Wow!
I love looking at your photos.
Those are amazing seeing what it looked like back then compared to now. Your rocks are fabulous! You could have been a mason (rock layer) :)

Wow! What a labor of Love!!! Thanks for the Eye Candy!

I couldn't find one taken at the same angle but I'm sure it is somewhere in my files and also of the steps. I'll have to look again later.

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Love your rock work! What a beautiful garden you have created. Hope you find comparison photos of the steps.

I found this one taken in June 2007:
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And this one taken in June 2011:
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As I was looking through the garden albums I realized how much some areas have become over grown with ground cover and ivy, ect. A garden is forever changing, but I think some trimming back and tearing out are in order. All but one Lupine has survived and last year it barely made it. Same with the blue forget-me-nots. They used to self seed all over the place.

Personally, I like a bit of overgrowth. Makes it look more natural. That said, I love the look of your garden Schoolhouse! Just looks so inviting to waltz around with the teapot! :) Can't wait to get out in the garden!

Ginny

Absolutely beautiful! I haven't ever seen these pics before.
You turned it into a lovely garden - so inviting and pleasing.
~Annie

Thank you everyone. It's nice to have a place to share.

I'm going to sit down and make a list of plants I want to re-introduce. Lupines definitely, and as much as I dislike the look of the spent forget-me-not plants I think I'll buy several packs of seed this Spring and scatter them about. Need to cut back a white Candytuft that has been there about as long as the garden itself and has pretty much taken over a border. It's very hardy so don't think it will hurt it much. I also love creeping Phlox but have always had trouble keeping grass from growing up through it.

Also would love to find some true dwarf boxwood - that is a variety that stays at 8" or less. I know there is an herb that can be grown as a small hedge but not sure how hardy it would be.

It's a wet soggy day here today, perfect for garden day dreaming.

That herb would not be hardy enough, sorry to say - I cannot even get it through our winters down here. I've tried. Pretty though.

I cannot find those diminutive boxwood plants down here either. They sell the regular (grows to five feet) and the dwarf Japanese (2-3 ft), but not the tiny ones. Phooey.

I found out the hard way last year that boxwood does not like too wet soil. I added a lot of leaves, bark and compost to the azalea bed and planted the dwarf boxwood all along the pathway. I also over-watered them, trying to compensate for the drought. Ooops! They like a more sandy, gravely soil that drains.
Live and learn!

I've found the name. I knew it was "Trucium" or some such, well it's common name is "Germander" and is Truciem. My favorite nursery planted it as a low hedge all around their herb garden and along the paths therein. I remember it was lovely for a couple years but then noticed some plants died off leaving holes to be filled. I'll have to check this Spring to see if they've given up on it all together. I may still try some along the borders in the stone courtyard. It can be clipped like a hedge too and has a pink flower.

Lowes sells boxwood labeled "true dwarf boxwood" and it IS smaller than the rest of the boxwood on the rack but I can never trust that it will stay at a foot or less.

That herb would not be hardy enough, sorry to say - I cannot even get it through our winters down here. I've tried. Pretty though.

I cannot find those diminutive boxwood plants down here either. They sell the regular (grows to five feet) and the dwarf Japanese (2-3 ft), but not the tiny ones. Phooey.

I found out the hard way last year that boxwood does not like too wet soil. I added a lot of leaves, bark and compost to the azalea bed and planted the dwarf boxwood all along the pathway. I also over-watered them, trying to compensate for the drought. Ooops! They like a more sandy, gravely soil that drains.
Live and learn!

Why did my post get double time?
I posted it and went in to watch the news. Just came back and see that it is on here twice. Weird.

Schoolhouse- Your pictures are beautiful! So nice to see the changes over the years. Is that Sweet William around the birdbath? Such a pretty garden :)

Thanks. You know I was going to say it was Sweet William but it may have been mixed dianthus. I think I'll plant it again this year because it did well in the sandy soil and blooms lasted way into Fall. I bought transplants,didn't sow seed.

I'm trying to decide what the flowers are in the upper right, next to the road, in the first "before" photo. I don't ever remember having such pretty Delphiniums but it really does look like the flower. Perhaps it is Foxglove? Oh, to be able to grow Foxglove again. I don't think I have the sun for it anymore.

Annie, your double-time post is fine. :) Do you grow Foxglove?

What a most wonderful transformation. I love your teapot! I could definitely spend a good amount of time in your garden. Thanks for the pictures.

I love lupines, delphiniums, and foxglove, but don't have enough sun for the lupines or delphiniums and no luck with my many attempts to grow foxgloves, but don't know why not. All would look wonderful in your garden!

I'm thinking the lupines got wet feet too many seasons in a row. Will have to add soil to create a bit more height in the border for them.

What a transformation. You work magic with stone.

I just love the tea pot topiary and that whole area in general. What type of Juniper is that in the middle of that bed? Green Arrow or Blue Point or somesuch? Like how many evergreens you have used for winter interest, that is something I need to work on.

I've had my Teucrium chamaedrys (possibly the dwarf 'Nanum') for maybe six years now. I know woody herbs like it have a habit of dying out once older, so I am surprised mine is still going. I haven't found lupine to be very long lived plants in general. I usually let mine go to seed so I will always have some. Although over time I find the purples do seem to take over, lol. I winter sowed some 'Morello Cherry' Lupine not long ago, just to re-introduce some other colors.
CMK

It's an Irish Juniper. Normally I keep it shorter and more narrow but the summer before last a bird built a nest in the center of it and a raccoon decided to literally tear the juniper apart to get at the nest. I wrapped it up with twine to hold it together hoping it would grow back tight again and didn't do any pruning of it to help it recover. Seems to be doing ok now.

I'm going to try some Teucrium. One of my farmer friends used to have a big round bed of lupines that seeded themselves. I was always so envious. The white ones are so beautiful and I like that red or cherry color too.

-schoolhouse, I've got a few extra seeds of the 'Morello Cherry' Lupine, shoot me an email if you are interested ;-)
CMK