Melissa ~ I'd say things have progressed very nicely in a year. It does take time and what we gardeners need is patience. We all want everything to fill in and bloom NOW! Part of the wonderful world of gardening is learning to 'grow with the flow'. Once things start taking off, you may end up with a jungle like we have. That can be daunting at times, especially after LOTS of rain like we've had lately. Just wait until next year. I love your greenhouse. Once the wood weathers it will really blend in with your landscaping. You are going to enjoy having that.

Keep posting more pictures. I really enjoy seeing what other's are up to, their before and after pictures. It's all inspiring. We enable each other to keep working in our gardens. Each one is unique and great!

FlowerLady

Hi,Melissa!
Looking good! I like looking at before and after pictures.
It shows progress that often we do not notice. FlowerLady is right,soon your place will have that jungle look. Even if you do not want it.LOL.
Be well!
Felix

Wow super nice!

Great progress! You should be so proud and pleased with it all. I'm sure everyone is envious of your greenhouse!

Very, very nice. I like the wide overhangs on the greenhouse, a couple of hanging baskets might be pretty. I love the back garden bed you said was getting too full, I think it looks great with the joyweed, porterweed, shrimp plant, sun rose and is that a cranberry hibiscus? I like really like the joyweed even though it wants to take over. How do you get the sun rose groundcover to look so nice? How many plants did you start with there? Do you cut it back to make it so full? I have several sun roses in pots and I've been wanting to try it as a groundcover. Thanks for posting.

Julie

Very pretty, nice job. I have the green house envy!! What is going into that GH?

Thanks all. The greenhouse is still pretty empty but I just started some seeds that I got from people. All sorts of stuff. If I had a seed, I put it in a pot and will see what happens. I still need to work on the water system in there. DH put in two spigots but I want to maybe have a mister system run off it. I have to do that part though. I like the idea of some hanging pots.

In the back bed I had to pull out several four o'clocks and move them somewhere with more room. I also pulled out two of the purple knight althenera (I always spell that wrong) and I left two. The amaryllis are getting swallowed up so I was thinking about moving them out to the front of the bed. I have actually made that bed around two feet deeper than what I started with. If that is a cranberry hibiscus I have really had to whack it back a few times. I have not trimmed anything much, just as needed. An as for the ground cover, I think it just likes that spot. I have however, laid a layer of mushroom compost on each of these beds before planting because much of the ground that was there was just builders sand. I think it likes the richness of the compost. It gets morning sun.

Melissa, it looks absolutely splendid! You are off to a great start, and I think you've done fabulously for the first year. I just LOVE your greenhouse and am saving pictures of it. I think I could fit one in where I have the crappy ol' potting bench that has to go. Somewhere along the fence back there. And my NEW potting bench could be inside it, protected from to elements a little bit. Even if I didn't enclose the sides at all, it would give me a shady place for potting up new stuff. Yours is DIVINE!!

What you guys are calling cranberry hibiscus, I call false roselle. (Hibiscus acetosella, I think). It is a lovely plant, and you can cut it back however you need to in order to make it work where it is. It roots in about 20 minutes, too.

I see you also have porterweed and baby sunrose. I don't know what joyweed is, though. Sounds like something ILLEGAL, if ya ask me! Hehe. Seriously, which one is it, and what other name might it go by?

And I've been meaning to ask you if your sunflower tree made it?

Marcia

Yes, false roselle is what it is. I just can't keep up with the names. I meant to ask which plant Julie called joyweed. I'm not sure. I have a Vick's plant that Tony gave me that is on steroids and maybe that is the one.

The greenhouse, even with using some recycled materials, cost too much to build but I really like it. DH says it is crooked and it annoys him since he built it but I can't tell where. I just murmur reassurance and nod my head.

Melissa...just to be sure...did the sunflower tree make it? If not, I can give you another one next time I see you.

Marcia

Oops, sorry, I was talking about the purple knight alternathera. I don't even think joyweed is the right common name, I think a common name for it is joe pye weed or something like that. I do think we should find something to call joyweed though, don't you? It just sounds like it'd be fun to grow and yes, probably illegal :).

Wow! Amazing what can happen in a year isn't it? Love your shadehouse!!! It reminds me of little "cabins" that we used to bunk in when we were kids and would go off to scout camp.

~Betsy

Oops. I forgot. Yes, it is doing great. Look at the now picture of the north end of the house at the very far end. that bush in front of the porch is the sunflower tree.

Wow, it looks super, Melissa! You are going to get a great show this fall, I'll bet! Glad it has done well for you. I just cut my 15' one back to about 5 feet. I should be all leafed out and gorgeous again by September.

Marcia

I do like how it looks even now (you can also see it at the far left of the last picture). I have been selectively pruning it and sticking the pruned pieces in the ground along the far fence. I can't wait for the yellow flowers.

Melissa, it's amazing to see the progress you've made in less than a year! You've tackled a lot of areas and have done a great job of combining plant material. I especially love the large, wide front beds. I also love how your large trees frame the property. They really ground your home and provide scale to your expansive property. Your place must be a haven for wildlife of all types! Do you have deer? You must just love taking a stroll through your yard. I'd love to have that much land to play with. Enjoy, and please keep posting more pics when you can.

Anna

Nope. No deer. We do have other critters. Lots of birds. Turkey. Rabbits. Teenagers. There is also this amazing Siamese tomcat that we call Tank who hissed at my car as I was pulling out of the driveway! No kidding. Dared it to come any closer. My poor Toyota was traumatized. This cat is HUGE. Both ears half chewed off. I dread to think what might happen if the dogs decided to take him on. The Boston terrier would be cat food. Apparently this cat has been around for a while according to the neighbors. The king of the jungle and all that. We are just leasing this land from him. :o)

I do like to walk around but not as much now it is so hot. In the back the chiggers are also pretty rough this time of year. It is the price of living in the country.

What is the spectacular purple plant next to your air conditioner. It would be great color in my very, very green garden. Is it a perennial?

Hey Melissa! I remembered when your photos when you first moved in and the blank slate you had to work with. It's all coming together very nicely...Time and patience are virtues that are hard to come by when it comes to gardening. Your GH is fantastic! Nice place for some orchids!!

jennifer,

I think the purple plant you are talking about is Persian Shield. I, um, absconded with some from the garden of one of the Disney resorts a few years ago. It kind of languished in a pot for a while. It looks great where it is. Very shiny and purple and happy. It is pretty cold sensitive though and is it not drought tolerant. That is a pretty sheltered corner but I don't know how it will do next winter. It likes the morning sun and afternoon shade it gets there.