I used to stick with herbs and veggies, but they proved too high maintenance since I tend to spend a number of weekends away from home. We're trying the community garden thing again behind the Neighborhood Family Practice, so I hope my veggies will be safe there from slugs and aggressively growing things that cast too much shade and crowd out my tomatoes (ahem... weird clematis in my plot... planted by resource hogging neighbor... ahem).
I started the perennials two years ago when garden centers were having spectacular sales in early fall, I just planted some lilies here, some ground cover there - not really following a plan. I added spring bulbs, which were a nice surprise in April, and the greens fill in.
This year, I pulled a number of things from my parents house, including: hostas, ferns and Sweet Woodruff (Myrtle came along for a ride).
Despite (or maybe because of) their constant need for attention, I still do herbs: basil, rosemary, oregano, lemon verbena and chocolate mint (for homemade ice cream). To keep the slugs at bay, I started hanging pots on the fence
because slugs + basil = great sadness.
To satisfy my need for color, I do annuals in window boxes off my back porch and pots next to the door - if only to make me and the postal workers smile.
It's nice to have a little color and green in the backyard - and I admit that I am more of an active-get-my-hands-dirty gardener than a sit-back-and-enjoy-the-fruits-of-my-labor gardener.
Someday I'll go outside and knit in the sun...
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