I noticed recently that I am always writing the same words about my garden. Things have changed a bit in the last year, though. I’m not sure the net result is positive, but maybe it will all lead to me saying something new eventually.
The new landscaper is soon going to be the former landscaper. He just doesn’t have a vision of garden beauty that matches mine, and I haven’t been won over. Unfortunately, I had to actually see his ideas “leafed out” before I could know how wrong they are; now I need to fix some design problems by moving plants in the fall, and buying a couple of new ones. I’d hoped to have all this done by last fall and to be enjoying the refurbished areas by now.
Oh, well, a garden is always a process, and I suppose it’s like with so many projects: everything takes longer than expected. And it is a joy to work out there, or to wander. I took a walk in a more upscale neighborhood near mine, and noticed that some front yards are tidy and boring, and some are a bit messy or hodgepodge-y. The latter are obviously houses where the owner(s) like gardening and are trying out different things, and don’t have the time or know-how to do the successive plantings or the upkeep to keep it looking interesting and orderly at the same time. So I won’t worry too much if mine is not perfect, either… It’s just that I thought the area right by the front door should look more put together than it does.
Depending on the viewing angle and size of frame you are focusing on, there are still some very nice scenes, front and back. Those are the ones I’m sharing in this post. My own hodgepodge I will ignore for now.
The Chocolate Cosmos is new to me and to the garden. There are three shades of color, and the plants I bought are medium-dark chocolate. They are perennials with a tuberous root, and reports conflict about whether they will even like winters here. I had to take out some very happy Iceland poppies to make a place for them; it must be that the poppies are getting enough shade there to keep blooming, and I’m glad I didn’t have to take them all out yet.
One thing I like is that the landscaper divided the White Swan echinacea so that I have more of it now; likewise a favorite violet salvia. I’m working on getting even more of those White Swans to plant in a couple of months before they go dormant.
Today I cleaned up around some plants, like the acanthus above, taking away dead leaves and pulling out little grass sprouts that are remnants of big ornamental grasses that I removed last year. The grass shoots were growing out of the Yerba Buena ground cover, too, so as I knelt on it or moved the long stems aside, its most delicious scents were released into the atmosphere.
It was only recently that I learned, or remembered, that these white echinaceas are called Swans. It really is the perfect name for them, and makes me love them more. My garden is overflowing with gifts ❤
Gladsome Lights 
I enjoy seeing your garden and love the idea of it being a hodge-podge!
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I still can take photos at the right angles or distance on our property so as to not highlight how very behind we are with weeding. Oye. I love the acanthus…thanks for the name and the swans are nice, too. I hope you can find the right landscaper who is more in touch with your vision.
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My vision is not that odd. I was just looking at some photos of your property, Ellen, to help me explain (not that you were asking for an explanation!). You have an area with lavender bushes, an area with daylilies, another place where Shasta daisies are growing. These mass plantings primarily featuring one type of plant make it so we can enjoy the particular attributes of that species and highlight its particular beauty. If we were to plant a mixture of all three plants I just mentioned scattered around in one place, it wouldn’t be as nice.
Another way to detract from the beauty of one plant is to place one right next to it that is too similar — it distracts from the unique qualities of each. I am just learning these things the hard way. I had to find a day where I could devote my whole mind to the vague problems and then stand looking at the space for a long time before I figured out those two problems. I think there are others, too!
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I’m afraid my garden is very hodge-podge and I can’t blame it on anyone but myself. I don’t seem able to eliminate self-sown plants that pop up here and there. I’ve read that we tend to have the same style indoors as in our garden. In my case that is not the case. My house is neat and tidy but outside is chaos. Colourful and lovely, yes, but chaos.
For some reason I am not fond of my white coneflower. I need to pull out a bunch of weedy looking poppies to give the coneflowers some space. As soon as we have a cooler day that will get done.
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Oh, I do like those echinaceas! They have a modest appearance, the way they pull their petals way down, but shine their faces straight up. Like they’re happy to be simple white flowers. Other echinacea petals don’t go way down like that, do they? These look exaggerated (not a criticism!).
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I have had four or five different sorts of echinacea in my garden at this point. I like the ones that are traditional coneflowers, that are fairly tall and do look like this, with petals that start out horizontal, but eventually droop at least a little. Some are extra droopy, like the pallidas: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinacea_pallida, and some of the newer varieties are not droopy at all, nor do they necessarily make a nice cone as they develop. I used to have a very traditional purple coneflower, echinacea purpurea, in my old garden, but in the last ten years I have tried without success to find something like it — all the plants turn out to be new-fangled somehow and not as nice. Do coneflowers grow in your climate, Lisa?
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Oh, yes! I haven’t ever planted any, but they’re around.
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