In the garden

Bryce and I have done some epic work in the garden.  He has dug out and moved many plants and also made me a trellis for my peas!  I've been weeding, making trips to the nursery and planting.  Things were close to settled and nearly neat and tidy when rain (this is Seattle) decided to return and draw out a whole new batch of little green weeds.  argh.

Our yard, both back and front was seriously in need of some TLC when we returned from Luxembourg.  One day last fall I stormed out to the back and didn't come inside until every bush, plant and tree had be cut back - a lot!  That gave me a chance to see what was really going on and to decide what to move, keep and plant.

Here are some pictures of what we've accomplished so far.  Now we have to wait to see how everything grows in.

In you'll indulge me - 

Our raised bed. A renter put in the strawberries. They aren't producing much, may move them next year. The cucumber isn't doing well. Neither is the basil. The day after I put the basil in the leaves on one of the plants turned brown. Don't know what that's about. There is something eating the cuc and basil as well. Please admire the pea trellis Bryce built for me. I got the idea from one of my pins. A basil before the leaves turned brown.
Back yard. Bryce moved the bush lilac. We're really pleased with the new location.
bought 2 of these to fill in the back yard beds. Planted alyssum around the perimeter of the flower beds to (hopefully) spill onto our patio. Saw this in Sunset Mag and it looked soft and pretty. Bryce has replaced our token, tiny spot of grass at least 3 times (behind the herbs). We need to do it again as you can see. double argh! Thought the herbs would be fun for the girls. They can cut and bring in for cooking. Moved the chive plant from the raised bed. Always put chives in a pot - they are impossible to get rid of once in the ground!!! These are nandina domestica they are supposed to grow 6 feet tall. That is really what we're hoping. The goal is to cover up the neighbor's garage. We had a red twig dog wood there that was horribly overgrown and all over the place. Bryce worked really really hard to get it out. As you can see there isn't a theme to these plants. I selected a few butterfly attractors other than that it is totally random - hydrangea, blueberries, alyssum. The white cone flower is called "white swan." The purple is "magnus." Curious to see how this fills in. Will likely need more plants. Next year.

So, how does your garden grow?

p.s. i realize some of my pictures are cut off.   I've never had this problem with the new blogger format until recently.  It is these seemingly small hiccups that really dampen my enthusiasm for posting.  one more technical headache that I'll spend over an hour trying to fix.   does anyone know about this?