Year Round Flower Garden Tour

When you’re planning a garden, it can be hard to make it interesting during all four seasons. This small city yard has had all of the grass replaced with flowers, and will give you lots of inspiration for creating a year round garden.

I have been living in my small house in Toronto for almost 30 years.

When I first moved in, there was not much more than some grass and weeds in the yard.

But since I didn’t want to have to mow grass, I have converted the entire yard to a flower garden.

When I am planning my garden beds, I think about having four season interest to keep them looking attractive.

It could be by making sure I have a mix of coordinating blooms or choosing different foliage textures and colors.

Since my house is painted purple I keep that in mind when choosing colors, which tend to be mostly blues, purples and pinks.

Now that the plants are all grown up, I thought I would do a year round garden tour in case you’re looking for ideas.

The yard layout

Before we start, let’s take a look at the 4 parts of my garden so you have an idea of the layout.

The front yard garden

My front yard is a small city yard about 15 feet wide and deep. I have a low picket fence across the front and down the side of the yard (beside the driveway).

And a flagstone walkway from the front door out to the sidewalk with an arbor over the entrance.

The boulevard garden

The boulevard is the little piece of land between the sidewalk in front of my house and the street.

It actually belongs to the city. But I didn’t want to have to cut the grass. And I like to provide a pretty garden and bench for people to stop and relax in when they’re walking by.

The backyard garden

My backyard is also a very narrow 15 feet wide but it’s fairly long for a city yard (about 100 feet).

I have a deck close to the house and a flagstone pathway that leads all the way to the back. (You can see more of the deck HERE).

There’s a tall fence down one side. And the garage is about halfway down the yard on the other side. So that makes the yard even narrower for the middle part of this garden.

The side yard garden

When I say side yard, I’m using the term “yard” very loosely.

It’s really the very small area between the driveway and my backyard fence. I have a few planters here as well as some plants in the ground.

Now let’s get on with the garden tour!

Spring (my favorite season)

After our long, overcast, freezing winters here in Toronto, it is with open arms that we welcome any signs of Spring.

So it is not by chance that spring is by far the showiest season in my garden.

Early Spring

The front yard garden

Just as the leaf buds are coming out on the clematis vines, and the snow has almost melted, I have one hellebore by my step that sports a ton of white buds.

My heart swells and I feel energized and joyously renewed.

Soon the crocuses and species tulips will follow.

The boulevard garden

With its dry soil and many dog visitors, the boulevard is a challenging place to grow plants.

So only the toughest survive. Which is why I combined daffodils with grape hyacinths for the spring display here.

The backyard garden

And it isn’t long before Pieris gets its white lily-of-the-valley-like flowers, early pink Azaleas light up the garden and Trilliums start to bloom.

The side yard garden

On the side, Hyacinths that match the color of my planters (and my house) fill the air with their sweet smelling perfume.

Mid Spring

From mid-May into June the spring garden gets into full swing and puts on a big show.

The front yard

Mid season hybrid tulips grow along the outside of my fence.

While a PJM Rhododendron blooms on the inside of the fence.

By the arbor, the tree peonies (seen here with purple alliums) are especially eye catching.

They are worth it for their magnificence even though the blossoms are short lived.

One of my other favorites (that is also short lived) is the fern peony.

Both tree peonies and fern peonies will grow in dappled shade (which I have plenty of) so they do very well in my garden.

Although I love the old-fashioned herbaceous peonies with a passion my garden does not have enough sunlight for them to produce flowers reliably except for the wild species in the corner of my front fence.

The lilacs in front of the house are gorgeous and heady with perfume.

The boulevard

The ornamental pear on the boulevard is covered in white blossoms.

The backyard

So is the snowball viburnum, serviceberry and the mulberry tree in the back yard.

While Virginia bluebells, Hellebores, and the blue blooms of Brunnera cover the understory.

And more tree peonies add their huge blooms to the landscape.

In the back, the first rhododendrons to burst forth with their glorious vibrant fuchsia flowers are the PJMs.

And then the larger leaved rhododendrons come out in pinks, mauves and purples

The side yard

Outside the backyard fence, this Rhododendron looks beautiful framed by the climbing Hydrangea with its buds just starting to open.

Blue forget-me-not annuals that self-seed form a delicate carpet everywhere in my side and back gardens.

They look so pretty with these pink and white tulips.

Late Spring

The front yard

By mid June the climbing hydrangea is covering the front of my house with white flowers that stand out against the purple paint and make a lovely backdrop for the immerging yellow Japanese maple by the front door.

The pagoda dogwoods start blooming about this time, too.

I am so passionate about these small trees that I have 5 of them planted around my small city garden.

The pink one above provides a big splash of color in the front yard.

Pink Aquilegias, commonly called columbines, nod their heads at this time.

I allow mine to self seed and grow where they will.

The boulevard

The stunning irises on the boulevard contrast beautifully with the daffodils there.

The backyard

Here’s another one of my favorite dogwoods.

This one has variegated leaves and provides some shade and privacy for the deck at the back of my house.

The bridal wreath spirea bushes are draped in lovely white blooms.

And the round blue balls of allium polka-dot the landscape here and there.

The side garden

In the side garden, the climbing hydrangea meanders along the arbor and fence. And is covered in white blooms.

It looks especially pretty with a variety of Hostas at its feet.

Summer

The front yard garden

Early summer brings forth the delicate ‘pearls’ on the Charbonnay Pearls Deutzia bushes.

Their yellow color echoes the yellow Japanese maple by the door in the front garden.

Now the three Japanese maples in the front garden are in full leaf.

As I mentioned before, one is yellow with red stems, one is a burgundy/red with delicate deep cut leaves and one is bright red/orange.

These small trees make a lively contrast with all the evergreen and blue/green foliage in the space and act as focal points.

Underneath the maples, the spires of astilbe and heuchera are cheerful and colorful as are their foliage.

I use a lot of ferns and have a particular penchant for the Japanese painted fern. I grow it in the understory everywhere.

At the front sidewalk, I like the blue spires of Victoria salvia (an annual in my region) interspersed with low growing variegated pink lamium.

They are both tough, and survive the drought and dogs they have to contend with.

Behind the fence, Phlox provides lots of color in the August garden.

Blue cranesbill or perennial geranium give a nice cottagey feel along the fence by the driveway.

I love the blossoms on the hydrangea bushes. I think a garden cannot have too many of these magnificent plants.

And they’re great cut flowers to bring indoors for a bouquet.

The boulevard garden

The black lace elderberry on the boulevard has large lacey pink flowers that contrast smartly with its dark foliage.

Echinacea blooms all summer providing lots of color without requiring a lot of work.

The backyard garden

This old climbing rose only blooms once a year. However, it is particularly colorful and fragrant as it covers the side of the garage.

My Monet weigela makes a statement with its mauve/purple blooms and variegated bluish foliage.

The perennial sweet peas are in bloom and winding their way up the fence.

The planters, hanging baskets and window boxes thrive all summer.

I have a drip watering system on timers that assures that they get the moisture they need. It is a godsend and makes for such easy care enjoyment.

The side yard garden

On the side of the house, a Clematis planted in a window box in the window well blooms on the side of the house.

To take advantage of the one sunny location in my garden, I planted floribunda roses in the large containers along the driveway.

They will continue to bring joy by reblooming throughout the summer.

Although I don’t grow hostas for their blooms, they do flower now too.

The Fall Garden

The front yard

Come autumn, the foliage on many of the deciduous trees and bushes change color. The hollies have bright red berries and so do the barberries.

The Japanese Maple leaves turn brilliant oranges and red.

The anemones hold center stage in the front garden. People often comment on their beauty.

The blue asters at the bottom of the fence return every year.

The grasses are mature and allium seed heads wave in the breeze.

In late October, I empty the planters and remove the plants from the window boxes.

I collect greenery, sedum flowers, hydrangea spent blossoms, and holly with berries on it to decorate the boxes for the winter.

The boulevard

By the fall, sweet alyssum has taken over the boulevard, along with some grasses and chrysanthemums.

The backyard

Some of the late blooming clematis varieties still have blooms. The profuse delicate white fairy blooms of autumn clematis cover the corner of the house.

The side yard

Autumn sedum makes a nice showing against its blue gray foliage.

The roses are making another flush of color.

Winter

The front yard

Before Christmas, I decorate the hoopsie spruce tree in the front yard with lights and balls and hang a wreath on the front door.

I have a lot of evergreen bushes and trees that are different shades of green and blue-green which look interesting all winter.

The boulevard

I leave the grasses unshorn until spring to provide bird food and visual relief.

The backyard

I can see the red stems of the red stem dogwood from my window. It looks startling against the white snow.

My path lights are functional all winter and make a magical glow in the snow on winter evenings.

All of the evergreens and bushes add interest even when there isn’t anything growing.

Well, that’s it for my year round garden tour. Of course, it never stays the same from one year to the next.

Hopefully, you’ve found some inspiration for your own four season garden.

Other gardening ideas you might like

• How to create plant combinations that work
• Shade garden design ideas
• Secret garden design ideas

Have comments or questions about my year round garden? Tell us in the section below.