Going Downhill From Here Part 4
These photos are still of our hillside, but now above our little patch of woods (see Going Downhill From Here Part 3), and across from the area of our downhill paths (see Going Downhill From Here Part 2). We have a lot of area here to experiment with; some of what we try works out very well and some just doesn’t turn out the way we hoped.
A friend gave us the iris in the foreground of this photo; I think they are the old fashioned scented iris. And the roses in the background are the very reliable Knock Out roses. The center photo was taken from down below the roses; it shows how spectacular they were in full bloom. The white flowers are the common snowball bush. This one now resides in our front yard. Love it! The crocosmia in the next photo is a variety named Lucifer. Very bright red. The photo was taken from a different angle but shows the roses in the background.
This lavender grew for several years until it met with an untimely accident. It was fragrant and came back reliably. I have no idea how to take care of lavender, so I guess it was lucky that it lived as long as it did! The center photo is one of my all time favorite trees, the Kwanzan cherry tree. This view is from our front porch and, while not quite the same area as the first four photos, it is in the general vicinity. It is so very pretty in the spring. Cherry trees are susceptible to several diseases, and I am not sure what affected this tree. It was another very sad day when we had to take it down. I would love another one if we can find a good home for it. The area where it was is now our granddaughter’s faerie garden. To the right of the cherry tree, in the patch of mulch is a daylily. The next photo shows this little daylily in bloom. It is a reliable bloomer and, since red is my favorite color, I love it!
These daylilies are just down from our hillside patio. All are reliable bloomers and something to look forward to in early June. The last photo here is of lilies that also come back every year. They are bright and cheerful when they bloom.
Final thought:
True our hillside garden is very different and very much more difficult than gardening on a level area. But when something we try succeeds, the level of satisfaction we derive is in proportion to the level of effort we put into it. Facing an easily accomplished challenge gives very little satisfaction, but accomplishing something difficult yields satisfaction that is remembered for a lifetime.