The Yard...

I have been quite pleased with our yard this spring.  Last year we got a new driveway and this new sidewalk.  The perennials I planted after have mostly done so well!  The french lavender mostly died, but I had too much blue in there anyway.  And, all of the victoria blue salvia came back after the winter.  And... the dahlias!  The winter seemed bitterly cold and awful and long to me, but I guess it couldn't have been too bad.

The above picture was before the roses and peonies started blooming.

 The peonies have been huge.

I also love this double daisy I found at a nursery.  (The nurseries here stink.  I haven't found anything to compare with good old Willard Bay Gardens...)

Here's a shot of the eastish side of the house.  Needs a good cleanup.  The dusty miller grew right through the winter and now needs a good chop.  I've planted a plumbago since I took this.  I've tried and tried to get bleeding heart, both the regular and fernleaf, and brunnera to grow, and they just won't.  Soil too acidic maybe?  I guess I'll have to stick with the hostas and heucheras.

 The westish side, which the girls call Stony Way (the year old project to make a path out of the cement chunks taken out of our driveway is stillllll not done...), has a long bed of roses and other perennials.

 Here's my herb pot on  the west side.

 Lots of roses.

 And a jasmine arbor, which is making the whole yard sweetly fragrant right now.

 The back yard is coming along.  I edged the play area with logs for the girls to walk on.  Built two square raised planters (which I still need to stain), and just finished a brick edged bed for raspberries.  Still lots to do back here.