Garden Parts: Along the Fence

I'm still going through my old photos.  I'm not exactly sure where my camera is right now and I haven't had a chance to take any new photos.  This one shows the arbor leading into the woodland path, circa May.  The plant growing on it is a climbing hydrangea.  To the front/right of the arbor are about five sections of split rail fence between our yard and our neighbor's backyard.

Back in June, we had two trees removed from this general area and our neighbor had a couple of trees removed.  The end result is, this part of the yard is sunnier than any other part.  For a little while, I thought about maybe putting in raised vegetable beds.  My experiments with pots and planters on the deck have not been especially successful.  However, I've decided to put in a deep border along the fence as a butterfly garden.

Most of my plants/shrubs bloom in the spring, so the focus of this bed would be summer and fall interest.  Also, my wonderful Aunt got me five(!) butterfly bushes as a thank you for letting her stay with us for a couple of weeks.  Completely unnecessary, but it helped me figure out what I want to do with this bed.  Butterflies and summer interest, but also a sort of tribute to my Mom. 

My very English mother grew up in Plymouth just after World War II.  Her gardening style has always had a touch of southern England to it and her gardens have always had buddleia in them.  I remember reading about butterfly bushes as a symbol of rebirth after the war, when they were seen growing out of bombed houses.  When I visited England back around 2000, I was surprised at the number of buddleia I saw growing in public settings...it's just not a shrub you see much in the United States.  So - the five butterfly bushes my Aunt has given me will be the backbone to the garden.

In between will be some of my Mom's favorite plants.  Herbs, because she had a huge herb garden and volunteered as a docent for the herb garden at the National Arboretum.  Annuals that self-seed in her garden every year, like cleome, balsam, and four o'clocks.  Daffodils, because they were her favorite flower and bloomed in front of the courthouse on her wedding day.  And primroses, because I used to get her one every year on her birthday.  I'm sure other plants will fill in as well, as the years go by.

This weekend, I'll be busy cleaning up, finding my camera, and planting bushes.  I hope to have some new photos next week.