Creating a Memorial Garden with Perennials

On May 5th, on the anniversary of the death of a loved one, I planted seven perennials from a local nursery. These are all in shades of white, pink, and red - colors that were in home and yard.

The challenge is that this garden is on the north side of the home and gets very little sunlight. Nonetheless, there are some pretty perennials that like shade and have color to their leaves and/or flowers.

I planted:

- Barrenwort

- Lily of the Valley (2 plants)

- Wild Rose Coral Bells

- Pink Fizz Foamy Bells

- White Bleeding Heart

- Paris Coarl Bells

- Swan Blue and White Columbine

In addition, I found some little ferns that were sprouting up in the yard that I transplanted to this area.

There was moss that was growing around this area that I dug up and placed around the plants - to give it a look that this garden has been around for a while.

I cleaned out the pond after neglecting it for many years. There were rocks and sludge in it. Surprisingly, the pump still works after I cleaned it out. The bamboo fountain, however, no longer works.

The small pond almost cleaned out. 

The hostas were transplanted 

many years ago and are coming up. 

The ferns and coral bells were added this year.

Later in the month, on the 18th, Olivia and I filled up the pond with water. We positioned a couple of rocks and sticks for the birds and other wildlife to use if they fell into the pond and needed to get out.

Olivia positioning a stick in the water. 

In the upper right of the photo,

is the white bleeding heart. 

We've always had pink bleeding hearts, 

so it's nice to see another color.

The girls and I picked out a koi fish fountain and tubing at Menards to attach to the pump. Initially it was working and then it stopped. After washing out the pump again, it was working. Then it stopped again.

We will try one more time with cleaning and scrubbing out the pre-formed pond and re-washing the pump. Otherwise, we may need a new pump.

I added a hummingbird feeder along with a half of an orange. We are seeing a ruby-throated hummingbird and oriole daily now since about the 16th of May!

One of the male Baltimore Orioles at our farm.

So far, we have seen three male Orioles and one female Oriole.

It's nice to see this area come alive again with new perennials and the pond (even if the fountain isn't working quite right yet).