Busy But Not Full

As I look over my photos from last summer and cruise Pinterest garden shots and think about what I want, I am struck by how my back yard garden is busy but not full.

There is so much going on, with too many tiny plants, lots of pots, small arrangements and placements and rock borders and stone patio and wood deck and some garden tchotchkes too. A lot of stuff.

But there is no fullness. It's just busy.

This is a nice shot, a nice summer view down the yard in late afternoon. I do have a big vine covered fence and tall aspens and some shade, but all else is a lot of mixed stuff. 

And this is the best of it, most everything around the white bowl in the circle garden is just mulch with some twigs stuck in. I know, know. The circle garden had many new plants added this past year that are not yet grown. Tiny things.

There are some plants in my garden coming along nicely and there is potential. I can see what the newer pineleaf penstemons will look like in a few years, and the lambsears have always been great and the Grow-lo sumacs thrive. Blue Ice amsonias, tucked away in the alley, have finally made a nice patch. Yes, there are successes in spots.

But even where things have settled in over years, they remain small. The redbud after eight years is nice and flowers well enough, but it's a stick. The kitchen courtyard rose and honeysuckle and veronicas are nice but don't blend together, not touching. Lovely, but clumpy.

I did plant so many new things this past year and need to be patient. And I am planning more for 2026! 

I think that in an effort to get a full look to my gardens and a serene cohesiveness to the whole back courtyard I am adding way too many small things and simply making it all too busy.