Garden Delights and a Living Habitat - Tuesday Garden Party

It feels like spring now that the dogwood is blooming! Our front garden is such a source of joy right now with it colors and textures. I spend far too much time gazing out the window at the beauty and sitting out on the steps just breathing it all in deeply. The birds and insects are visiting daily as they find different things to enjoy too...the bird bath, the blossoms with pollen to collect, or the seeds in the feeders. 

Whether you enjoy the fragrance or the color of lavender.....you would be happy sitting in this part of the garden. The bees are buzzing again, stopping by many of the purple flowers many times before flying off again. I am anticipating the summer harvest of my lavender and creating many more sachets to give away to friends and family.

So this is the view from the top of the garden looking down from the top terrace. The yarrow is huge this year and already covered in flower buds. We weren't sure about our pruning that was done last fall because we were worried we had trimmed it too far to the ground but now look at those mounds of yarrow! The lavender is filling in after being trimmed almost all the way back as well. I love using the internet and YouTube.com as a reference for my gardening tasks...there is a lot of practical advice out there. The butterfly bushes are going to be amazing this year and the poppies are showing their color (middle right of the photo).

Since the front yard is so low maintenance, we can focus our thoughts and energy on our vegetable garden now that the weather is warming up.

My husband and I are so very happy with our no-mow yard and enjoy having the neighbors stop by and tell us they love driving by and seeing all the different flowers. If you are interested in removing your lawn and switching over to drought tolerant plants and natives, I highly recommend a book I am reading from Timber Press: Beautiful No-Mow Yards by Evelyn J. Hadden. It claims to have fifty lawn alternatives...most of them are spectacular but yet not too complicated.

One thing I have learned about my own no-mow yard is that there is going to be a lot of color if you plan it right. No-mow yards are much more interesting and enjoyable to all the senses. You can see how our project started here: Frontyard Remodel.