She Built a Front Yard Flower Garden & a Secret Backyard Retreat!

What if your front yard could be a full garden and your backyard felt like a secret retreat? Today, I'm giving you a full tour of a small city garden with no lawn in the front, just flowers, texture, and hidden corners. The backyard feels like a private resort, your own peaceful escape. Hi, it's Steph, and you won't want to miss this one. This is Elizabeth. You can say hello. Hello. And today, Elizabeth was so gracious and invited me over to her garden to do a little garden tour, and you can see already that it is beautiful. So Elizabeth, will you walk us through? I will. Okay, let's do it. Okay. So right here on your fence, we were just talking about this beautiful, what is it? A climbing hydrangea. A climbing hydrangea. So how long has it been here? Oh goodness, it's been here a very long time. I don't even recall how many years it's been. Probably six, seven years. Oh, it's so pretty, and I love how it climbs, or it's trailing vertically, or horizontally, I should say, right? Yes. Because typically, people have these growing up like a fireplace. Yes. Or a tree. So beautiful. It just went that way naturally. Perfect. Isn't that the best? It is. When you don't even have to do the work. This is just so charming. And you are in a small city lot here, right? I am. Would you happen to know how big your lot size is? I wouldn't. My husband would. We actually, I made this garden because we had a lawn, and it would turn brown every year. Because we used to have a tree in the corner, and so the grass was for shade. And we had to take the tree down, and so we had shade grass, and the grass would burn. So I decided to instead of fight it, I'd plant a garden instead. That is perfect. And this all happened around COVID. That's when most people really got into their gardens, spent a lot of time at home. And you know, that's very wise, because watering a lawn is difficult, especially now as we head into the hottest part of summer. And a lot of people are actually giving up small pieces of their lawn now to start pollinator gardens and whatnot. So this is actually great, because you're supporting the environment by having all of these plants for the pollinators. Tell me what you were saying about the catmint. You have a little problem with that, right? I have a problem with the cats with the catmint, because they love it as much as I do. So they lay in it, and they do. Yeah, that's funny. This is adorable. Is this something that died that now you use as a... Well, it was a bush that had overgrown too much, and I didn't like it. It was taking up too much space. So I told my husband, let's just chop it down. And I figured it would come back, and it is. Yeah. But in the meantime, I had all sticks, so I decided to decorate it. Yeah, it looks like a little candelabra. They light up at night. Beautiful. So it's pretty. It's pretty at night. But it's growing back. It sure is. That's always what happens. It's almost like you did a rejuvenation prune. And I don't even know the name of that type of shrub. No. That's okay. Oh, you have some primrose here. Yes, that took over the garden at one time too. I pulled that out, and it still managed to come back. To come back. I have heard that. So I let it be. And that back there, we're going to look at it. That pink flower, is that a type of daisy? That is a painted daisy. Painted daisy. I love how you have a pink one. I've only ever seen them in red. Oh, your lupine. This is, I know this one because I just bought it this year. This is the gallery red lupine. And it is so pretty. And it's different than all of the purple lupine that you see. And look at all the contrast with the purple nebita or the catmint. It looks so pretty. And I love your piece of driftwood. It was pretty when I had rose campi in there. Pink flowers. But they're all gone by now. Oh, and is this a knockout rose? It is. Yeah. And this is the red, right? Also bigger than what I expected this year. I think it's the season for roses. It really is. Look how beautiful that looks. You know, of all the roses I've tried, the knockouts give me the least trouble. I love them. I have double pink. This red looks lovely with the purple catmint. And this area here. I've started a new project. It's in the works right now on my stones. I planted pink creeping thyme. Oh, nice. So it's all new. I'm hoping that once it takes, it will take off. Yes. Of the pink thyme. Yes. And it has a really nice fragrance. Those I bought perennials, the larger ones and the other little pieces were seeds, 20,000 seeds. Wow. Did you start them directly here in the soil? I did. Yes. Very nice. Just this year? Yes. Lovely. Yes. Just a few weeks ago, actually. I love your bench. Can we walk through? Yes. I'll try to stand the stone so we don't disturb your time. Oh, look at daisies. Shasta daisies. Do they get tall? No, they don't. They stay compact. So these are smaller ones. Yes. Shorter. Lovely. I just divided them. I actually had three and it turned into all these that I just did this spring. Such a prolific perennial. And I moved them some on that side as well. So pretty. And look at that. You made a little mason bee house out of a tree. Yes. So creative. There are so many creative elements in this garden, Elizabeth. The blanket flowers started from seed this year. Let's look at those. And they're just coming up now and I've got some planted over there. So you just started these blanket flowers from seed this year and they're already coming up. Yes. Look at that. So friends, if you want to start some perennials from seed, it looks like blanket flower is an easy one. When about did you start it, Elizabeth? I sprinkled the seeds last year. Okay. And they came up this year. And they came up this year. Lovely. So one season. You know, this is one of my favorite perennials in my garden, this Scabiosa butterfly blue, this pincushion flower here. That also started with one and it spread. Very nice. Because this is a good one. The bees and the butterflies love it. And it blooms nonstop from right now in late spring all the way through our first hard frost at the end of October. I also planted some seeds, the blanket flowers there. And I put marigolds in between, but something is eating my marigolds. Nothing is supposed to eat marigolds. I know. I know. We're all supposed to, right? Just the leaves, not the flower. Interesting. And look at this beautiful lupine. Wow. This one has blue and white or purple and white. Gorgeous. I love walking through your garden, how every little piece of art that you have kind of just tucked between all of the flowers. There's a cool flower there that looks like it's glass. It is. And then you have this mason bee house and then these metal pieces here. So cute. It's always like you have these little things to be discovered. So pretty. Oh, and how beautiful does this yarrow look with your catmint? That's also done well this year too. That's tripled in size from last year. It is so pretty. You know, I used to have this yarrow in my garden. I think it's called moonshine or something to that effect. But it had gotten really floppy on me. I don't think I had enough sun and it would always just kind of fall over and not look very pretty. But yours is nice and upright. My guess is that this is a full sun all day long, right? This front garden. So beautiful. You have another little birdbath here. Isn't it so nice to see the birds drinking from it and sloshing in it? I just added a new fountain in my garden. They've already discovered it and I love that. Usually it's the cats that enjoy my birdbath. Oh, is it? Oh, look at that. Well, it's low enough where they could. I kept getting knocked down and I couldn't understand what was happening. And then I finally realized the cat. It was a cat. And these are more daisies, a drift of daisies. Yeah, those are the ones that I divided and planted. Very nice. And what is that that you have around your birdbath that's all butted up? Is it St. John's? Spurge. Okay, yes. Cushions. That's gone by now too. That was pretty. But even the seed pods. What's it called? Cushion Spurge. Cushion Spurge. And you have a yellow rose in the back there. And this is my favorite lamb's ear, the Helen von Steen. Yeah, because it spreads so nicely, has that velvety texture, that blue green color. Nothing touches it. And it doesn't bloom like the traditional. I mean, this is as much as you'll get out of it. I was going to say. Yeah, that's it. Does yours ever bloom? It didn't last year. There's one more I think that's going to happen there. But this is what happens. It'll send up one of these bloom stalks that you see right here. But it never actually does much. So you can just cut it off. And then you just end up with the rosette of foliage at the bottom like this. And on the other side of the path, you have this border here in the front of the house. I love this so much. So this is a full front yard of just garden and no grass, which is awesome. Nobody has to mow out here. So you have a pond here. I put that pond in by myself and it was empty. I worked as a waitress at a restaurant. And one of my co-workers went to a fair and won a goldfish. And they had the goldfish at the restaurant in a little bowl. Yes. And they said, what are we going to do with this? I said, I'll take it home. I have a pond. So I took the fish home and put them in my pond. I tried to feed it, but it didn't eat what I gave it. So I stopped feeding it. And that fish has been here for 15 years. Wow. The only thing I give it is a water hyacinth. Yeah. And it's only three feet deep. Interesting. And that fish lives every year. Do you do anything in the winter? I do nothing. Nothing? Nothing. What's his name? It doesn't have a name. I don't know if it's a he or a she. But I am amazed every year we say the fish is going to be dead this year. And it's not. And no. And there he is. He's lovely. We'll say he's a he. And he just lives there. It's just amazing how that fish survives. It's so cute. At one time I had a little fountain that came down, but that's gone. So he's not getting circulation from that. From that. He's just happy. Yeah. Don't mess with it. No. It's good, right? That's it. What do you have planted behind it with the purple flower? That is spiderwort. Spiderwort. That's also invasive. But you know what? You can look at it as invasive or you can look at it as it's just spreading your garden around, right? It's growing your garden for you. Yeah, I didn't put that there. That just went there by itself. I have some lucifer there, a lot of day lilies that are going to bloom next month. Black-eyed susan. Oh, beautiful. Lucifer. But it's not the time yet. The irises are gone now. When you say lucifer, is it the crocosmia? Yes. Yeah, very nice. With red, right? Usually like a red orange. And you have some salvia here. This is so beautiful. I love these yellow shrubs, you know, the goldmoth cypress. I have a couple in my garden. One of them got too big for its space, so I limbed it up and I made it a little topiary tree. That was supposed to be dwarf too. Yeah, of course. Elizabeth and I were having a conversation of plants that are supposed to be dwarf that aren't. When we get to her other side where the shade is, there's a beautiful umbrella pine and that's how that conversation started. But this is so lovely. Let me turn you around here so you can get a different view. And in this corner, look at that. Is that your yucca plant? Yucca. Yucca. They call it the century plant or something because once you have one, you can't get rid of it. You're right. It's down by this side too, to the left, which I did not plant those. Oh, so they seeded itself. It's going to start to bloom. You can see how thick those bloom stalks are. And you ever sit out here, Elizabeth? I do all the time. Very nice. Oh, this is beautiful. Astilbe. Oh, gorgeous. Are they pink? Oh, pink. Oh yeah, those are starting to bloom in the back there. So pretty. You've done a fabulous job here. Thank you. This just goes to show that even if you have a small space, look, you can still have such a beautiful garden with so many layers and texture and color. How about the farmer's daughter? Oh, the farmer's daughter. Elizabeth and I are just talking about wonderful nurseries in our area. So the farmer's daughter, South Kingston, I believe. I always want to say North, but it's in South Kingston, Rhode Island. And then there's Briggs in North Attleboro. And we just talked about Peckhams, which is in Little Compton. Oh, beautiful nurseries. And Elizabeth just picked up this here at Briggs, which is Acetum Cyboldi. Now I've shown this on my channel before, and I was just telling Elizabeth that in the fall, around October, it's going to have the most beautiful rainbow coloring because it's called October Daphne, I believe is the other name for it. And just a really gorgeous sedum. And speaking of gorgeous sedums, that stand of yellow you have right there, that is Angelina Stonecrop Sedum. And I love it because there's an annual, the Lemon Coral Sedum, that people will plant. But here in our zone, that's not hardy in the winter, but this one is. And in the winter, it turns the most beautiful bronze color. And look how golden yellow and vibrant it gets. I've given so much away of that. Oh, you can't kill it. And it self-seeds and it spreads like a nice ground cover, but it's pretty well-behaved. Easy to pull out if you don't want it, I find. Gorgeous. And I love your Veronica. This is the one perennial. Well, I have a lot of perennials, but this is one that I've wanted for a little while. I just haven't found the proper place for it yet. But I love how, like, the vertical spikes on it. Comes in different colors, too. Pink, white. And you have a little bit of Heuchera here in the back that is blooming. Oh, is this a pyramid? That's Coral Bells. Coral Bell, yep. Look at that. Such beautiful blooms. So pretty. So is this area here sunny? It is. Yeah, and it grows. And it does fine. It does. So you never know. It's always fun to experiment with plants and see what happens. Beautiful Hinoki. These are another one of my favorite evergreens because I really like the texture on them. Do you know the name of this? I don't, but maybe one of our friends will know. It grows a pink fuzzy flower. If someone watching this video knows what it is, maybe they can let us know down in the comments. Has an interesting leaf. This is what the shape of the leaf looks like. Elizabeth says it gets a pink fuzzy flower. And it's a good size, rounded style. Almost looks like a shrub. But it's a flower. It's because it's grown so big. Yeah, it was small. And it grows a flower about this long. And it's fuzzy. Like a plume. Yeah, very nice. Your path here, so nice. And I love how you repeated the benches. You have a bench here and you have a bench back there. Shall we move on to the backyard? Sure. Oh, actually, look at behind you. Some more beauties. This is another type of yarrow? Yes, it is. It's not yellow or is it? It's orange. Orange. So colorful here and beautiful. So that's getting ready to bloom. And then you have some Lyatris. Yes. Gay feather is the other name for it. Some more Nepera. You've repeated the Nepera on this side. Those are nice and compact. All the Lyatris. Yes, because some of them can be quite tall. Are they purple? They are purple, yes. And then you have some Bleeding Hearts, but those are the ones with the ferny texture and they're a little bit... Ever-bearing. Ever-bearing. So pretty. And your Gazing Ball. And when I cut them back, they'll come back again. They'll bloom a second time. Nice. They come in white now sometimes too. I've seen them, but I really like the way that the pink pops with that purple Nepera. And you have, I have one of these in my garden. The Norway Spruce. The orange flowers in the back were supposed to be red. You know, I feel like the orange goes nicer with these colors you have here though. With the purple and the pink. I don't care for it with the pink, but I do like it with the purple. With the purple? Yeah. That's Geum or Avens is the other name for it. Did you know that? No. Geum. Yeah. Because I have that one that I just brought you today. The little, the Maitai. It's like a little bit apricot orange, but that color is very striking. First, it was actually one of the first ones that I noticed when I walked through your driveway. Because it catches your eye. Yeah, it does. You know, it's very pretty. I love your Gazing Ball though. It's so beautiful. And what is that purple flower you have back there? Is that like Spider Flower or? Centurium. Centurium. Oh, it's so pretty. It has more of a ferny leaf than I remember. It does. It's different than the usual type. It looks like the bottom. Don't you think it looks like a pineapple? The underside of the flower a little bit. I always think that this portion looks a little bit like a pineapple. I have some Blue Centurium over there. It's gone by already too. Has it? Yeah. This is lovely. You've done a beautiful job. Just look at this view of the front yard again. No lawn, just beautiful flowers and shrubs. Even some ground covers. This is on Elizabeth's side yard and you have a shady corner here. Here's that beautiful Umbrella Pine that had gotten large and you had to trim a little bit, right? It's so pretty. I love how you have this arbor or trellis here with a hanging basket. Your hanging basket almost looks like Lady's Mantle. That's Lofos. Lofos? Lofos. The same as the one that's in the front yard except the blooms have faded. Yeah, for now, but they will come back and it will be all pretty pink. And you have your Gargoyle guarding all of your hosta from deer and bunnies. Well, you probably, do you get deer here? No deer, but bunnies. Bunnies, raccoons. Oh, raccoons, yes. And what is this pretty plant in the corner here? Snow on the Mountain? Snow on the Mountain. And is that the bloom, the white bloom? It's supposed to be. Yes, it is. That's supposed to be invasive too, but well, you know, pretty much behaves. That's good. I think that invasive thing really just matters where you are. In some places, a plant might be invasive and in other places it might not be. So it really just depends if it's happy growing where it is. Very pretty. Almost looks like a Queen Anne's Lace. Yes, it's actually one of my favorites. It's very pretty. It's a nice contrast, that dainty flower atop this variegated foliage. And you have what else growing on this shady border? Daylilies? All different colored daylilies. There's some fern that grew there by itself. I have some red bee balm. Oh, nice. Oh yeah, back here. I love the smell of the foliage on bee balm. That used to be in the front, but it got too tall. So you moved it back here? I moved it last year back. There's a lot of dragonflowers. I'm not familiar with dragonflowers. The obedient plant? Oh yes, that is not supposed to be very obedient. Does it spread itself around in your garden, Elizabeth? Do you find that it like self-seeds everywhere? I know, it's pretty much contained right here. To this area. I had more of it in the corner. The corner is under construction. I had a false indigo back there, which I moved to the front, but it didn't take very well. I'm hoping that the root system will settle in. You know why? Because it's got a very long taproot, so it's very difficult to transplant. Very similar to lupine too. If you try to move lupine more times than not, you'll lose it because of the taproot. But this is such a beautiful... I might have lost it, but it wasn't doing well there anyway. The lilac tree. Yeah, this must have such a nice smell right off of your deck here in the spring, this lilac. What color is it? White? Purple? I actually put the tree in because at one time this house wasn't on the side of us. It was a field, and then all of a sudden they decided to build, so I put that up for privacy. How long have you been here? Almost 30 years. 30 years in this home? Yeah, so that's how old that tree is. Beautiful. Well, actually not quite 30 years because there was a field. A field, yeah. But look how many trunks on it. So this was a shrub that got quite large, and now it's a tree. Just wait till you see this. This is where Elizabeth greeted me, and it is lovely. She has some beautiful impatiens in her window boxes that they get halfway up the window by the end of the season, right? Beautiful. And this is a somewhat shady spot, and look at these on the deck. So pretty. And then look at this wall. How beautiful. Now, does your husband have a problem with making holes in the siding to put things up? No, he doesn't. That's lovely. My husband, in the beginning, I couldn't even... It's rare. It's rare. I couldn't even get him to put pictures up on the walls because we had commitment issues. Like, are you sure you're not going to want to take this picture down, and then we'll have a hole to repair? But this is so lovely. Do you know what kind of plant this is? That is a begonia. A begonia. It sure is, right? It's a begonia, and I actually... It's not doing that well. When I bought it from the greenhouse, it came back with some rust on it, and I was afraid I was going to lose it. So I bought this one to replace it, but it's not gone yet. No, now you have all these beautiful orange plants. They're all begonias. Well, that's a sun patient? New Guinea. New Guinea. Yes, I love them. Look at that bright orange with the cobalt blue. But I figured maybe by the time this dies, there won't be any hangers left. So that's the reason why I bought that one. You bought this one. But it may take... This is a pretty one too. So regardless, you'll... You know, this is a tuberous begonia? Yes. So pretty. And Elizabeth, look at this nightstand that you put here with a plant coming out of the draw. I bought that at Savers. So creative. And painted it. So beautiful. $5. Oh my goodness. That's perfect. This is another beautiful begonia. So colorful. I just love this. It just makes you happy, right? It does. It makes you happy. And then you have your fern. My Boston fern is not doing the best this year. I get them every year. As a matter of fact, a lot of my house plants aren't doing well this year. They were inside. I tried to bring a lot of the plants that I buy and winter them in the house. And so these two plants that I have hanging were wintered and they were beautiful in my house. And then I brought them out and they hit the sun and the wind. But they might come back to life. Oh yeah. Especially if you have them here now. This is a little bit shaded, this area? No, it gets a little bit more sun than it's used to in the house. So it's just adjusting. Yeah. So it's adjusting. Do you know what they are? This looks like Triscantia, like the Wandering Jew plant. It is. Yes. Yeah. And this one is Swedish Ivy. Swedish Ivy. But she's seen better days. Hopefully she'll pull through. You're a wonderful gardener. If anybody could bring it back to life, I'm certain that you could. And this is a mini Calibrachoa that you have hanging there. And this is nice because it makes sort of a division in a way to walk around as you come to your back garden. So I think that's lovely. You have a little elephant ear there. I do. Yeah. You'll have to tell us that elephant ear story when you get to your deck locks. Because I know a lot of people like to grow them. They're a very beautiful tropical plant. That's a compact one though. That is. So is that like the coffee cups? Like those smaller version ones. I got that at Briggs and she promised me that it wouldn't get really big. So we'll have to see. But it looks really beautiful right now. I just noticed your lizard on the wall. Every time I look over here, I find a new little treasure. Very beautiful. You have your seating, outdoor seating area. Oh, a big patio palm. Do you overwinter this as well? I do. In the house, like a house plant? And it does. It loves to be in the house. Lovely. That also went into shock when I took it outside. Yeah. It was beautiful in the house. Everything needs a little time to acclimate. And you have this hanging crystal here. I love all these little details that you add. How do you even think of these things? Actually, that was a gift from a friend. Was it? It's lovely. I met friends from Michigan and Greece. Nice. And that's a little token that she gave me. And I love it. It's beautiful. And it adds like a little bit of sparkle. And then your color scheme back here is also so beautiful with this terracotta orange. My husband painted that. Nice. It's a good way to give new life to planters and pots. You'd be surprised what you can do with paint. Of course. And this is such a nice seating area. Very pretty. Oh, and you have a mirror outside. So creative. It gives a lot of depth, makes it feel like the garden goes on, right? Yeah, very nice. This is a great touch too, having one of these awnings up above because it provides like a nice shade cover, right? Yes, it's very old. It needs to be replaced. But we've had it for a long time. I didn't want it at first, but I'm happy that I have it now. Yeah, certainly. All that was things from thrift shops. That's where people that don't want their things. And then you pick them up and you decorate with them. Well, the mirror was broken at the top, so I glued the flowers on. So creative. Look at that. Hydrangeas. So that's covering up the broken spot. It is. And then you added these other wall decor pieces. Very nice. A little vignette. I have a friend, Maureen, who also does really well putting together little vignettes like this. We toured her garden last year. This is lovely too, this plant, this interesting color. That's that I brought in and it was doing beautifully in the house and then I brought it out and it's adjusting. It's adjusting. But I think it'll be fine. Yeah, I think most things recover by the end of the season. It gets very windy and it was swinging back and forth and then it got direct sun and I think it'll be all right though. Right now it doesn't look too good. I think you're right. There's hope. There is. There sure is. Are these lights, they light up at night? They do. Very nice. Your pool looks so beautiful and so clear right now. If it was a hot day, we'd be wanting to jump in here. Thankfully, it's overcast and my husband takes care of the pool. Well, he does a fabulous job. Growing up as a kid, I had an oval pool similar to this at home and my husband, George, who often makes cameos on the channel, he became our pool boy. My dad's like, well, if you're going to have a boyfriend, he's going to be hanging around. He's going to have to clean the pool, right? Well, wouldn't you know it that years later, he said, Steph, I just want to let you know, before we get married and have our own house, we're never having a pool. Because he didn't want to take care of it. To this day, we still don't have a pool. But I loved it as a kid. This little guy helps out. Yeah, the robot helps, right? And you have those lovely deck boxes and you told me that you had elephant ears in your last planters along the side of the deck. I had seven planters with elephant ears. They took over. They actually took over the boxes. They ripped them open and they destroyed them. So I had to remove them all and I replaced them with these three. These are actually very pretty. They're nice and tall. And then once these plants get going and growing with the heat. It should be, shall we? Oh, it's beautiful. The mocks where I had the planters. Oh, on the floor. Yeah, you can see they were low boxes. Lower boxes. And they were all the way. They surrounded the pool. What's great about these narrow ones too, though, is it provides you like an aisle to walk by, right? Where if you had the other ones, maybe it was a little bit harder to walk around. My husband wanted these because he was afraid that someone would fall off the side of the deck. I got you. So it's a barrier. It's a barrier. You can know that. That makes perfect sense, actually. Beautiful combinations you've put in these planters. You really have an eye for color. Thank you. Beautiful. And I really love these. They make a really nice kind of like a wall, which is exactly what you're using them for. Actually, these are taking off more than I expected. The petunias? Yeah. They were just planted in the spring and they're filling up like really nice. Beautiful. You know, I planted some of this for the first time this year. Angelonia. I love those. Oh, you've grown them before? Always. Oh, good. That's my favorite. It's your favorite and it does beautiful. It does beautiful that you don't have to deadhead it. Wonderful. Drought tolerant. It grows much taller. And does it get wide? In the ground, it'll grow bush size. Yeah. That's how they really perform well. And they come in all different colors. I have this exact color, the blue, I think it's called, which is more like a dark purple. It's called summer snapdragon, too. But my first year, I'm glad that you said that you love it. I used them on the path and they get huge. Huge. I don't know how they're going to do, you know, in the box, but so far they're looking really good already. They're very easy. Yeah. Beautiful combination. I love the purple with the pink and then this one here that has that little bit of a yellow eye. Very lovely. And look at this corner. Doesn't it not feel like you're at a resort? We don't skinny dip. We chunky dunk. I love that. That's awesome. This is so pretty and so tropical. Very much like Greece with the blue and the white. All my husband did the painting. Very nice. Very nice. And what is this plant that you have in this planter here? Scavioli. Scavioli. Oh, yes. Usually it's purple. Yeah. The shape of the flower, you can tell. That's lovely. It's an annual. It is. Do you ever try to overwinter any of your annuals? I do. Well, I know you do the ones that were hanging, those as houseplants, right? But you do overwinter some of them. Especially the bougainvillea. At one point, I had to get rid of I had four of them that I had for about four years, but they got so big that I couldn't put them in a bigger pot because I couldn't hang a bigger pot. But I would just put them in my basement and put them to sleep. Just let them go dry and hang them. All the leaves would fall off and in the spring, bring them out. And I've kept them for years that way. So those went to well. So this is the hibiscus, the annual hibiscus. And Elizabeth was just telling me that she can overwinter these and they do beautifully for her. Do you keep them in the winter by a window? Right by this big slider. Nice. And then your awning is back so it gets more sun, right? Yes. Very pretty. And lantana you have in these boxes here. I do. That's another one of my favorites. That grows really good. That is a good one. Is this the bandana lantana? Because apparently that's like one of the popular ones now. I'm not really sure what type. I just know it's lantana and I know that it's going to get huge. It gets huge, right? Everything's so small right now, but by the end of the season, it's really beautiful. Oh yeah. Well, it's only the first week of June, right? The day it's got planted, the end of May. Very pretty. And they're already filling in. But they will get big. You're creeping Jenny. Do you keep it going from year to year? No. You bought it this year? I did. Usually I put potato vine, but the potato vine grows potatoes. Yes, it does. And it takes up all the space in the dirt. That's right. And then you have to water it so much. So much. So I decided to use Creeping Jenny this year. That's good to know because this year I'm actually growing potato vine for the first time in a long time. And that's interesting. Yeah, I know it does grow potato. Yes. But the fact that it's a hog of the water is a good thing to pay attention to. It fills up the boxes with potatoes and then you're constantly watering. Constantly watering. And this is full sun. Yeah. And then here's your other side yard with some more beautiful shade plantings. Now, what is this yellow flower here? Loosestrife. Loosestrife. Loosestrife. And sometimes that can be a little bit of a garden thug, right? Yeah, it kind of just stays in this area. That's it. I don't really do anything here. It takes care of itself. Yeah, it is pretty. And then what is this here? Lily of the Valley. Oh, yeah. Lily of the Valley. Did it bloom yet? It did not. Not yet. The flowers are very fragrant. And then is this more Loosestrife? Because the foliage looks a little bit different. Some goat's beard. Goat's beard. Yes. The cats. The cats play in here too. Oh, okay. And I love how you put your begonias in this urn here. The dark foliage and the white bloom is very pretty. And this here is Culver's Root. Oh, yeah. Veronica. Is that another name for it? What color is it? White. White. Very pretty. And your goat's beard is blooming in the back. And then you have another little mirror on the side of your shed. Very nice. You have a lot of beautiful little garden moments. That was supposed to be my cutting bed on the side here. Oh, so it gets sun. It does, but it was just for my flowers that I wanted to cut and bring in. Do you feel bad cutting the flowers from your garden to bring in the house? I do. That's why I have this bed. That's why I asked you. Because I think a lot of gardeners have that same sentiment, right? So you made yourself one that you have permission to cut from. And I have mint, which I... Which we know becomes a problem, so keeping it contained. But I do use that a lot because I entertain a lot. So makes good mojitos. I decorate with it. You decorate it. Garnish. And this is Black-Eyed Susan. Yes. And some daisies. Daisies. And then you have some more of that ground cover snow. Snow on the mountains. Snow on the mountain. And then some... And there were some coral bells in there, too. And my beautiful... Let me guess. Is this your namesake rose? Yes, it is, right? So go ahead. It's called the what? Elizabeth. Elizabeth. I saw this rose for the first time last year when I visited landscape designer Andrew Grossman. He had a bunch of these, or drift, along his swimming pool. And they were stunning. They were such beautiful pink roses. He had them. They were so healthy. And yours is healthy-looking, too. Beautiful green leaves. And look at that. That's my favorite. Yeah, well, it should be. It's named after you, right? Do you have a garden in the rain? I have. I do, too. It's refreshing, isn't it? Especially on a beautiful little nook that you have here. Your backyard really does feel like a little retreat. We enjoy it. We do. Good. Look at this. An outdoor dining room. This has changed this year, also. Last year, I used to have two euonymus bushes, which they're growing again in the corner by the fountain. But we had to cut them down because they got infested with aphids. Oh, the worst. So we cut them down. And rather than dig out the roots, we left them because they were so old that I feared that the roots would pull up the stones. Yes. So we let them be. And instead, I made window boxes last year. And they were pretty. But then this year, I noticed they were growing again. So I said, well, remove them and let them come back. And they are. In the back there, next to your fountain. But they used to be, like, really, really big. Really large. This is lovely. This is beautiful. It's like a fancy outdoor. That plant comes in every dining room. Every season. Is that? That's ivy? Ivy. Yeah. Do you have a problem with spider mites on ivy? No. Perfect. Some people do. But that's lovely. No, I bring that one in. That's about four years old now. You have another little vignette here. Like a buffet side table. Do you light your candles at night when you're entertained? I do. Very nice. Well, your guests are very lucky because this is beautiful. And this is all trumpet vine. So you get orange flowers. And yellow. And yellow. And that grows on all of your posts, or just that back one there? This one and this one. And this one. Oh, wow. Look at that. One's yellow. One's orange. When does it typically bloom? Towards later end of summer. End of summer. It's also invasive, too. It's coming up through the cracks of the deck. So you've got to be careful with that one. Right there. Oh, yes. We pull it out, but I don't know how it got all the way over there. Right there. It's growing a little bit. Through the roots, probably. You know, it probably has rhizomes at the bottom of the ground. Stalins, or the running roots that will grow new plants. Similar to, like, Worcesteria. That's another thing that people say. You've got to be real careful. That was my first choice for this area. Worcesteria. But I was afraid that it was going to, you know, become too invasive. But this is, I don't think, not quite as bad, but still not great. Yeah. Well, you know, if you ever do get it out of here, there is a type of Worcesteria that is supposed to be more native and not as invasive. The name escapes me at the moment. Amethyst something, I believe. Okay. But it might be a good alternative to this. So that still get that climbing effect without the invasiveness of the... But this year, it finally did provide shade. So that was the purpose. Yeah. Which is lovely. But this is absolutely beautiful. Here's a different view of the backyard. Looking onto the deck area. That's another boxwood going wild. I have to get to the top of that. You have the biggest boxwood that I've ever seen. Supposed to be a slow grower. Yeah. Look at this. This is boxwood, and that is a Japanese Pieris on the side of it. Did it bloom for you already? It did. They bloom early in the season. The first one. It's the first thing to bloom. Yes, it is. Very pretty. Mine, I have two of them. One of them bloomed this year, and one didn't. So I'm not sure why, because they're only planted about six feet apart from each other. I have one in the front. It's not very healthy, but it hangs in there too. Good. That is a very big boxwood indeed. Look at this beautiful plant that Elizabeth has on her second story that's overhanging down the railings into her dining room. I'm going to zoom out so you can check this out. Look at that. So cool. You certainly have a green thumb with indoor and outdoor plants. Check out Elizabeth's Hanging African Violets. They're also known as Trailing Violets. They were gorgeous. Elizabeth, I want to thank you so much for letting us come see your beautiful garden. You've done a beautiful job, and I can't wait to edit this video and to share it with all of our friends who I think will find this place equally beautiful. Thank you. It was my pleasure.