I grew my garden in lockstep with my family. We moved in to a vast expanse of grass in 1986 (actually a vast expanse of snow, since it was December). For a while the garden grew with the family— add a child, add a flower bed. Five pregnancies later I had a full garden (although only two children— the goddess was kinder to the yard than to the pregnancies).
As the children grew in complexity so did the garden, adding vegetables, trees, more flowers, patios and a pond.
The children are grown and gone and the garden is grown yet comes back every year, a lovely metaphor on the nature of parenting adults. I hope everyone here enjoys these gardens— I can’t go out into my yard without my brain filling with goodness. Looking at the garden is as good as eating a chocolate bar.
Gardens
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Bill's Pond and Xan's Rose Bower garden
Zone 5 I gave the pond to my husband for Father's Day in 2007. I like to joke that I gave him 100 hours of backbreaking labor for Father's Day. Nga Jee d...
- 11 plants
- 63 journals
- 1 faves
- 3 comments
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Frontyard garden
Zone 5 Resisted doing a "front yard garden" here, because I dunno, too many gardens, but I've had to move too many plants out there that I want to track. ...
- 12 plants
- 18 journals
- 0 faves
- 0 comments
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Ideas garden
A place to put ideas for new beds. Need to ask NnN for a "fantasy" or "non-existent" designation.
- 7 plants
- 32 journals
- 0 faves
- 0 comments
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Narnia garden
Zone 5 In 2008 the ornamental pear that used to shade this area was knocked over in a wind storm, taking with it the only shade in the backyard, right aft...
- 23 plants
- 42 journals
- 0 faves
- 1 comments
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Perennial Border garden
Zone 5 This is the border with my neighbor. Mostly perennials, sometimes I fill in with annuals. Sun all day. It comprises old designations: • Area 2-...
- 21 plants
- 56 journals
- 0 faves
- 0 comments
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Porch containers, front and back garden
Zone 5b So, I guess I'll start tracking these as well. These plants will go in and out of the house depending on the season; some tubers and I'm planning ...
- 2 plants
- 5 journals
- 1 faves
- 0 comments
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Savory Walk (formerly Area 1 & 2) garden
Zone 5 This is from an off-the-top-of-my-head idea from one of my journals here: to create a pathway through savory and fragrant plants. Since I seem to...
- 18 plants
- 29 journals
- 1 faves
- 0 comments
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Serpentine garden
Zone 5 This started out as three intersecting circles edged with brick and was meant to be a classic Elizabethan ground level decorative Knot garden (seco...
- 9 plants
- 101 journals
- 4 faves
- 3 comments
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Sideyard garden
Zone 5b I guess there's enough plants to track, and it's such a luxury to have an area I can actually call a shade garden.
- 5 plants
- 6 journals
- 0 faves
- 0 comments
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SoPo garden
Zone 5b Formerly part of Bill's Pond, it feels better on its own
- 19 plants
- 13 journals
- 0 faves
- 0 comments
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Three Sisters, their dog plus the neighbors garden
Zone 5b The Three Sisters are Country Gentleman Corn, Butternut Squash and Blue Lake Pole Beans from One Bean Chicago. Their dog is Cherry Bell Radishes, ...
- 2 plants
- 8 journals
- 0 faves
- 2 comments
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Wagon Wheel garden
Zone 5 My primary vegetable garden. The Wagon Wheel is a half circle 20 feet in diameter. When I first put it in it was in full sun all day and had 7 sp...
- 7 plants
- 68 journals
- 1 faves
- 0 comments
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Winter garden
Zone 5b Mostly the container plants from the porch, plus some of the herbs repotted, and the wintersown containers. I anticipate that plants will move in ...
- 22 plants
- 94 journals
- 1 faves
- 0 comments
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Woodland garden
Zone 5b New bed between SoPo and Serpentine, meant to be bird-friendly. Small trees, shrubs, grass, and we'll get Bill bird feeders for Father's Day this ...
- 20 plants
- 15 journals
- 0 faves
- 0 comments
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[Archived] ZZZZ renamed Areas 11-14 garden
Zone 5 More perennials, filled out with re-seeding annuals and a few bedding plants. The primary photo was taken July 28, 2008. The second one shows the ...
- 0 plants
- 0 journals
- 0 faves
- 2 comments
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[Archived] Experimental garden
Zone 5 It's always so sad when August comes and the garden bounty starts to decline, despite successive planting and various harvest dates. So this year,...
- 12 plants
- 60 journals
- 2 faves
- 1 comments
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Other places you can find me
I love to grow
Whatever survives me. Vegetables, herbs, dark-flowered perennials
Hobbies
Figure skating


















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