note: the photos are from over a few weeks, starting with today and moving background down the post.

last year’s biggest expansion project, still partially unfinished. I’ll never be rid of the invasive non-native star-of-bethlehem, but I have embraced relocating them to line pathways, border beds, and scatter across our increasingly non-monoculture lawn.
creeping phlox already start filling out the border in their second year.
“lilies run through it” – the latest stage
of lilyfest, features three ‘tiny’ breeds
of asiatic lilies, planted to create
an ombre from pink to white.

I have been trying to write this post for weeks, but I am out of time, so enjoy the reminder of the images sans commentary.

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Published by Cattywampus Fellow

I'm a cattywampus man, in a cattywampus house, living a cattywampus life with my cattywampus spouse.