The foundation along the side yard is planted with a variety of barberries (that's golden barberry shining in the late afternoon sunlight) along with an assortment of bulbs along the rock border.  On the far left you can see the border of the side yard rose garden.

Here's a view of the side yard foundation plantings from the other direction.  You can see, on the left, the dwarf blue spruce that anchors the corner between the front and side yards.

Here's a shot that shows the side yard rose garden.   It's planted with the nine new (1998) rose bushes, as well as a variety of bulbs for early spring color.

Here's a view of the side yard from the street outside.  From the left, there's a deciduous azalea, a forsythia, a variegated english holly, the rose Chrysler Imperial, another forsythia, and you can just barely make out the rose standard Tropicana.  The trees in the center background are a circle of nine Arborvitae, which also wall off the back yard, as can be seen in the right background.

This is the side yard rose garden in full bloom.   From the left, Pat Austin (apricot), Fragrant Cloud (orange/red), Melody Parfumee (deep purple), Fragrant Lace (white), Moon Shadow (lavender), and Louise Odier (pink).

This is a view from the other direction, giving a better view of French Lace and Melody Parfumee.

This is the side garden in early spring, 2000.  The forsythia are in full bloom, and the roses are just starting to leaf out.  The photos below shows the bulbs that border the foundation plantings.

Where the front yard and side yard meet, the weigela and the deciduous azalea stand guard under the old leaning spruce.

The Tropicana and Peace standards are along the fence of the side yard.  Here's a shot of Tropicana in bloom, with Red Ribbons overflowing beneath it.

The tulips that line the foundation bed in the side yard are doing very well in 2001!

The weigela and deciduous azalea are better than ever this year!

The side yard garden has begun to bloom in late March, 2002, with the bulbs beginning their show.

It's May, and while the bulbs have faded, the barberries and the newly planted peony are doing very well.

It's May 2003, the weigela is slightly past its prime, but in combination with the white rhododendron that shelters beneath it, it's still quite a sight.

Along the foundation, we have the barberries with the peony just about in the center.

Just about one year later and things are doing very nicely!

Nicer still with the peony in bloom!

It's mid-May 2005 and from the street passersby have a beautiful view of the deciduous azalea and the weigela.

Here's the side-yard rose garden in early June. That's Louise Odier to the right, putting on quite a show.

A week later and they're all at it!

Viewed from outside the garden during the first week of April, 2006, the side yard looks pretty good with the Forsythia in bloom and the variegated English Holly standing tall and proud.  Though hard to see in the photo, the top of the holly is full of red berries.

Fast forward six weeks and the view has changed!

It's mid-May and here's the side-yard garden; the new topsoil and grass seed have had the intended effect.  In the center of the photo, you can see Louise Odier in bloom.

From a different angle, you can see the peony in the center getting ready to bloom, with golden barberry on either side of it.

Here's the side yard rose garden in bloom.  To the left is Pat Austin.  In the center is Melody Parfumee, and to the right is the incredible Louise Odier.

Here's a view from outside the side yard.  That's Dr. Huey on the left and Red Ribbons on the right.  Though the form of the blossoms is very similar, you can immediately tell that they are two different roses from the color and the foliage.

The holly in the side yard is growing quite a crop of berries!

Here are some views of the side yard after the great cutting down to size during the second week of June.  Quite a difference!  You can actually see the rose garden from the street.  The two Forsythia and the Weigela will grow back and will once again be in bloom next spring.

It's now almost mid-November and, as the song goes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It's late April 2007; while the daffodils are past, the tulips and hyacinths in the side yard are in bloom and the peony is putting up very strong growth.

Here's the side yard rose garden around Memorial Day.  The pink rose to the left is Louise Odier, to the center is Fragrant Lace, and the orange rose to the right is Pat Austin.

Seen from the other side, it's Pat Austin to the left, Melody Parfumee in the center, and Louise Oider on the right.

Mid-April 2008 sees the daffodils and tulips in bloom with the peony beginning its growth through the support ring.

Here's a view of the side yard garden from the street.  That's the deciduous azalea on the left, the weigela in the center foreground, and Louise Odier to the right of center in the back.

Here's a better view of Louise Odier from the street.

At this time of year, Louise Odier dominates the side yard garden!  That's Pat Austin to the right.

From either side, Louise Odier dominates.  Pat Austin is to the far left while the peony is to the right.

Just about a week later, this is the view.  Louise Odier is now balanced by Pat Austin.  The purple to the right of Pat Austin is Melody Parfumee.

The view from the other side.  The deep pink to the left of Pat Austin is Mme. Isaac Pereire with the lighter pink to the far left being Louise Odier.

In early spring 2009, this is how the side yard garden looked.

From outside.

The deciduous azalea and the weigela tend to stop traffic!

Even the crimson king maple tree bloomed!

This is a view of the side yard looking from the back yard.  The side yard rose garden is in full bloom with Pat Austin lighting things up.  On the right, you can see the first peony blossom.

SIGH!  Where do I begin?  On the evening of 9 Feb 2010 and continuing all day 10 Feb, we had a blizzard -- a foot-and-a-half of heavy wet snow that clung to everything, shrubs, trees, you name it.  The roses were bent over to the ground under the weight, the lower branches of the arborvitaes were on the ground, buried in snow, some of the arborvitaes were bent over themselves.  During a lull in the storm on Wednesday, I went out to clean up as much as I could and then tried shaking as much of the snow as I could off the shrubs and roses.  The storm started up soon thereafter.  Just a couple of hours later I was sitting down to dinner when there was an enormous crash and the entire house shook, scaring the dickens out of me.  I ran around but the house seemed intact.  Running outside, I found that between the weight of the wet snow and the wind, the 30' tall spruce tree in the side yard (you can see it in photos up above) had come crashing down.  I was extremely lucky as it landed where I had been standing only a few hours earlier!  It didn't hit the house, but it came down right on top of the side-yard rose garden as shown above.  The various lines from the street pole to the house were trapped underneath the tree.  You can read all about it in my Garden Journal.  I was hesitant to post these photos as they are so depressing, but it's an object lesson on what mother nature can do.  Here you can see the tree down, with the shattered trunk to the right.

Here it sits on top of the side-yard rose garden.  You can see the stakes that supported Louise Odier.

The shattered trunk.  It partly uprooted and partly shattered.

A better look at what's laying on top of my rose garden.

The dwarf blue spruce at the turn from the front yard to the side yard.  Note how it's bent under the weight of the wet snow.

The tree lying down on the garden.

The lines are down in the street, which was barricaded.

The line draped over the fence -- that's a LIVE electrical line!

The poor hemlock, bent over under the weight of the snow.

This used to be connected to the top of the house!

After the PSE&G tree cutters freed the lines from underneath the tree.

It's now March, the snow has melted away, and the tree has been cut up and removed.  Examination of the stump shows that it had been attacked by carpenter ants and that, while no damage was evident from the outside, much of the inside had been destroyed, making the tree a disaster waiting to happen.  And it did.  Here's the stump showing the insect damage.

And a better view.  About half the diameter had been compromised.

In the following shot, you can see the remains of the 10 foot tall arborvitae that formerly hid the utilities from view.  Unfortunately, it had to be cut down so that the new conduit and lines could be run.  This entire area will be redone this spring.

Looking at the side yard rose garden, you can see how the tree shoved the roses to the right and the left as it crashed down upon them.  You can also now see how different the side yard garden looks with that massive tree missing from the landscape.

Time marches on.  It's the first day of Spring, I have flowers in the backyard, and the roses have broken bud.  I've pruned many of them (I couldn't wait for the landscaper to do it), bad knees and all.  Since the side yard foundation bed and plantings are to be redone, the first step is out with the old.  With the help of Mr. Chainsaw, I've sent the barberries as well as the other (damaged) arborvitae to flora heaven.  This is how things look now, before the landscaper arrives to start the remake.

You'll note that the roses in the side yard garden are now pruned and upright, a far cry from how they appeared after being hit by the tree!

We're now into April and from the outside the side yard is looking good, with the forsythia in bloom and the roses having broken bud.

The landscaper was very busy rebuilding the landscape in the side yard.  Here's the rose garden with the stone wall rebuilt.

Here's the new foundation bed.  The wall has been brought out a few feet so that it's even with the circles at the front and back and all new plants have been planted.  The lawn has also been reseeded so the bare spots should be gone in a few weeks..

Another view of the rose garden with the roses having broken bud.

The new foundation bed from an unusual angle!

The circle at the junction of the side yard and back yard gardens.  The mass of euonymus has been torn out, the new dogwood has been planted, and things just look a whole lot nicer.  As you can see, the Double Delight tree has broken bud and, in fact, has given me my first rosebud of the year.

Here's the view of the new bed from the back yard.  The new hollies, azaleas, liriope, Peegee hydrangea, Itoh peony, and skip laurel all appear on their own pages.

The rebuilt rose bed from the back yard.

One more view of the rebuilt bed.

On the other side of the circle of trees.  The way things are now, you don't really notice the missing spruce that fell.

At the end of April, here's how the side yard appears.  The grass has grown, everything is doing well, and the damage of winter is gone.  Here's the view looking north along the new foundation bed.

And the view, also looking north, on the other side of the circle of arborvitae.

The roses, I'm happy to say, are doing very nicely.

Looking south.

The new foundation planting bed with the Delaware Valley white azaleas putting on a show.

The view from the street with the deciduous azalea in full bloom and the weigela starting to bloom.

Here's a view from the outside after the forsythia have finished blooming and I've pruned them.

Not long after, the weigela is also blooming.

The side yard rose garden in bloom.  From the left, Pat Austin (orange), Melody Parfumee (purple), Louise Odier (pink)

A closer look at Pat Austin and Melody Parfumee.  Not bad for having had a tree fall on them!

From the street outside, Dr. Huey and Peace put on quite a show!

Pat Austin and Melody Parfumee are putting on quite a Memorial Day show!

In April of 2011, from the outside, the forsythia in the side yard garden really stand out!  That's the Canadian hemlock on the extreme left and the variegated holly to the right of the first forsythia.

Looking from the front yard, the side yard is looking great.

From the back yard, you can see that all of the lilies that were planted last year are coming up strong!

The view of the side yard garden in mid-May.  A real traffic stopper!

And a couple of days later ....

Here's the view from inside the garden, where the white rhododendron is much more visible.

By late May, the action has shifted to the south, where Dr. Huey and Peace serve as the traffic stoppers!

Here's the side yard from inside, looking north.  The blooming peonies are on the right and the rose garden is on the left.  The orange rose is Pat Austin, and you can see the pink Louise Odier behind her.

On the first day of summer, the allegedly dwarf blue spruce at the north end of the side yard garden, which proved that it was anything but a dwarf, came out and a Crepe Myrtle went in.  This is the new look.

Here's the side yard rose garden in mid-July.  The orange to the left is Pat Austin.  The purple to its right is Melody Parfumee.  The pink is Mme. Isaac Pereire.  The white/lavender is Lagerfeld.  On the right is Louise Odier.

Here are Pat Austin and Melody Parfumee in a closer view.

Madame Isaac Pereire and Lagerfeld.

Louise Odier.

In mid March 2012, this is the view of the side yard garden from the front yard, with the forsythia in bloom.  The grass has greened up nicely.

The side yard has a way of stopping traffic throughout the growing season.  Here's the view from outside in late March with the forsythia putting on a show.  That one of the variegated English hollies between them.  To the far right is the Peace rose standard.

Last Updated: 03 Mar 2023

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