Name: Michele
Location: Irondequoit — Rochester, New York

My outdoor space is slightly less than a quarter of an acre in Western New York — about 2 miles from the shore of Lake Ontario. I tend to like things a bit natural, so immaculate and orderly have never really been in my gardening vocabulary. Some weeds are acceptable — Queen Anne's Lace and clover — in small amounts…

My front garden sees frequent soccer balls and noisy squirrels, and the yard out back includes a pea-gravel patio, play structure for my son, and a stone and brick terrace along the back of my quaint cape-cod style house. Although I am not a great fan of picket fences, the necessity of enclosing the yard to contain a rambunctious pup, and matching my neighbor's existing fence left no other choice.

May is the busiest month in the yard, as this is the month both the plants and I are working our hardest. I have a lovely old double French lilac, pink dogwoods, Bradford pear, and viburnum shrubs that all bloom at the same time. I spend my time weeding, planting, and pulling up the multitude of maple tree sprouts that inevitably end up in my garden, a product of my neighbors' trees. Our sprinkler does double duty in the summer, as it hydrates the plants and flowers, and cools down my son andhis friends.

Thanks Michele!

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