Sheldon and Kim's gardens in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Certified Backyard Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation

We moved here in late summer of 2000. We immediately pulled out the square-pruned Taxis shrubs and the carpet juniper. I planted my potted-up perennials in the existing beds and waited until spring. Ever since, we have been tilling up more yard and enlarging the beds, even making a few new ones. It took over an hour to mow our .44 acre lot at first, but now it's half that.		I rarely pay full price for my plants. I get them from friends. I buy them on sale. I trade with other gardeners on Garden Web. And if I do buy them at full price, I get just one and grow it and divide it until I have enough. Many of the plants are natives, chosen to attract birds and butterflies. Self-seeding annuals are scattered throughout the beds, wherever they choose to come up that year. There's a fenced garden in the back that was originally designed to keep the rabbits out of the vegetables, but it has become more of a nursery for seedling perennials as they grow to size before being moved out into the beds. There's only room left for a few tomato, onion, and squash plants!
	The "stumps" you see here and there are logs picked up to burn in the fireplace that have somehow never gotten split and used. That's fine by me--they make great little tables for flats of seedlings or potted plants. My husband also picks up rocks from almost everywhere we go, so I incorporate them as well. I place the flat ones strategically throughout the beds as stepping stones. The really decorative ones are out by the paths to be admired. I also made some mounds out of sandstone rocks for my hens and chicks to grow in.
The Air Pollution Control District of Louisville hosted a landscape contest in 2005 as part of their "Lawn Care for Cleaner Air" program. I entered our yard in the part sun homeowner's division and we won first place! (Our entry on their site) We'll be open for tours in the summer of 2006, so call the APCD for the tour dates and see when you can stop by!		I love gardening. I would truly rather be out playing in the dirt than almost anything else. This saying is really true for me: "God made rainy days so gardeners would clean house!"