My apologies to Monty Python…Right now our back yard is covered in snow.  But the photo above is from the summer of ‘07, and shows the beginning of the rear border (North side).  Not much there but some Hostas and Allium.  Hopefully, next spring will bring the Alliums planted this fall and some Hydrangeas.

This is from summer ‘08 (rear brder South)  and shows the purple Coneflowers, Sedum (Autumn Joy) and the Spirea “Little Princess”.  I also planted more Hydrangeas, Mums and Coneflowers.  I won’t be too disappointed if the Mums don’t come back.  I love Mums in containers but once I planted them - meh.   I do want to get more Sedum though, it flowered beautifully.

These are my Peonies (after bloom) in the far South rear border.  The old plant stand was there from previous owners and looked rather ratty.  After thinking about ripping it out and deciding it was too much work, (it’s mounted in concrete) I gave it a shot of spray paint.  It’s hard to see with the poor quality of the photo (sorry, no Photo Shop) but it’s not half bad.  Next spring I plan on filling the pots with flowers and greenery that spill down and I think it will give the corner some interest.

That’s Bishops Weed on the bottom of the plant stand, a real spreader but fortunately it’s contained.  I also scored some big rocks from my neighbor and will be replacing the broken edging in this area.  Hydrangeas are hoped for as well in this area. 

It may not look like much but if you saw the “before” you’d think it was a dream garden.  We had overgrown volunteer bushes (hope that’s the right term, I’ve heard it in reference to plants before) and the Hostas were lined up in a row, with trees coming up everywhere.

All this gardening thinking was prompted by a giveaway at Carolyn Gail’s “Sweet Home and Garden Chicago” blog (http://sweethomeandgardenchicago.com).  I was the lucky winner of some Muck gardening shoes and can’t wait to get them some use come spring.  Thank you Carolyn and Muck!!!  I also received some gardening catelog  postcards recently and will be ordering a slew of catelogs.  I love me some shopping, and couple it with gardening and I’m in Heaven! 

Here’s to Spring gardening plans.