Walkway update

I realized that it's been a while since I've posted photos of the walkway, not having done that since I expanded the bed on one side and put more plants into the ground.

That was only a month ago, but the plants have filled in so much! I don't know why that surprises me, but looking at garden photos that are only a month or two old sometimes gives me a shock -- such changes!

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I should point out that the lighting in these shots wasn't ideal -- I waited a bit too long in the morning and started getting more sun than I wanted -- but I've learned from experience that if I notice that something in the garden looks good, I need to get the camera out immediately. Something always seems to happen that spoils the looks, and it's usually a storm (although deer or other herbivores do their share of "adjustments" too).

Here's my view as I walk out the door:

The water garden is my new favorite distraction, but the frogbit and water hyacinth grow so amazingly fast I'm removing bits of both every couple of days. The birds can't even drink out of it right now.

That's Lobelia cardinalis in the red pot in the water. It needs a bigger pot, but I'll probably keep it in the water as it's doing great there.

The Artemesia 'Powis Castle' is starting to dominate, with a couple of cannas to the right:

Lamb's ear in front of it, and feverfew behind:

I need to pull the rest of those seedlings from the cracks!

To the left of the barrel is Agastache rupestris, a plant that you should move to the top of your "plants to get" list if you're not growing it already. There's 'Caramel' heuchera which may be getting too much sun here (I can never keep track of which heuchera like more shade and which like more sun), and some Tradescandia zebrina to help cover bare ground:

The rose mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpos) is big -- bigger than I remembered. The Equisetum hymale in the pot is a bit overpowered, although once it fills in more it will make a stronger contribution. In the foreground is Gaura (yes, I couldn't resist buying another, since I can't overwinter these), an Iceland poppy, and some sedum. Oh, there's a daylily on the left there too -- I won't know what kind until it blooms:

The view from the sidewalk:

On the right (south) another heuchera, my patch of Persicaria 'Painter's Palette' (the mother plant is quite spindly, but the seedlings are starting to contribute quite nicely), and in the pot a scented geranium, some peppermint, and a sweet potato vine:

The left (north) side next to the sidewalk shows you potted spearmint with Agastache foeniculum to the right of it, heuchera 'Marmalade' to the left, then filler plants: more Tradescantia zebrina, another sedum, there's a Talinum paniculatum with chartreuse leaves in there, and some Ajuga:

Back near the house there's a white-flowered butterfly bush, a potted purple fountain grass/sweet potato vine combo, and filler plants (I see a beet, some cilantro, and a small Coreopsis tinctoria or two:

The Iris pseudacorus foliage just looks so wonderful here!

What passersby see when walking north:

And finally, a panoramic shot for a wider view of the whole thing (click for much larger version):

I'm really pleased with the way it's looking right now! It's not perfect, but nothing in my garden is (or maybe I'm just never satisfied).

Incidentally, we did end up getting a heavy rain later in the day. I don't think any of these plants were damaged, but I'm glad I got the photos in when I did. You never know.

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