Then and now: Gardens number one and two

A couple of weeks ago Loree at Danger Garden did a "then and now" post spanning 11 years at her house and garden. I loved seeing how her vision came together. I wrote a lot of detailed posts back in 2008/09 about Mark and my garden history, long before many of you were visiting my site. So this is the short version of where we began and what our garden looks like now. Thanks to Loree for the inspiration.

. . . 

When my husband and I met, I was gardening in a small plot behind my second floor apartment. I dug the beds, planted them and did the work myself. It doesn't look like much but I knew all the Botanical Latin names of my plants. I picked the plants to fulfill two needs: herbs for cooking and flowers to hang in a basket on the door to my apartment. My little plot nicely met those needs and helped me gain gardening experience without getting overwhelmed.

After our marriage we bought an 1899 Queen Anne house on a tiny lot in an old neighborhood on Madison's near east side. We spent the first winter planning the garden. Along the fence are the holding beds for the plants my landlord let me bring from my old garden. Just in front of me you may notice a circle of brown grass. That's where we dug out an Ash Tree and moved it against the fence next to an old rose bush I discovered there. Why am I holding a broom? Mark is trying to convince me that a big stone obelisk as high as the broom top would be the perfect addition to our as yet unbuilt garden. The yellow ropes on the ground indicate our future patio.

Here's the obelisk in place (it is now in our current garden in a slightly different shape). We had the previous owners of the house leave a big pile of old bricks as part of the deal. We used them to create the patio and paths. The pile of dirt in the back left side is our future rock garden. 

Ta-da! The garden five years later — along with new house paint colors. We were growing plants in narrow strips down both sides of the house and had just put big pots full of flowers on our flat garage roof. Clearly we were now hardcore gardeners and it was time to move. Tune in tomorrow.

Comments

[Lisa at Greenbow]

This would be great for one of those small garden Pinterest posts. You two certainly were not inoculated against the gardening disease. I love that big tower. With that big tall house behind it it looked quite at home in that small garden. It looks great in it's new home.

[Linda from Each Little World]

Lisa — That obelisk sculpture really taught me about the concept of scale in the garden. That little garden was the perfect size to learn on.

[Jane Miller]

Loved seeing the photos of your garden on Spaight, what a beauty in a contained space. Have you ever been back to see what it looks like now?

[Linda from Each Little World]

Jane - There have been at least three owners since we left. Also kids, two big dogs, a hot tub and a fence (I think along the driveway), so I imagine our garden really doesn't exist anymore. Luckily I have a whole album of photos from the garden.

[Loree / danger garden]

Oh yes...I am loving this! That first image is just wonderful, we all start somewhere and your little plot looks well loved.

[Erin @ The Impatient Gardener]

What a fantastic post. I love it. I really like the path!

[Linda from Each Little World]

Erin - >Great experience for me laying a herringbone patio and Mark cut bricks, limestone and made it all level. Just a perfect size for experimenting and learning.

[Susan Adler Sobol]

I remember when you posted some of these photos years ago! Nice to revisit!

[Beth @ PlantPostings]

This is great! I love these before and after posts! And Mark was right: That obelisk is perfect in that spot.

[Barbara H.]

Oh gosh, here I am late to the party again. Your first garden looks delightful and the second garden is an amazing transformation. But the best was yet to come!

[Linda from Each Little World]

Susan and Barbara — You are among the few who read those early posts. Thanks for sticking with me!

[Peter/Outlaw]

Thanks for the great gardening retrospective post. I really enjoyed seeing your former gardens and am inspired to someday dig out photos of my former gardens to do something similar.

[Linda from Each Little World]

Peter — Always fun to look back. Finding the old photos/slides is the hardest part.