How Does Your Garden Grow?

Tim and I have been focusing on the outside of the house a lot lately. Yes, even though the playroom is still a mess and the stairs aren't yet refinished. We just can't help ourselves. It's so nice to come out of hibernation! I thought that I should share some of the fruits of my labor. They're not literal fruits. I don't have any fruit trees...that I know of. I made a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation and received 10 "free" trees plus a shrubbery. However, while the trees came with a leaf identification guide, I have no idea what they are. This would be because they arrived with no leaves! Funny, huh? Anyway, I wanted to show you some shots from my gardens. I'm a proud mama.

The pic to the right is a lavender plant in bloom in one of the front gardens. Yes, I see the tag! I didn't realize it was still in there until I saw this picture. Argh! Anyway, I have eight lavender plants out front and two of them are currently in bloom. Actually, one of them is dead, and I need to replace it. The remaining seven look gorgeous. Anyway, in this shot, you can see one of the other lavender plants, as well as some Russian Sage and a Red Twig Dogwood. The dogwood isn't so red now, but in the fall and winter, the stems and branches are bright red. A shout out to my brother, owner/operator of Oasis Landscaping, for recommending the dogwood. I love them!
To the left is a thriving sedum (yes, it's really this color). It's really spreading this year, after staying about the same size all of last summer. I have one of these on each side of the front stairs.

To the right is another sedum from the front garden. I only have one and can't remember if I planted one in each garden or not. I feel like I did, but my memory is not what it used to be these days. Anyway, I got this at an Amish garden center in Jackson County, Ohio last summer. I can't remember the name of the plant, but I would love to have another for the other side of the garden. It's just coming in now, but last summer it was a small mound. It looked almost plasticy (yes, I know that's not a word). If you know what this is called, please let me know. I am trying not to drive the aforementioned landscaping brother crazy.
Yes, this final pic is another sedum! I love it and it's perfect for the front gardens. In case you haven't noticed the trend: lavender, Russian Sage, various sedums, it's very sunny and dry out front. Also the street on the front is fairly busy, so I need hearty plants out there that don't require a lot of water and can live without shade. This particular sedum is Tim's favorite. He first picked one out at a Trader Joe's in Alexandria, where we lived in a little cottage in the Del Ray neighborhood. We really loved this neighborhood, but couldn't really afford to be living there, so we rented a place that wasn't in the best shape. I tried to spruce up the outside with an herb garden, three perennial gardens and a tomato patch (I think we only ever harvested three or four tomatoes. The squirrels ate them all.). Yes, it was a lot of money and time spent on someone else's property, but I love doing that sort of thing and it made sitting on the screened in porch so lovely. Anyway, Tim loves this sedum, so I got him one last summer. Maybe he'll name it after me.