The Amoeba, Fence, and Arbor

The entire back yard, including patio and beds along all 4 sides, is about 35 feet wide by 50 feet deep. In the back yard, there is a Linden Tree placed to give a little shade on the patio and beneath that tree are some Astilbes. 

There is a birch tree near the driveway. Off the driveway, in between the garage and where the birch tree stands is a bed that I call “the amoeba” because when we bought the house it was shaped like an amoeba; it has since been expanded and is now more of a blob, but I still call it the amoeba. The amoeba has Hosta (‘Golden Prayers’), Dwarf Lady’s Mantle, Bloodroot, Helebore (Heleborus Purpurascens), Tulips, Crocus, Snowdrops, Grape Hyacinth, Fritillaria, Spring Anemone, Fall Anemone (white ‘Whirlwind’ and pink), 2 Clematis (‘Sweet Autumn’ and ‘Jackmanii’), Pasque Flower, Prairie Smoke, Dwarf Goats Beard, pink Bleeding Heart, many Astilbes, and Heuchera (‘Caramel’). 

The above pic shows most of the amoeba, prior to moving some sedum out and the Caramel Heuchera in. You can see the very edge of the driveway in the lower left corner of the pic. The Birch tree is out of the pic to the left.

On the west side of the amoeba, we put in a fence consisting of two pieces of lattice board shaped into a shallow “V”. The 2 clematis vines climb up this fence (and basically cover it), providing some shade for the Astilbes. On the other side of the fence, there is about 18” of a garden bed with more Spring Anemone, Grape Hyacinth, Crocus, Meadowsweet, Ratibita Pinnata (Grey-Headed Coneflower – I call it Pinnate), Prairie Smoke, Summer Allium (common nodding onion), and Hardy Hibiscus (‘Midnight Marvel’).

In the above pic, we are looking at the west side of the fence - the amoeba is behind the fence. The 'Sweet Autumn' Clematis is going strong, but the 'Jackamnii' (on the left) is sputtering. The back part of the house is the kitchen. The Hibiscus is just to the left of the fence (it isn't very big yet). You can barely make out the Birch tree in the background due to the poor lighting.

Perpendicular to this little bed is a metal arbor with a Honeysuckle (‘Goldflame’) vine. The edge of the Honeysuckle is bumping into the edge of the Linden branches.

In the above pic, you can see the Linden tree in its round-ish bed. The Honeysuckle is on top of the arbor. And, you can see the back door of our house.