Here's my right side front bed
{{gwi:690332}}

Here's the left side bed
{{gwi:690333}}

close up of one if my Asiatic lilies in the front bed
{{gwi:690334}}

These pics were taken about 2 weeks ago

I don't have anything worth showing at this point. I have recently planted purple flowered osteospermum flanked by yellow flowered Euryops. There will be purple morning glories climbing the background fence eventually. The rabbits ate the hollyhocks, Asian lily and coreopsis. There is a white spirea, a white sage, a red Marguerite, a couple of blue sage and a desert bird of paradise.

The osteospermum are new to me. I learned about them from Sierra, when she posted some photos. Euryops and Marguerites are not something I have previously favored, but I became interested because of a long thread posted about daisies.

I need to fill in with a few more plants. There are lots of wild asters coming up in the gravel in front of the garden. I'm coaxing them along, because they put out an abundance of small lavender colored flowers. Hopefully there will be sunflowers come fall.

I learned about osteospermum from Sierra, when she posted photos of the plants. I became interested in the Euryops and Marguerite as a result of a long thread about daisies--lots of daisy lovers in the group.

Lorna

Okay, hope I get the picture in correctly. My poor garden is weedy and overgrown due to my new baby :) but this is the gist of it.

{{gwi:690335}}

this is part of my front yard from the fall.

{{gwi:690336}}

This is from last year, close to the front of the house,
but can't be seen as well from the street, more private.
{{gwi:331006}}

The front bed isn't looking its best right now because the daffodil foliage is still standing up strong, but you can see that I have a row of boxwoods, two St. Johns wort shrubs (which got damaged by the bunnies over the winter), a serviceberry tree, Johnson's blue geraniums and Bloody Cranesbill geraniums, dwarf fountain grass, burning bushes, and a row of spirea japonica "neon flash" which looks pretty shaggy right now. It is about to bloom and then I will prune it into a more attractive shape. If I keep the spirea deadheaded, it will bloom for me from June through October. Oh, there's also a clematis that is about to bloom.

My goal for the front bed is for it to look neat and attractive, but pretty much all of my love and energy go into my backyard beds. It's like my own private Eden back there, versus the front bed, which I think of as public space.

Rachel

{{gwi:690337}}

{{gwi:690338}}

{{gwi:690340}}

{{gwi:690342}}

{{gwi:690343}}

Those are great everyone! thanks for sharing. My front yard at this point isn't worth sharing either.

Newskye,

I love those lambs ears! Do you do anything special with them? I can't get mine to grow any taller than the first or second set of leaves. I got mine 3 years ago from a swap, when I got them a couple had flowers on them so I know they are lambs ears.

Thanks

Karyn

Thanks so much for sharing your front yards - definitely some inspiration! altorama, I'd love to see a 'landscape' view so get a better idea as to how your beds/paths are in place. I'm thinking of putting in an island bed and would love to see or hear about those of you that have those in your front yards. (Quite honestly, I'd like to get rid of my lawn altogether, but that feels a little overwhelming!) I've also played with the idea of putting a trellis over the garage...

Here is a link that might be useful: garage trellis ideas

My longest island bed has its own blog, if you'd like to look. It hasn't been updated since April when I was sick and had to choose whether the garden or the blogs would suffer. Garden won. However, you can see 2006 and then 2007 as you keep going to the next pages.

The Island Bed story begins with two piles of stones, scroll down to where those start and you can keep going in the order the islands were built, up to March, 2007.

Nell

{{gwi:690344}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Island Beds

Wow Nell. You have a wonderful piece of property! Must be pure joy to come home to your gardens. My yard is a much smaller piece of land, but your islands sure inspire me to go ahead and plot something out - just not on such a grand scale. Major envy! wig

Mine change each year depending on my mood concerning annuals - here is last years - this year I have planted annual phlox and it is not really full yet

{{gwi:690345}}

{{gwi:690346}}

the bed below is looking towards the street and is getting completely revamped and made wider with re-blooming iris, reblooming daylilies, various other lilies and annuals depending on what I WS. Picture is about 1/3 of it - it curves around to the side and is about 60-70ft long. Sadly the tulips are only good for one year - I didn't plant any last fall so only had the grape hyacnyths and the daffodils and narcisscis this spring
{{gwi:690347}}

Lynne

Lynne, I love tulips in the spring, too, and wondered if you have tried species tulips? One of my favorites is Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane'. They come back year after year and they last for a couple of weeks in the spring.

Pam

Here is a link that might be useful: Images of Lady Jane tulips

Here is my front yard taken from out in the street.

{{gwi:690348}}

I have woods from the street down to a strip of lawn,so my woodland garden is in the front.My woods on the left side of my house is grown up and needs to be cleared.The back is my eden
moonphase
{{gwi:384405}}
{{gwi:384408}}
{{gwi:384402}}
{{gwi:690349}}
{{gwi:690351}}
{{gwi:690353}}
{{gwi:690354}}
{{gwi:381188}}
{{gwi:690355}}
{{gwi:690356}}
{{gwi:690357}}
{{gwi:690358}}
{{gwi:690359}}
{{gwi:690360}}
{{gwi:690361}}

Wigardenerwannabe-
here's a link from some i added to the gallery,
you can see the 'outline' better.

You ALL have some beautiful gardens!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: cottage garden gallery

{{gwi:690363}}

{{gwi:690364}}

{{gwi:690365}}

{{gwi:690366}}

Hey, I've probably shown this photo before, but I found this thread while looking for one that I'd posted in the past about thinning plants to refer to for a new poster. I enjoyed these, so thought I'd bring them back now that the season is almost over for some of us.

{{gwi:690367}}
Sue

I am glad I revisited this thread.

I need help too. We pulled out all the overgrown yews last year and I am in the process of redoing the east and front foundation and a new island border in the front yard because of the possible removal of all the trees along the road at some later date. I wanted a barrier from the road but no huge trees. We learned our lesson from ice storms and tornados that felled some monster limbs across the front of the house.

I am loving all these pictures and see that some don't do the traditional shrubs and e.g.'s which is the direction I am heading.

Another thing I have found I can almost always tell when a garden is in Georgia. You all seem to always have lots and lots of tall trees which I love. Is that the norm? maybe to protect from that hot southern sun?

You all have beautiful front gardens.

Now on the Nell's link for more viewing pleasure.

We do love shade, Glenda. Isn't Moonphase's woodland garden pretty? An article by a British author that I was reading mentioned plants suggested for 'open woodland' -- he asked if open woodland actually exists? It does.

I found a link to lots of Missouri hort information that might help you in choosing woody ornamentals.

Here is a link that might be useful: MO Extension Publications

When we bought our house, it had been a duplex for nearly 70 years and half the town seems to have lived here. We routinely had former tenants' friends, bill collectors, (and one time a Sheriff's deputy!) show up at the old duplex entrance looking for vanished tenants. So I took up the stepping stones to that entrance and made planter beds out of where it was, and then made one long bed along the sidewalk in front. {{gwi:690368}}
Now people can tell there is only one entrance to the house, and hopefully it looks less like a rental and more like a residence now.
(A book which was a big inspiration to me was Liz Primeau's _Front Yard Gardens: Growing More Than Grass_ (Firefly Books, 2003). You might see if your local library has a copy. :-) )

Everyone's gardens are so gorgeous! I must admit that mine lacks color - a more landscaped look instead of gardens. My color is more abundant in the backyard. You have inspired me to return to the front and add some color. Can anyone recommend bulbs to plant that will survive mostly shade?
{{gwi:690369}}
Nikki

Remontant, that was a great idea, taking the steps out. Your yard looks wonderfully inviting. I think I'd hang out there awhile!

Nikki, I'm not a bulb expert, but I planted something called Arum that I didn't know preferred shade. It has arrow shaped leaves, then sends up a stalk with greenish yellowish berries that turn red in the summer. The leaves dry up and disappear at some point. If you Google it, I'm sure you'll get a better description. My neighbor has an area about 2.5 by 2.5 feet of them, and they look outstanding there.

I typed this around 6 or 6:30 and never sent it. Our son and 7 month old grandson came over.

Sue

Front Garden Pictures

{{gwi:258124}}

{{gwi:237114}}

So pretty!
I love all of your gardens. Thanks for sharing!
Renee

I love looking at everyone else's yards.
I moved all the rock myself and dug out the beds.
{{gwi:690370}}
{{gwi:690371}}
when I moved in 1995
{{gwi:648438}}

Well, wiwannebe, if you're not inspired by now, you never will be.....what a collection of beautiful gardens!!! Petaltx - what a before and after!!!

Everyone else - WOW!!!

Thanks, Nell. I have used the MU and Missouri Botanical Gardens websites a lot. I love Mobot's what's in bloom now feature. I did revisit this site and decided on three different small trees to look for.

Everyone's front gardens just look wonderful. You are giving me courage to try something different.

Hello everyone,
All of you have such lovely front yards. It inspires me to do more to my own. I've been concentrating mostly on fixing up my backyard, but the pics here in this post has inspired me to spruce up my own front yard. Here's what I currently have:

{{gwi:690372}}

{{gwi:690373}}

{{gwi:690374}}

I love looking at all these front yards. I am curious about the back yards, too.

Sue

My back yard doesn't bear viewing. ;-)

If you have seen my other posts, you will remember this was almost 100% grass until Feb of this year.

{{gwi:640664}}

{{gwi:685624}}

{{gwi:690375}}

{{gwi:690376}}

natvtxn, your HOA should eat crow...(As I guess they really did when the complimented you) Looks nice..and hard to believe not so long ago, JUST grass..looks like it has been therea long while.

natvtxn are you located in Tx ? I'm in Arlington

Petals, I am in North central San Antonio. Sure wish we were closer. We are having our fall plant swap Oct. 25.