A Reflection on the Garden of 2015

This past weekend the weather was so beautiful that I decided to make a start on my fall clean up in the yard. I had an eager helper, who was thrilled to 'push' the wheelbarrow. I didn't pull out everything yet...some things are still blooming beautifully and the weather is supposed to be nice for awhile yet, so I want to enjoy the flowers for as long as possible!

Can you believe this is the same boy, just a few short months ago, when we were buying our flowers at the greenhouse?! It's insane how fast they grow!

Here are a few things I loved about my garden this year:

The bright yellow begonia and fuschia impatians that brightened up shady areas in the yard
My window boxes and large pots were filled with flowers that did well all summer
I dug out an overgrown bergenia (elephant's ears) and moved some pieces to a different area. I replaced the plant with a couple of hostas
I kept on top of the weeding this year
I added mulch and compost to the flower beds
The new cushions on the backyard chairs made for a pretty place to sit and relax
Even though the hot tub takes a lot of the patio space, it's worth it!

Some things that I didn't like about my garden this year:

There are still ants, even though I tried a few different ways to get rid of them
I miss our outdoor dining area, even though we have the hot tub. Hopefully we can have a larger patio area built soon to accommodate both areas.
My vegetables and cutting flowers didn't grow very well this year. I think it is because we had a night with frost just after I planted them...even though I covered them all :(
It was hard to manage regular gardening work with a baby. I usually ran out and rushed through the essentials while he was napping