Joan Cogliano is sharing her garden with us today.

I moved to a new house in Weymouth, and it was a mess. I removed a leggy peach tree, two scraggly Alberta spruce, and several stunted barberry. I amended the soil, started a compost pile, enlarged a front bed, and started adding perennials and roses given by friends and family. Here is the progress after one year.

A newly planted purple-leaf sand cherry (Prunus × cistena, Zones 2–8) in the back corner will grow into a large shrub. Various annuals and perennials fill the space for now.

‘Apricot Drift’ rose (Zones 4–8) is a very disease-resistant variety with softly fragrant, apricot-colored blossoms.

Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima, annual) makes a mass of frothy white flowers in the front of this bed. Sweet alyssum generally prefers cooler weather, and newer varieties are sterile, which results in much longer, more prolific flowering as they put their energy into making blooms instead of seeds. However, the newer sterile varieties will not self-sow to come back the following year the way old-fashioned sweet alyssum will.

A warm, rich-hued Chrysanthemum (hardiness depends on variety) has its colors echoed beautifully by a lavender hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 5–9) and a pink veronica (Veronica species or hybrid, perhaps the variety ‘Pink Potion’, Zones 4–8). The three colors are similar enough to complement each other, but different enough for contrast, and the spiky veronica blooms contrast nicely with the rounded forms of the hydrangea and chrysanthemum.

I bet the combination of ‘Apricot Drift’ rose with sweet alyssum behind it smells wonderful!

Is there anything more spectacular than a clump of peonies (Paeonia hybrid, Zones 3–7) in full bloom?

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