faulker042

Sometimes it takes years of thinking before making a big change. The area of disappointment was supposed to be a guest parking area separated from our concrete parking pad with an island garden bed. On the other side, there was just a narrow strip of garden due to the installation of a dry stream, necessary after torrential rains washed out all of the original driveway gravel in our first year. No matter what we planted on either side, the area just never looked inviting because the plants struggled. It's a difficult site for plants. A hot, southwest exposure, but too wet in winter for drought-tolerant plants, led to losses every year. Replant. Repeat. Something else had to be done! BEFORE: (View from driveway) Starting in 2005, we tried plantings on either side. Photo is from 2008 and the third iteration of failed plantings. In 2010, we began removing plants in preparation for this big project. We weren't sure exactly what we would do. We drafted many ideas on paper and I sear...

Lilac 'Miss Kim' in full bloom in my home garden. Chapel Hill, North Carolina; April 2011. Fragrant and beautiful, lilacs are perhaps among the most romantic of the spring-blooming shrubs. There are modern offerings of this old-fashioned shrub that make it possible for me to grow lilacs here in my warm, zone 7b garden in North Carolina. Lilacs perform much better in the cooler northern zones. This shrub has been reliably deer and rabbit resistant in my garden. No munching, even though the deer walk right past the shrub year-round as they sneak through my shrubbery to drink from our water feature! It has taken four years for my 'Miss Kim' to bloom abundantly. I first planted her in full sun and she toasted in summer. I transplanted her to a space between two tea olives ( osmanthus fragrans ) to give her some shade. Between the fragrance of the lilac and the fragrance from the tea olives, the combined perfume is very heavy and can be enjoyed from all area of my garden. No...

Notre Dame Paris; April 2011 After seventeen glorious days in France, we are home again. I am sorting through hundreds of photos and tons of information to share. The weather was gorgeous and the people were friendly. We had only 2 1/2 days of rain. The other days, it was sunny and warm—highs ranged from 60°F up to 80° F! We met "virtual" friends, from travel blogs and forums, in person. A great time! Stay tuned... As for writing about the garden here at home—after I do a lot of weeding... Words and photos by Freda Cameron , Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel . 

This is repeat of a story from 2010. A few updates have been made—the rabbits chopped down tall zinnias in the summer of 2010. In March 2011, the voles ate my Dutch iris bulbs and the roots of some of the coneflowers before the rabbits had a chance to eat the foliage. There have been times when I have blamed the deer for eating one of my "deer resistant" perennials. After all, deer tracks around the hardy geraniums provided clear evidence. So, I moved those geraniums inside the cottage garden fence, out of reach of the deer. And, the geraniums were munched! To the ground. So, let's be fair in our accusations. Deer will munch on many wonderful garden plants, but sometimes the culprit is a rabbit. How do you tell the difference between deer damage and rabbit damage? If you are a gardener, you probably own a good pair of sharp, hand pruners to use for plant cuttings. The teeth of a rabbit are razor-sharp and the damage will look as though someone expertly cut the plant stems...