Tuesday, April 13, 2010

If You Were Here

If you came to see me this would be by my front door.
It was an attempt by me to do something artistic.
My painting skills never progressed past the 4th grade, but that's OK you don't know really know how old I was when I painted it.




I would pour you a cup of coffee and I'd let you drink it from one of my favorite mugs. I have a crazy mug collection. Almost nothing matches.  I like this one because of the smirk. Cats are like that.


We could mozy on out to the front porch and sit for about two seconds. I am too hyper to sit very long.
Besides the yard is a bumble bee fest right now.
We would jump up and I'd give you a tour.

From the front porch I would walk over to the left and show you my "good neighbor garden."





I planted this one so that when my neighbor came outside to his porch he would have something pretty to look at.

It's also one of my rare places of shade.

I love shade gardens.

I planted one Ajuga out there a long time ago.
My lilacs died, and the azalea is a bit puny this year.




It's also a place for fun. If you are upstairs looking out of this window all you see is roses.








This is a cute little surprise hanging over the fence.




We head back around now to the front and check out the arbor. There are about 6 blooms open now, but in a few days it will be spectacular.

It's a New Dawn rose. It only blooms once but it is worth it. I have some roses like that, which only bloom once instead of the hybrids that re-bloom all season. These seem to thrive much better in our moist hot heat, less diseases.



The Lady Banks is another one time only rose.
She is thornless, and a climber that will grow to 30 ft in height. So far this one fills one entire corner of my garden and spills into my neighbors yard which he is quite happy with. I have made my peace with these once a year beauties because look at the health!!





This is my neighbors front yard. I meant to show you this earlier.
It's cute isn't it? My neighbor loves color. I need to ask him if I can do a post of the inside of his house it's amazing. He collects black art. Every wall is covered with paintings. He lives in an art gallery.
He totally freaked me out when he asked my husband to paint his fireplace mantle bright ORANGE! It looks cool.
You wanta see it don't you?

His front yard. Mississippi is the most gorgeous color of green most of the year. It really is this pretty.

When the sky is bright blue mixed with this green I could swoon.
Really, it is so beautiful.


Back to my house on the sunny side yard. I have been working over here. Clearing and weeding. Cutting back and planting seeds.





I love this spot. I have a lot of strawberries filling in.
I hope my Heavenly Blue Morning Glory seeds will sprout and share the trellis.


I love morning glories.


I usually have basil come up in here.
It helps to shade the berries in the heat of summer.
That way they don't just fry.





You would be able to step up close and admire this rose.
It's a Joseph's Coat climber.  This is the first flush and
what you can't see is the aphids.
I have been batting away lady bugs all winter.
They came in the house by the hundreds.
They died in my window sills.
So where are they now?
They could be feasting I tell you.
My thumbs are going to be green, from squishing aphids.


This is another spring fling.
I wait all year for these.
I LOVE them.

I dug up hundreds last year and gave them away.

Did you get some?

Are they blooming?

If I gave away any pretty colors you have to send me a couple back!!

I had too many of the same thing. Variety is the spice of life right?

This spot was raked smooth. I have seeds planted here. Cucumber ones. The cats like variety too. The cats have decided this is a great spot to dig in and do.... a doo doo.
Cats GAH!

Personally, I do not like knowing the source of my fertilizer.

And after all of this. We would all pile into the swing together and have a few laughs.

25 comments:

Julie Harward said...

Ahhh, I feel so relaxed now...just strolling around your yard chatting it up...thanks for sharing it all, I just loved it! Wish we could do that. Come say hi :D

Grandma Tillie's Bakery said...

WOW--I loved the walking tour! I could almost smell the sunshine and hear the bees buzzing. One of the things I used to hate about cats was their using my strawberry beds for their toilet--YUK.

I love the picture at the bottom--the baby's expression in front cracks me up!

Anonymous said...

I just love your home. Thanks for the tour. I'd love to have coffee with you sometime and use one of your mugs!! ((hugs))

Schnitzel and the Trout said...

I love your yard and gardens. That is a full time job right there and you do it well.

Michelle said...

You really have a gorgeous place and it is so evident that you spend a lot of time keeping it up. Love, love your floweres. They are so pretty. And, yes I did receive some of your Iris plants. They are not blooming quite yet around here.

Rosie_Kate said...

A'right, thanks, I'm comin' over!

:-D

Your yard is GORGEOUS. When I grow up, I wanna garden like you.

Pam said...

You made me feel right at home with your tour and chatting! Love it, all that was missing was the cup of coffee and I love that cat mug! Thanks!

Angela said...

I would use the cat mug, thank you! And since you don't sit long, well your my new best friend, LOL...Since anyone that knows me knows after sitting for a second, I would get up and start wandering off myself to look at everything if you wouldn't, LOL I would even start weeding..I do that all the time at my girlfriends house when we are on her porch. I get off the porch and while she is still talking, I work on her flower beds,,LOL..oh girl...I'd do the same in the house.

joanne said...

all your hard work has paid off...your walking tour was absolutely beautiful. I can smell the roses and hear the bees a-buzzin' here. What time should I stop by??

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

What a lovely garden! Beautiful corner of the world you have...and orange fireplace. Bring it on!

Angela said...

By the way,,your paint job is really good girl!! I LOVE it...

Rocio said...

Oh Wow!!! That was a Beautiful Tour!!!
Simply Stunning!
Stopping by from Communal Global I am Rocio from the Border of Mexico【ツ】

Anonymous said...

Oh how I wish I could have a garden like this. Where I live it's just too hot. I can try, but I'm terrible with plants. My mom on the other hand, can bring a twig to life.

The best part of this was that swing. Adorable faces.

Thanks for stopping by the Turquoise Beach House earlier. I added The Drifters, Under the Boardwalk. Had actually thought of it yesterday. So good to visit.

Unknown said...

I loved this little visit. Such a sweet place to spend time. I love that you have all of this and you are so willing to share with us. What a blessing.

the Lola Letters said...

Thanks for the walk through your gardens! You really have it together. I need to get to WORK!

Karen said...

I love sitting on the front porch with you, then strolling through your garden. Thanks!

Unknown said...

I feel like I've been on a field trip through God's beautiful gardens.

Chris H said...

Why thank you for the walk around your gardens, and your neighbours!
Yes, I'd love to see inside his home too! lol

Mental P Mama said...

Absolute heaven! And then could we go in for some warm bread and butter?

Kathy said...

Thank you Karen D! I needed this visit today, it has been rainy (which we need) and cold (not too bad really) and I feel just plain ol' down-in-the-dumps, this was just very cheerful and nice, thanks.

a quiet life said...

great tour, love arches, they speak to me~

Anonymous said...

Karen, I had to come back tonight to take another look at this post. These flowers are just too unreal. I am blown away. I also love your house number plate--very arty indeed, and the mug, well, dogs rule. ;) Just kidding or maybe not. ;) And you have a front porch. I'm so jealous. The good kind of jealosy of course.

I love this post and my second time viewing it was even better. You know why? Because I took it in slowly. Hint hint...take time to smell the roses. ;) I'm giving advice to myself here too.

LDF said...

What an enjoyable tour ... thank you! You really do have a green thumb. I used to fight aphids on my roses in the Okanagan valley. One day I mentioned the problem to a local tomatoe farmer who told me to plant garlic around each rose bush. apparently he had had the same problem with his tomatoes, and planting a few garlic bulbs around each tomato vine made the problem disappear. He was right, it worked like magic! And the roses never smelled so rosey and lovely, couldn't smell garlic at all! Cheers.

Jeanie said...

I loved the tour. I hope we get to see inside your neighbor's house. You and I would do great together...I cant sit still for long either.

Twisted Fencepost said...

Thanks for the tour. Very pretty!
I can't sit still either. Makes the hubby mad sometimes when he wants me to sit awhile and talk.