Our Gardens - The Porch Front

This started as an undiggable patch of land that fronted the line of azaleas that are the foundation plantings for the house. It was the typical suburban line of bushes that had decades of wood mulch mounded around them. It was initially expanded to allow the planting of bulbs in the fall and wave petunias in the spring. Digging holes required a mallet and sharp trowel. After several years of slowly expanding the plantable area and adding organic material, we planted medium sized hosta in front of the azaleas. That area was then expanded to allow the planting of bulbs and petunias or zinnias.

In a major surprise move, our neighbors removed a large (and healthy!) sweet gum. Our front yard went from shady to full sun in the course of an hour! Hosta hated it. After several years dealing with withered hosta, we removed them and have been replacing them with a cottage garden collection of native perennials along with peonies, daylilies, and sedums.

A hallmark of our house front has been the border of tulips in the spring and petunias (occasionally zinnias or dwarf dahlias) through the summer and fall. The colors are generally white and pink; but in 2020 we went with red!!!