Lovely. I especially like the side garden by the fence and the main garden. I like lots of things going on in a garden. Love the tulips!

CMK, your garden is gorgeous! I wouldnt worry that its not perfectly weeded yet.I also like your rounded beds. I have a question tho. I am w/s seeds from campanula cherry bells. I know, from what I heard I may regret it. But in your second pic in the foreground. What is that pale pink flower? I dont have my glasses on, but they look bell shaped. Are They a campanula?
Tammy

totally charming!

I like it! I especially like the main and the dry beds. Can't wait to see as the season advances.

kay

Thanks so much :-)

-Rita, me too. After a long, dreary winter it is so nice to have color again! Tulips have to be my favorite, especially the species with mottled foliage.

-Tammy, that would be Tiarella 'Spring Symphony', or Foam Flower. It is related to coral-bells, but is much easier to grow. So beautiful with the delicate flowers. I am sure you would love it if you got one!
I had Cherry Bells awhile back. Got rid of it after seeing how much my neighbors 'Sarastro' spread. FAST! Maybe you could keep yours contained in a pot??
CMK

Very nice! You've got some great variety and I love the tulips. The white fence and picket fence make a great backdrop.

CMK- Your gardens are beautiful! I can't believe how many of your plants are up already...I'm so jealous LOL.

Everything looks so cottagey (is that a word?) and pretty. I love your color combinations and all of your tulips!

What are the purple flowers in the first picture....and also the purple flowers in the fifth picture? :)

I just looked up the Tiarella. its very pretty. I have got to get glasses one of these days. I am thinking about potting it if it grows. They look so beautiful in pics.
Tammy

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

-LL, in the first pic there are the lavender and pink creeping phlox. Behind those is the Vinca (Periwinkle). It can be invasive in some gardens, but I love it and have never had problems!

In the fifth pic is Lungwort. The flowers start out pink before fading to pink/purple and then blue. AND it has spotted folaige! It is an heirloom plant handed down from my grandmother.
CMK

If you want to see weeds, you should see my garden. Lots and lots.
I'm going to work hard on that this summer. I bought some Preen.
I do love your flowers, especially the yellow one in first picture.
The lungwort sounds interesting. I'm going to have to look that
one up.

Very Nice! A picket fence always "says" cottage to me.
I envy you being able to have tulips.
we can grow them here, but they are a one time deal. I assume too much heat.

CMK, I love your garden! So much to look at and so many colors. I can imagine how wonderful it must look when everything has grown up and filled in. Your Tulips are all such pretty colors too. Thanks for sharing your pics.

MeMo

very pretty and lush! :)

Beautiful. Everything just says "spring". I envy the tulips since the moles eat mine before they bloom...........so I just enjoy them in others gardens.

That last bed shot of your tulips put it all into perspective for me. Your use of the rock and the sweeping beds that go under the picket fence are really effective. I have never seen that alyssum before: it sure is stunning.
The overall effect is simply charming.
Renee

WOWEEEEEE!!! Everything looks great! I can see why you were so upset about those darn squirrels trashing those beautiful tulips. They are really pretty. What are the narrow trees in the corner of the side/main garden? I like the structure of those with the beds in front of them. Does your bergenia perform like that for you every year? I tried one years ago and it didn't do well for me but seeing yours makes me want to try it again.

Beautiful pictures!!!

Everything is Gorgeous.What weeds?? Weeds are the things that keep us young,or at least that's what i tell myself.Absolutely love the last picture with the tulips.
TFS
Kathi

Very nice CMK!!! Your gardens are lovely.

Carrie B.

You guys are great, thank you.

-Renee, I really like sweeping curves too, they are sort of naturalistic and soothing in comparison to straight lines. Plus they are easier to create, which is a good thing for someone that is lop-sided when making beds (like me, lol).

-Thanks Susan! Those trees are Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia I think it is). I hate em'. They grow like crazy (which is unfortunant since they are right under power lines, and need to be trimed frequently). Then it is infested with some sort of leaf mining moth...and rust in summer. Ick!

My Bergenia came from a relative in town. It took a loooong time for them to get to this point, with a lot of blooms. You should give it another try! It is pretty much carefree once established.

-Kathi, Lol! There really are a lot of of them! And I just know there will be godzilla-sized clumps of crab grass and bindweed from all this rain!
CMK

It is amazing the difference one zone makes!! Everything is getting so lush, and you have reminded me of things I miss from my old garden, like lungwort. I love the golden allysum - this will be the first year of bloom for mine and I can't wait - it is just buds right now. the bergenia I envy, as I've never been able to get it going.....
I had never heard of Preen, so had to google it - I like to keep as organic as possible - I wonder if this fits? And I wonder if it would keep your plants from self-seeding as well? That could be good, or bad!! lol.

Thanks for sharing. Nancy.

Your tulips are so beautiful! ANd I have found that they last for many years, unlike in warmer climates. Aren't you just so happy now that spring has sprung?

Re preen - I use corn gluten which is an all organic pre-emergent just like preen - and a LOT cheaper too.

Such a happy place! Love it!

Thanks!

-Nancy, that is too bad you can't get lungwort and berginea to grow. Is it too cold for them where you live? I would never have thought that they were tender in z4.
Hope the perennial alyssum does good for you!! I first saw it in Seattle years ago, cascading over the rock walls. Awesome! Decided right then and there I needed some to spill over into the pathway.

Probably wouldn't put Preen in my garden, since I love letting things reseed! You can find some neat-o seedlings if you do, like my Astrantia baby that has nearly white foliage! And all of the columbine, sweet william, and perennial geraniums that reseed and help fill in the gaps, which is very useful.
CMK

Everything is so pretty! I can't believe how big your patch of lungwort is! I rescued some from behind my garage (planted by the previous owner years and years ago, I'm sure). It's such a fun plant! I'm so glad to see that it can thrive like that.

I really love your first picture! What a pretty composition. Thanks so much for sharing!

Lisa

After winter I am always ready for color. I noticed you have tulips but not lots of daffodils. Some of the newer orange colored trumpet ones would add color earlier than the tulips. And crocus are easy to fit in and they give very early splashes of color if you would like to go for more bulbs.

-Lisa, I was amazed too! The lungwort had rotted out in several other places in my garden. I think it must really like this situation because there is so much gravel worked into the soil. Very good drainage!

-Rita, that is because I have no luck whatsoever with daffs! ;-) Years ago I must have planted thirty of them (all different kinds, from various sources). Now there are only ten alive and five that bloom. Only one plant produces more than one flower on it.
Can't understand it. The only thing I can figure is that they don't like being disturbed, and resent me digging near them in the garden or something. Either that or they have some personal vendetta against me, LOL!

I do have quite a few crocus. Next year I want to get a big bag and plant some en masse to create a sort of colorful 'river' going across the main bed. Maybe naturalize a few in the lawn too.
CMK

Is that yellow mass of flowers in the first picture " Creeping Basket of gold?" What will bloom there when the creeping phlox are done for? My goal is to get plants that start blooming when another one stops, so there is constant color but don't know how to accomplish that.

CMK - lungwort grows just fine - I just haven't moved any in yet. Bergenia grows here, I just haven't figured how yet!!! lol...I must go to my friends mum's and get more lungwort!!!

Thanks all.

Thanks pippi! That is indeed Basket of Gold (Aurinia saxatilis 'Summit'). That is also my goal, to always have something in bloom in each little nook garden. When the phlox are done the red Oriental Poppy will bloom, then the 'Sorbet' peony, What a Peach mini shrub rose, yellow potentilla, daylilies and salvia (on the left), and a start of variegated sedum on the right.

-Nancy, and here I was feeling sorry that you couldn't get those plants to grow ;-D
CMK