My name is Beth O’Brien, and I live in a Zone 6b location in Fort Erie, Ontario. We purchased this new home five years ago, and the yard was a blank slate. It has been a constant learning experience to find plants that rabbits don’t eat, that are fairly drought tolerant, and that can grow in the hard clay soil. Amend, amend, amend.
I have been trying to achieve constant color throughout the growing season.
The front garden in May with spring bulbs
In June, blue salvia (Salvia nemorosa, Zones 3–8) takes center stage.
In July, the ‘Stargazer’ lilies (Lilium ‘Stargazer’, Zones 3–8) bloom in mass.
Another view of the front bed lined with ‘Stargazer’ lilies.
In August the dahlias are at their best, providing plenty of colors. I started them in April in a little greenhouse.
This is a shade garden on the north side of a shed with a big clump of variegated Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra, Zones 5–9) in the middle.
Monarchs compete for nectar on the blooms of a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii, Zones 5–9).
A favorite combination: asters (Stokesia laevis, Zones 5–9), coneflowers (Echinacea spp., Zones 4–9), and phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zones 4–8)
Petunia ‘Bees Knees’ (annual) are easy to maintain in boxes on our deck.
A group of coneflowers lasts well into the fall.
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