Job well done!!
What a transformation! All your hard work paid off!

~Rosemarie

Rosemarie said it nicely -- WOW!

That's really a great garden for a first try. I always have several tries before I'm satisfied with mine.

Thank you so much. I have so many hobbies, all outdoor hobbies, but this one totally took over every thing I do this year. I love to camp, but only went once this year. I was out every day after work dead heading and enjoying the flowers. We had so many bees and it was really neat to just sit on the wall at let them buzz around and watch them work the garden. The asters and mums seemed to attract them most. This year I am going to put in trellis's up against the fence and grow some different flowering vines to get more height. Can't wait until spring.
Thanks again, it really means a lot to me.
Dan

Very nice!!!!!!! not bad at all for a 1st timer

A garden well done!!! Very nice...

Great job!! Please post more pics as your garden matures. Love it!! Polly

Love it,you did very well,and since this is just your first,i can't wait to see your 5th.LOl Keep up the good work!!
Kathi

Oh my goodness. What a wonderful, lovely 1st garden you have. I bet you can hardly wait to see this year's gardens. All the work is really a big part of the enjoyment in having a garden.

Great job ~ FlowerLady

As said before . . . WOW! I will add fabulous! I really liked how you used different heights, both with plantings and with your beds. ~Sherrie

Wow! That's nice! It's so neat and organized. I need help with mine. I just need some inspiration.

Hi Dan,
Thank you for sharing your wonderful garden with all of us! I really like your use of the curving lines and varying heights. The asters are beautiful, do you happen to know what variety they were? I'd like to try some this year.
It sounds like the gardening bug has bitten you, too. ;-) We don't leave our garden very much during the summer months either as there's always work to do on it, but the two of the main reasons we garden is because we love watching the plants change from day to day and year to year and the serenity we gain from just being outdoors.
I hope you will share your 2006 garden with us all too!
Thanks again for letting us into your private oasis. Karen

Hi Karen, the pic with the bee are Belgian Mums. I bought them through Spring Hill Nursery. I haven't seen them for sale since I bought them. I have since taken cuttings and started several plants and have given some away to my neighbors. I think I started working on this project in March so only a couple months till I can get out and get started again. I can't wait.
Thanks again for all the wonderful comments.
Dan-O

I would be so proud, this is great!

great

You get an A+ for your "first" garden. Wonder just what your second garden will look like..."It's kinda fun, ain't it!!" Thanks for sharing....Shirl36

That looks really good! Your done a great job. You planned it well. Good stuff..
Did you make those borders? Or do you buy them like that? Ive never seen them, here in Australia. I like them.

The borders are pieces cut from Landscape Timbers from Lowes. They come in 8 foot pieces. I dug a trench 10 inches deep and then filled in around them.

Great First garden. I admire all that work. Looks pretty too.I edged out mine beds with cut fallen trees, but those are starting to rot and it won't be long till I have to replace them.How are the timber cuts held together? Looking forward to more. Ginger

Here is a link that might be useful: Ginger's Flower Garden

When I put them in the trench I made sure they were plumb and level and then I used 3" strips of card board and stapled the strip to the back of the timbers. Once I got several feet held in place with the strips I would fill in the trech around the timbers. That seemed to hold them in place very well. I started to toe nail the timbers together with nails and hammer by putting the nails from the top of one piece and angled down into the next. This didn't work as when hitting with a hammer it threw off the plumbness of the timber. If you had a pneumatic nail gun that would work great. I had thought about renting one and then came up with the cardboard strip idea. Once the garden was filled in with top soil I removed the strips.