That is gorgeous.

Jim

Oh my goodness. That last photo just takes my breath away. All of your hard work has certainly paid off. Thankyou for posting these photos for us to enjoy.
Renee

Just beautiful!

So many beds and all so beautifully planted,that street bed is something special. I get a fuzzy feeling when I see great edging like that. :)

Oh my, how beautiful, Vikki your flower beds have that certain something a lot of us strive for but never quite get. This has really been a treat, thank you for sharing.

Annette

Beautiful beds. Wow. Someone does alot of work at your house. Do you do all of it or does DH help? I can't help but wonder if all of you with these beautiful yards also work full time out of the home. I want it all but sure can't find time to do justice to all. I need to know if I'm to lazy or have to much on my plate for everything. haha Punk

Well done you! Not just on the gardening, but the picture-taking too. You should get carried away more often. The quality of the light at that time of day gives everything an ethereal look.

Get carried away as often as you like as long as you post here for us to enjoy!

These are beautiful flower beds. What a great job of planting, growing and maintaining. How are you keeping those edges so pristine?

Wow. Let me say that again ---- WOW! Absolutely beautiful flower beds and photography. I love all of it!

I'd love to know how you maintain the edges as well.

Let me go get something to wipe the drool off of my keyboard.

I try not to use the word too much, but your flower beds and photos are indeed awesome! I mean that literally. I am truly in awe.

You, Vikki, are a real master gardener. And it spills over into your photography, too.

ThinMan

Vikki...what a treat for these eyes. I don't think I can call myself a gardener when I see what wonders you have wrought. Such a pleasure to view. Thank you for showing your lovely space. c

WOW! I am so jealous that your garden looks so lush. I'm having a terrible time in our front yard. It's so darned hot and dry ALL the time, no matter what I seem to do. And the tree Japanese Styrax trees are water hogs with fairly shallow roots and don't shade anything....your garden is just stunning! Look at all that color, all at once! Fantastic!

What beautiful gardens you have!

I would LOVE to walk down your street every evening!! WOW! Such a beautiful yard. Are the butterfly stepping stones made of stone or metal? They are so pretty. Your dahlias are gorgeous! I love the way your immaculate lawn and edges (do you have a secret? LOL!) really set off your beautiful borders. WELL DONE!!

Wow people, your kind comments make this gardener's heart feel happy. Thank you so much.

Phonegirl...you are NOT lazy. I've always had a garden of some kind but I didn't start gardening on the scale that I do now until 2003 when I retired from my full time job. I'm probably in the garden everyday during the growing season. I'm always doing something in the yard.

I have no secret for the bed edges. I just use a string trimmer. I bought a Black and Decker battery powered weed wacker that I keep charged up and ready for edging when I'm ready to edge, lol.

Thyme...The butterfly stepping stones are made of metal. I've had them for several years.

Vikki

OK Vikki I have a couple of questions,

How often do you put pine straw out to keep it looking so fresh?

Did you have good dirt to start with or do you have to have it hauled in and mixed in with the current soil?

I started with raised beds because my soil was so bad but have hauled in mushroom compost and horse manure to amend the soil and was wondering if I could now remove the stones from around my beds and just have the well trimmed edge like you have.

Could you also give us the names of the all the sunflowers/BES that you have? I have Goldstrum but wanted some that were not so tall.

Sorry for all the questions but your pictures make me long for a garden like yours.....maybe one day.

Thanks,
faye

Faye,
I never mind answering your questions.
I put mulch out once a year. I use pine straw in most of the street bed because I have a large pine tree in that bed.

Normally I use pine bark mulch in all the other beds but this year I thought it was a good idea to use pine straw. Bad decision. I think it is much more difficult to weed with pine straw than with pine bark in the bed. I ended up doing all the front yard beds in pine bark mulch and the back is about half and half. Next spring I'll do all the beds in bark.

When these beds were created I added compost to ammend the beds and raise the level of the bed. I have lots of clay in my soil so, in most cases, I didn't till up the existing soil to mix with the compost. Occasionally I will add a bag of "garden soil" from a box store to fill in where I need to.

Isn't it funny how we always want what the other one has. I would love to have my beds edged in stone and you want to remove the stone and do what I do, lol.

As for the names of the sunflower/BES...
The yellow flower planted with the purple coneflower in the Island bed is False Sunflower.

The extremely tall yellow flower in the street bed is Cutleaf coneflower (I think?).

The short deep golden flower with the dark center in pix 2 & 3 is Rudbeckia 'Rustic Dwarf' (maybe?). It's a pass-a-long plant from a friend. It's a keeper - has been blooming almost all summer!

pretty as a painting. Your sweat is worth it..a picture worth a thousand words...when I admire I see not only the beauty but the work and dedication of a true gardener.

I thought that I had already commented on this thread, but I guess not. You must feel great satisfaction with your gardens. The weather has been very kind and it looks as if you have just the right amount of late afternoon shade. Pics with patterns of sun and shade are among my favs.

Nell

Hey Vikki, its me again.

Your soil must be really rich to grow such large clumps of perennials. How do you fertilize with all that mulch on top of the soil? Do you use granular?

I use Osmocote but I don't get the results that you have.
Sometimes I add some horse manure when planting a new flower.

I just can't stop looking at your pictures. I see something new everytime.

faye

Faye,
Yes I am really blessed to have rich soil in my beds. I throw granulated 10-10-10 on top of the mulch in the spring and water it in or let the rain take care of it.

When I plant something new I usually add a time released fertilizer, like Osmocote.

Keesha,
Thanks for mentioning all the hard work. Keeping the garden in shape is hard work but it is a labor of love.
Vikki

Your garden beds are spectacular! I love the curving shapes, and everything in them looks so healthy and well cared for. Thanks for posting your photos, Vikki---they are truly inspiring!

Vikki, I am speechless ! Perfect !, Martha

Unbelievably gorgeous!
I saved the images so I can learn how to plant flowerbeds like a PRO. It's like looking at an issue in BHG or Cottage Gardening!

I can believe that you work very hard. I envy good soil, good weather and those tall trees for a backdrop.

Green with envy...
~Annie

Back for one more look...

Absolutely gorgeous!!

I have come back so many times just to gaze at these beautiful photos. I wish that there were counters on these posts so that you could tell how many times one is viewed. I know that the number would be huge for this one.

Thank you so much, Vikki, for sharing your masterpiece with all of us!

What a dream! The lighting is just right - soft and flattering, and all those colorful blooms just glow. Wonderful selection and placement of plants. Post again later in the season!

Gosh,
Brenda, jkom51 and the rest of you "master" gardeners...my cup runneth over with your kind words...thank you all very much.

Vikki

oh my god: beautiful!!

Very nice indeed!
The timing is so important, both in the time of day, but time of year also.
You have an artist's eye,in the garden, as well with the camera. You have achieved depth by giving the eye a place to go. A lot can be learned by looking at your photographs.

Vikki, I missed seeing these pictures this past summer but often wondered where you've been and how your garden was growing this year. Now I see that you had a splendid gardening season! Everything looks lush, happy and healthy. Your whole garden is just neat as a pin. Oh how I strive for that very thing, though seldom accomplishing it. Thanks so much for posting. Your photography is as great as your gardens.

MeMo

Thank you so much for sharing that jewel box of a garden! That really inspires me for all of the gardening I am about to take on. FAB-U-LOUS!!!

Your garden is absolutely stunning! If you don't mind me asking, what are the orange flowers beside the daisies in the first picture? I'm kind of new to this and my pool of knowledge isn't very deep yet :)

Wow. This is what my flowerbeds want to be when they grow up. But, Vikki, you may have to adopt them for that to happen. What a masterful eye for combination and color you have.

Gosh, hard to believe these pictures are still active. Thanks again to all my gardening buddies for the kind words.
Stephf...the spiked orange flowering plant is crocosmia lucifer.
Happy Spring everyone...Vikki

I must add my "wow" to the others and say that this litle tour is very inspiring. How planned are the heights and colors?