Our garden spots are at their peak right now, so, if your interest is piqued, I thought I’d give you a peek at what’s happening in our yard. (And since I’m a writer, I couldn’t resist: Do you see what I did with those three words in red? Do those three homophones give you as much trouble as they give me?)
Anyway, back to gardening… I think I’ve done this annual or semi-annual garden tour every year since I was invited to blog with the Inspired by Life…and Fiction gals, so if things look familiar, that’s why. The lion’s share of credit for our pretty yard goes to my wonderful husband who is the designer, landscaper, and muscle behind the yard. I do plant our pots each year, but after that, I’m merely a weeder, waterer, and admirer of God’s amazing creation!
One of our favorite views these days is the Shasta daisies just below my office window. If I tip back in my chair, I can see them without even getting up.
This Japanese magnolia, far left in the previous photo (or tulip tree, as they’re called around here) sported a new crop of flowers a few days ago. A tulip tree flowers early in the spring before any leaves come on, but this one almost always gives us a second showing.
Two turtle doves held a little courtship on our front steps last week. We’ve had them build nests in the hanging plants in years past, but this year, we foiled them by not hanging any pots. I love their haunting song (they also go by the name mourning dove) but I don’t like them ruining plants we paid good money for!
The front porch usually gets filled up with the leftovers from the flat sales after we’ve filled the larger pots, or sometimes from rooted cuttings of those plants after they’ve grown bigger. It’s an ever-changing display throughout the summer, and since the pots are small, it has to be watered often, but it’s one of my favorite parts of our outdoor flowers.
Now come around to the backyard with me. This is the view that greets us when we return from a walk around the neighborhood. The clematis and honeysuckle on the back deck posts went crazy this year! So pretty!
We have a total of five clematis vines but only two of them bloomed this year. The others are newer and will hopefully give us a show next year.
This checkerboard patio Ken created in the lawn is still one of my favorite features of the backyard. And that shady seating area is inviting after working in the yard watering and weeding.
I kind of threw this pot together—dahlias and petunias. Then a pot of caladiums started looking wilty so I tucked the healthier leaves in the edge of this pot and forgot about them. They’ve become the star of the show and the dahlias are tall enough to give them the shade they need.
That low bright green plant was here when we moved in. We have no idea what it is but it comes back every year and it seems a shame to tear it out, even though it produces no flowers. My tomato plant is doing well and has already given me one juicy red tomato, with at least a dozen more ready soon.
Ken’s not a fan of tomatoes, so I keep up with one tomato plant just fine…sometimes with enough to share with the neighbors.
Behind the tomato cage, tiger lilies are just about done blooming but dinner-plate-size hibiscus are just getting started. Both of those were here when we moved in and I enjoy them (although Ken is itching to tear out all of it and start over with some new things. We’ll see…)
These planters by the back door are my favorites of the year. The salmon-colored petunias are stunning and they “crown” the planter below perfectly. It was a pre-potted smaller plant mix that I splurged on, and it has outdone itself! Wandering Jew, airplane plant, peperomia, and a pale green fern-like plant I don’t know the name of.
The rail pots are filling out nicely. The dark maroon coleus tends to take over, but I’m trying to keep it pinched back so we can see the zinnias, moss rose, and other blooms. Love watching the sunset out here.
And even better, watching a storm roll in on the sunrise. The sky is stunning. (And I decided the only good thing about that dying ornamental pear tree is that it lets more of the sunrises peek through. We’re going to have to have it removed soon and it kind of breaks my heart…not to mention, breaks the bank! 🙁 )
And that’s it for another year. Most of our flowers and bushes will stay pretty and blooming until mid-to-late October, and sometimes beyond, making it well worth all the work it is to keep things watered, weeded, deadheaded and pruned.
What’s blooming in your garden this summer? Do you have mostly flowers, mostly vegetables, or do you just enjoy the gardens of others? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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Beautiful, Deb!
Thanks, Lynn. I love your garden too!
Hi Deb, I love touring your garden. It’s so pretty and refreshing!
Thank you, Carrie. I always enjoy seeing your garden pics too!
Beautiful!! Thank you for sharing the photos.
Thanks for stopping by, Melissa. Hope you’re having a great summer!
Wow, Deb! I love your house inside and out! We have 12 Tomato plants in pots on the porch. 6 cherry and 6 bush. We will be canning and freezing. We pot flowers, too. Begonias, petunias, pansies. And a dahlia my friend gives me every year.this year it is maroonish purple and another color hasn’t shown yet, just budded. In front we have hens and chicks and periwinkle, and Elfin Thyme ground cover in a shady spot between the garage and the front door. We have very rocky soil in Missouri, hence the pots. Loved seeing your foliage! Blessings.
Sounds wonderful, Paula. I haven’t canned anything since my mom helped me put up apple pie filling 30 years ago! I’ve really loving dahlias this year, too. They’re new for me.
Oh I loved the garden tour. Such beauty. Alas, I am a terrible gardener. I have 2 pots by the front door where I grow mint and basil. My parents planted all the pretty flowers in our garden. I wish I could have all the greenery like you do!!
Oh, I’ve always wanted a kitchen garden like that. Have tried it a couple of times before, but never lasted very long. I think my pots weren’t big enough and they just couldn’t get enough water outside.
I love seeing you garden tour!
This is the year of roses for us; we struggle a bit with deer trying to eat the buds, but we couldn’t resist increasing our rose collection from 4 to a whopping 16 rose bushes this year. Hopefully some new, highly rated deer repellent we’ve purchased, along with our tried-and-true (if rather short-lived) garlic picks will let us enjoy plenty of blooms and keep the spindly-legged creatures off in the trees after other snacks… The roses are leafing out and building buds nicely – here’s hoping at least 95% of them survive our mountain winters and short growing season with vigor for many years to come!
Our 3rd clematis vine, on it’s second year now, is also blooming beautifully. And a 4th has started out well; potentially adding a 4th color to the vine wall next year!
We plant some veggies occasionally, but I’m a sucker for flowers… so all those roses, loads of columbines in multiple colors, speedwell, poppies and clematis dominate most of our space. But you just can’t beat the contentment of working in a thriving flower garden!
I couldn’t agree more, Bree. I just love working in the garden. Even weeding. I’d prefer it not to be 100 degrees 😉 but early morning or late evening, it’s a favorite thing to do. Your garden sounds wonderful…even the deer!
It certainly is a blessing! Despite the fact that only limited things can grow up this high, the things that do are pretty wonderful! <3
Unfortunately, my green thumb is black.
My husband is the one who can make things grow.
We have blueberry bushes, a fig tree, and he’s hoping to start a cherry tree from cherry pits, we shall see what happens.
Your garden is beautiful.
Ah, blueberry bushes would be wonderful! And hope those cherry pits grow!
Hi Deb, I think this is my first tour of your garden and I am SO jealous! Everything is beautiful. We have had to cut back considerably this year and it’s just not the same. Your garden certainly perked me up. Thanks for sharing.
We had a few years after my husband’s layoff that we had to cut WAY back. It was hard, but we enjoyed what we did get to plant and looked forward to better days…which have come now. 🙂
I always enjoy your garden tours! They never fail to provide me with inspiration. 🙂
Thanks, Becky. Glad they can inspire! 🙂
As a fellow gardener I think I can honestly say ” Yours is better than mine!!” Thank you for sharing and giving me a bit of inspiration. just lovely!
Well, it’s not a contest, but glad this could inspire. I love looking at other people’s gardens and find inspiration there as well. Ours is certainly nothing magazine-worthy, but it does give us great joy. Thanks for your comment.
Always love your garden tours. Your yard and home are beautiful! You and Ken are a great team. Alas, my yard and gardens are awful this year. A combination of a bad leg and bad weather have kept me from doing the work I usually do. It seems to be temperatures in the mid to high 90’s or lots of rain.
As a retired teacher, I loved your homophone opening.