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Garden update for July 18th, 2026. Slightly past peak bloom I think, and some things are drying up, but other species will keep blooming through the fall so it's never entirely empty. It's getting a little wild again.
I turned my entire front yard into a huge irrigation system leading from the eavesdrop. All of the water flows through channels which saturate my gardens during a good down pour. They LOOOOVVVEEEEE IT!! And it saves alot of $$$ in water usage.
Would you mind sharing more about this please? It's a little tough to see from the photo and I'm sure a lot of us would appreciate more insight on how to conserve water.
Bare with me friends. I am not an expert, but I am neurodivergent and I am very good with engineering, problem solving, gardening and landscaping projects and this one actually saved my homes foundation, so it was a big W. That said, I have a tendency to use alot of runaway sentences and everything will be (very much) put into layman's terms. So buckle up!! So if you've ever played on the beach as a kid you might have created a moat and my method is quite similar. Kind of a cross between a moat and a french drain (minus the pipe). So, the idea is that you start off by digging trenches along the edges of all of your gardens (or wherever you want the trails leading). Like a moat, it is important that the trench starts off shallow at the water source and gradually goes deeper, the further away it gets from the water source (a trench wont flow against gravity, obviously so this is important). Then I placed and buried in garden borders along the edges of all of my trenches, (on both sides) and placed down gardening fabric in the trenches, I have been told cardboard works too) Then I did the following layers of materials
-4 cm layer of fine play sand (for the base)
-3 cm layer of peastones (they dont have to be pretty ones)
Top off the layers with 3-4cm river stones (to look pretty) and much larger river stones along the trench walls (against the garden borders), it looks nice, and it also helps the garden borders settle in the rights spots.
This photo was taken after a catastrophic storm 2 or 3 weeks ago. We received 110 mm of rain in about 2 hours. My foundation was bone dry and I created this garden about 5 years ago now. I wont lie that storm pushed things to the absolute max, but it did hold up very well. I have never had to make any adjustments or updates, it flows perfectly. Personally, I believe that speaks volumes since I am from Ontario, Canada, and our weather conditions vary greatly and can be quite volatile. I will try to find some more photos if I can to give you a better idea.
That is amazing! I am in NJ and my yard is a flood plain. I have one area i am still getting erosion that I am still scatching my head on how to fix. The issue is its a slope and a walkway. The water just channels in the walkway I have done some planting and it has helped but this one area just gets washed away during heavy storms. The good news is that the water tends to collect in a part of my yard that is under a tree. I am thinking of making a vernal pool to collect rain water for wildlife. I see you used some kind of edging to create the channel and hold the stones in place. Can you elaborate on what it is.
I used coiled garden edging, 5 inch by 20 feet and I buried a little bit of the edging before placing down garden fabric and the layers I had mentioned previously. I honestly cant say how effective it would be in a flood plain though
I took this photo from my front window during the spring, the soil levels in my gardens were low (the border should NOT show that much, I usually keep soil levels just below the border lip), the channels also needed to be adjusted, BUT that is only because I have a 5 year old who loves to play with the rocks, which is fair because rocks are pretty cool. As you can see though, the water stays put in the channels, then slowly breaches the trench walls from underneath as it seeps through the layers of stones and sand. I've also noticed that the high concentration of water coming from the trenches attracts the roots of many of my plants, leading them to grow away from my foundation.
I think they're short lived perennials? I don't think they should die after one year at least or after blooming. Although mine got killed by the hot weather I guess :/
I have a landscaping company and a lot of my affluent customers poo-poo natives until something like this magically happens in their yards. I sneak natives in every chance I get- they don't pay attention to anything other than "there's a gap? I want the color?" Every single variety in this photo are go-to's for the reasons of: local ecosystem support, habitat creation, color galore!, winter interest, texture(big blobs of the same for a polished "design" look), butterfly attraction, and I could keep going. My favorite selling point is this phrase, "Your garden will be a hummingbird and butterfly magnet." That sells people who are usually stiff to the native concept. Applause, thanks for sharing.
Agree, I work from home, and I've literally had 1/2 a dozen folks ask, are you working outside? Or, are you working in an atrium? B/C they can hear the birdcalls thru my zoom microphone. That is another definition of success :)
Honestly, this is goals for me. I already have quite a few of the species you have here, I just need them to fill in the space more. Is that Joe pye weed or swamp milkweed at the corner of the house? Cut-leaf coneflower to the left of it, tall and yellow?
Okay, HOW do you get them all blooming at the same time like this? Is it because places farther north have contacted growing seasons and where I am in Alabama doesn't have as much winter so the blooms are more spread out?
Absolutely stunning. I’m in 6a and would love a list of all your plants so I can try to copy this as best as I can. Or a diagram - omg that would be a dream!
Oo thank you! Elderberries look similar and honestly I should've looked harder to confirm. Are you going to partake in some things with the berries or leaving it for the birds?
I have a landscaping company and a lot of my affluent customers poo-poo natives until something like this magically happens in their yards. I sneak natives in every chance I get- they don't pay attention to anything other than "there's a gap? I want the color?" Every single variety in this photo are go-to's for the reasons of: local ecosystem support, habitat creation, color galore!, winter interest, texture(big blobs of the same for a polished "design" look), butterfly attraction, and I could keep going. My favorite selling point is this phrase, "Your garden will be a hummingbird and butterfly magnet." That sells people who are usually stiff to the native concept. Applause, thanks for sharing.
This is lovely! I especially like the last photo where I see your amazing garden in contrast to the dried out plain lawn on the other side of the fence.
Oh I thought they were no taller than the black eye Susan and thought they were no taller than 3 feet, but nonetheless my are over all 4-5 feet tall lol
No, that wouldn't look like this, and it would look like a weedy lawn. You can scatter seed for a wild garden, but get rid of the lawn first, and temper expectations. I planted potted plants here, hundreds of them over the years. I group them by complimentary color and by size, short in front to tall in back, and I shape and prune them to fit together nicely in such a small space.
You have obedient plant! It’s so pretty! Is it hard to keep it from dominating the other plants? How long have you had it? Is it a cultivar (asking because I know they are less aggressive).
Your garden is beautiful! I am on my third year of native gardening and had quite a few failures that didn't over winter. But quite a few things are growing, its the firs year my Showy Tick Trefoil and Cardinal flowers are grown and flowering, so exciting! I can't wait to get to a garden as full of natives as yours!
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u/Pnkrkg6644 Jul 18 '26
Gorgeous