Part Two, the Story of My Garden

Just as the composition of the garden was beginning to gel, another fly in the ointment:  we became host to a herd of deer. Suddenly, the lilies, sedum and several other tasty morsels became a veritable salad bar for our local herd. As I stood outside one morning at the top of the back steps and yelled at them, they barely looked up and just kept right on munching.

So out went the Casa Blanca lilies and several other favorites. I did learn that many of my existing perennials, however - the echinaceas, yarrows, astilbes and japanese anenomes - were deer resistant. I soon compiled a list of additional plants that the deer would not, it would be hoped, find too tasty. But I did hang on to my hostas and sedums. No one, not even Bambi, would make me get rid of those.

Here few snap shots of my garden yesterday morning, Memorial Day 2010.

Here's the hosta guacamole, alongside the japanese painted ferns and a bit of ajuga. They are in front of one of the forlorn boxwoods damaged in the winter 2009/2010 blizzards.

Next is the goatsbeard, flopping lazily over the astilbe. This is the astilbe 'Peach Blossom.' It is not as quite as graceful as the others in my garden, but it tolerates dry shade better than the others.

The goatsbeard, astilbe and hosta 'Guacamole', which maintains its fresh green appearance all summer. It will eventually sport incredibly fragrant large white flower spikes.

A view down the shady border. Note the boxwoods tilting permanently to the right!

Next, Part Three of the Story of My Garden