three years of progress on side yard

The first pic is from today, and the second is from around this time last year. The third is what the area looked like before we started our project three years ago. The front is a mix of perennials and shrubs, behind that is a rain garden and a patio.We retained a little area of lawn behind that (seen in the fourth pic), which is a mix of grass, clover, yarrow, and whatever else pops up. We have A LOT of rabbits in our neighborhood, and while far from foolproof, the clover seems to do a pretty solid job of distracting them from my perennials.

I try to plant ~90%+ native plants, and we have a LOT of bunnies — visible in the front (pic #1) is a azalea (which was present when we bought the house), dwarf irises, nodding onion, narrow-leaved mountain mint, a couple different types of low juniper, barren strawberry, ninebark, viburnum, chokeberry, mayapple, rattlesnake master, red osier dogwood, goldenrod, and probably more that I'm forgetting 🙂

Towards the back (pic #4) is a bunch of eastern prickly pear cacti, a wildflower bed, peonies, junipers, and a redbud tree.

Still a work in progress — which I'm sure will always be the case — but it's been a really rewarding and enjoyable project so far 🙂