Have a Mix of Perennials, Annuals, and Shrubs

So beautiful!

Your garden is really beautiful. I would like to know what flowers and plants you use to get color all season long. Could you email me privately or post it here? This is my goal for my flower beds but I have no idea how to go about it. I love alot of perennials but I get discouraged because of short bloom time and then it's just green (boring). Thank you so much. My email is sandy mistick @ aol. com

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I so admire gardens as beautiful as yours, but I'm also pretty envious. I live on six wooded acres in the country in Michigan, and while the woods are lovely, the chances that anything I plant will go uneaten by critters (especially deer!) are pretty much zero! I love the peace and solitude of living where I do, but oh, do I miss being able to grow a pretty garden! What the deer don't eat (and there isn't much they don't), the rest of the critters dig up and scatter, even if it's right up next to the house. Years ago, when we used to hang a bird feeder, we'd wake up every morning to a scene from a Disney movie - birds, deer, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, and skunks, all together and happily munching the seed that fell from the feeder.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I so admire gardens as beautiful as yours, but I'm also pretty envious. I live on six wooded acres in the country in Michigan, and while the woods are lovely, the chances that anything I plant will go uneaten by critters (especially deer!) are pretty much zero! I love the peace and solitude of living where I do, but oh, do I miss being able to grow a pretty garden!

What the deer don't eat (and there isn't much they don't), the rest of the critters dig up and scatter, even if it's right up next to the house. Years ago, when we used to hang a bird feeder, we'd wake up every morning to a scene from a Disney movie - birds, deer, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, and skunks, all together and happily munching the seed that fell from the feeder. Sounds cute, but so much "wildlife" in the neighborhood pretty much eliminates my dream of a colorful annual/perennial garden.

Aside from surrounding our home with a 7 foot high fence, there's really no way to encourage the animals to graze elsewhere. Oh well, it's a trade-off of flowers for peace and quiet and privacy!

Rita

August 2, 20080 found this helpful

Your garden is simply gorgeous. I'm also interested in knowing what you plant as well as how you built the tiered beds with landscaping timbers. I've googled all over the place for directions for this (esp. how you hold the timbers together and how you attach them to the ground), but evidently I don't have the right search words because I haven't come up with anything yet.

WOW! You have certainly made the most of the space that you have! You did a fabulous job! That looks great! When are you coming to the states to do my 1 acre?? LOL! We have TOO much space, not enough money, and I have no idea how to landscape this yard! I have put in a few things, but they are dwarfed by the size of the yard! Egads! ;)