Saturday, April 30, 2016

My Yard


Very recently I was asked if there was a post on my yard or garden. I guess I haven't done a post just on that, I just never thought it would interest anyone.  I hope to remedy that today though.   We live surrounded by woods.  The neighborhood is built around a lake here and it's a very woodsy feeling to the whole neighborhood.

This is the front of our house.  To the right is the driveway and the carport.  The wooden fence on the left of our house is where my mister and our daughter like to plant their garden, well they garden on the backside of it.   We have some shrubs planted on the front side now but you can't see them in this photo.  As you see there are lots of trees and with azaleas planted under them.

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This is a glance back at the azaleas blooming in the front yard this Spring.

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And on the back side of the wooden fence (in our backyard) were the beginnings of last year's garden.  It hasn't grown enough this year to have anything to show yet.  Do you remember my daughter's herb garden?
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The mister and my daughter are the gardeners.  I am the lucky recipient.

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Jacques is still lizard hunting.  He thinks they all live high up on the posts because he saw one there once.
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The gardenias were blooming before we had the garden going good then.  They are starting to bloom now as well so I guess we are on schedule.  You can just make out the beginnings of the banana tree towards the fence.  That's hydrangea bushes as well up close to the camera.
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Later this summer, the banana tree will be big and a show off!

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I love bringing the zinnias inside.

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A glimpse of our backyard shows we are surrounded by trees.  This is the view from the back porch.  We had a lot of wind and rain shortly before this was taken and the rose of Sharon was leaning.  It's very tall, which is hard to tell in this photo with those trees surrounding it, but it's probably ten feet tall.  Blue hydrangeas next to the back porch.
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This is right off the porch to the left slightly.  Cannas and banana tree coming up with transplanted hydrangeas in the background.
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The transplanted hydrangeas were turning different shades last year, it will be interesting to see how they do this year.  They started out as a mixture of blue and pink plants.
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To the right of the back porch is the well, housed in a little building my mister built.  The wisteria grows like crazy here.  The white storage building beyond is where I have crepe myrtles that never bloom.
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The Japanese Magnolia gave us our first look at Spring.

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This is looking into the backyard from the porch.  The Japanese Magnolia tree lives over there as well as the large azalea bush.   The irises were taken out early as we had a hail storm.
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It was really scary!
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Standing in the center of the yard right off the porch looking toward the driveway.  Lattice panels were placed for privacy and work well with the shrubbery.
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Continuing on, you are now turned toward the house looking into the backyard and can see the well house to the right, just barely through the crepe myrtle.  You are next to the driveway.  There is an oleander planted next to the well.  They are scattered across the yard.  Whew!  Have I made any sense with this tour?
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Another back porch photo.  You can see a glimpse of the kitchen through the open french doors.  I blog right inside to the left on my desk.  This is super convenient for me when I am doing tablescapes.  I just grab a handful of plates and head out to the porch to get it started.
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This is where you will find me!  That chair, at the computer, is my perch for blogging.  Many tablecloths stored in this old armoire along with various things for blogging, like candlesticks and candleholders, candles, pitchers, etc.
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I can't give you a proper tour without sharing the lake and of course that includes the geese.
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Jan










Monday, April 25, 2016

Between Blooms


Hello, I hope you are doing good, my friend!  Right now in my garden is a time of excitement and a need to be patient.  We are in between the Spring blooms and the Summer ones that aren't mature quite yet.  There is plenty of excitement in just waiting and wondering what this season will bring.  Let's take a look back so we can have a hint of what's to come.

First things first is I throw a white quilt or comforter over each of the red sofas.  It visually brings the temps down when it has heated up outside.

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I like to bring blooms in and tuck them in different places indoors.

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Our gardenia bushes smell wonderful.

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There might be a late night dinner surrounded by roses and rose of Sharon.

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Elderberry blooms.

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I discovered the beauty of dahlias last year and never could quite get enough photos of them.

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The buds on the rose of Sharon are always alluring to me.

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Blue hydrangeas are always pretty.  What will the newly transplanted one do across the yard?

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Zinnias pack color and enthusiasm.  Will this year's giants be a bigger showoff?

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Jan