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I'm new to this posting stuff although I've been checking out the tours for a few months now - they're really awesome!
Well, here goes. These are pictures of my small, urban front yard. It's really amazing what you can pack into a tight space. At least half the plants are native prairie species and the balance are cultivars and non-natives composed of cleome, cosmos, knockout roses and so on.
Hi, GoNative - your garden is absolutely beautiful! Looks like you step into another world when you reach your front walk - a genuine cottage garden ala England but with our beautiful native plants. Please continue to post - we all LOVE to see other folks' creativity (although I must warn you, we may also steal some of your ideas). I especially love the center container bed with the path all around - hmm - mind if I use that idea? Dax
Thank you all for your great comments. This is the first time I've posted any pictures - but I've got folders of garden pictures, some from my gardens in the back including pots. I've also got loads of garden pictures from my clients. I've got a few people that have said they wouldn't mind if they're posted so I should put some of the those on as well.
I just love this site, with all the garden pictures. Winter can be so depressing and these pictures really lift my spirits.
And Dax, please go ahead and use the idea with the pot. I love to incorporate them into perennial gardens for all season color, especially native shade gardens where there isn't too much going on mid-season. I love your garden and it's great to meet a fellow Iowan. My husband's people are from Cedar Rapids. He's a native Iowan, himself, but grew up west in the Lakes region in Okoboji.
I forgot to mention - most of these plants will thrive in your clay soil. The soil here is pretty heavy as well. The native plants actually prefer leaner, crummier soil with no fertilizer. Let me know if you'd like a list or maybe we can figure out a way to trade - these plants reproduce ike crazy. I noticed some people do that on the other sites.
I will keep that in mind. I need to wait til spring to see where my bare spots are then I have a get together with other gardeners but I may tear out some plants and put in more native stuff. There are a few that need to go. lol
Beautiful yard GoNative! Yes, I see what you mean about the porch LOL. I guess I really need to loosen up A LOT. LOL Is that millet or corn on the right of the window? Very interesting choices.
My place is pretty over the top, probably a little too much as my husband thinks. Remember, it is Cicero after all. But I like to think of it all as controlled chaos. The path is always kept clear as are the sidewalks. And after Traci diSabato, I'm probably the second in line for deadhead queen.
I'm still not satisfied. The Joe Pye Weed and Ironweed are still filling in for some much needed purple and height against the wall as are the three grasses I've planted. I'm also waiting for the 3 clematises I planted to do their thing (well, it's their first year out so I'll give them a break). I also need to cut down on some of the yellow. I'm yanking some (not all) of the false sunflower in the very front corner bed. It's too tall and way too crazy yellow.
Other than that, I really get alot of enjoyment from the garden. It may be crazy and psychedelic but it's a happy garden and I always look forward to seeing it when I get home from work.
When I started doing this out front, my neighbors really thought I'd flipped out, so I moved everything to the back/side yards LOL. Now I realize, we must please ourselves first. I love the false sunflowers, they would look great with my purple sedum. Maybe you would like them better if you used darker colored plants to tone them down? I have a strong weakness/preference for burgundy-colored foliage and yellow flowers.
You're right, I need more of a foil - the darker colors you mention. I guess I got stuck in my purist rut for awhile. Even the cosmos and cleome weren't welcome at first. And my husband had to twist my arm to add the Knockout roses.
For the first five years, I didn't allow anything in that wasn't 100% native species (no cultivars) in. I wanted to see if it was possible to create an urban garden and still have it look good without any non-natives. I can say now, it's a very hard look to achieve. Regarding darker foliaged and flowering plants, it's just so hard to find dark purple or burgundy in the species, notable exceptions are the Ironweed (which is too tall for that spot) and the later blooming New England Aster. There is one plant I might try called Winecup - it's a dark burgundy flowered plant (low growing) that's native to the Great Plains (Nebraska, Oklahoma, western IA). I guess, local provenance aside, that's close enough for me.
If you look at native prairies, the predominant colors are yellow, lavender/light purple, light pink and white. That's pretty much nature's color wheel in Northern Illinois with a few notable exceptions like Butterfly Milkweed which is orange or Royal Catchfly (red) and a few others.
It's funny, the much loved Palace Purple Heuchera (I love it too) is actually a cultivar of the very green and very dull native species of Heuchera. I have the species buried in my yard among the anenome. It's very tough though and I love it in spite of it's dullness, it still has it's own subtle charm.
False sunflower is a great plant - it blooms non-stop (with a little deadheading and pruning) from early June through frost. I kid you not. Only downside, if let go to seed it will take over the world although it's easy to dig up. It can be a little too much of a good thing without a firm hand. I'm going to leave some of it in the bed, because it really is a nice sunny orange-yellow but you're welcome to some nice healthy clumps - there's plenty to be had. I've also got quite a bit of this powder blue flowered Meadow Geranium that's very pretty. A few of them need homes. Another perennial which with staged cutbacks will bloom on and off from May through Fall.
I think I will take your advice and add some darker foliage or flowering plants.
And I agree with you on the neighbors, it's your yard and personal space so why not have it the way you want it.
GoNative, awsome blossoms! I've seen a few houses in downtown Waxahachie that have also turned their small lawns in to huge flower beds. I think it's a great idea. I'm jealous, because I probably have the same amount of plants you have, but they are scattered over half an acre. The beauty of native flowers is amazing and way under-appreciated. Do you use a chemical or organic regimen? Organic, I hope, but either way your garden is fantastic!
