~ one year later...

...May 9, 2013 view of the shade garden in the front yard.




...May 9, 2014 view (photo taken this morning).



Mother nature must be tired.  As of this writing: Hydrangeas have leaves only at base of plant.  Azalea buds have just started to open.  Lamium has not yet filled in.  However, the phlox is looking gorgeous!  Not sure if you can see the grass blades growing through the phlox in the 2013 photo?  I struggled with that annoying problem for years -- and I seriously considered pulling out all the phlox because I got tired of maintaining the persistant invasion of the grass blades.  But last year I finally found a solution -- Grass Be Gone spray.  It works! :-)

Now if I could only find some miracle spray to cover up the brown patch at the top of my dwarf alberta spruce...sigh... :-(

Note:  You can click on the photos to enlarge them :-)