A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Monday, October 4, 2010

A Fall Tour Around the House

This post is in answer to some comments from bloggers who wanted to see what I see when I walk out my door. "I'm trying to visualize how your yard looks...where are the gardens you are posting about?" So, yesterday, I took some pictures as I stepped out of my garage door and turned right toward the west. The first stop is the little "cottage garden" next to the driveway and the first thing people see when they visit. These Mum plants will soon be blooming. I covered them last night when we had a hard freeze. They are a very late Mum and sort of a dark fushia in color.This is the front of the house and a view of the porch that we sit on. I was in between decorating...not quite done yet, but a few things for Halloween for the neighbor kids to enjoy.
Here is the pot that my neighbor helped my move over the weekend. I wanted it by the front door so I could decorate it for the seasons. I envision a cabbage, kale, tall grasses, and gourds or pumpkins. Goosey Lucy stands at attention in her place by the front door. She was a gift from my kids and grandkids. She has more outfits than I do :)
This is in front moving toward the west side...An American Cranberry bush in the middle. I planted the Angelique tulips in a big mass on either side. There are daffodils and those orange lilies behind.

Now, moving a little west...where the hose lies...Is where I planted my Alliums and new Daffodils. We had an evergreen planted there and it died...not enough water in this spot. I will have to remember to keep them watered if it gets dry this next spring.

Just to the left of the spot where the bulbs were planted is my Mary's Garden. She is surrounded by different hostas, and minor bulbs. I put a few tulip bulbs in front of her this week. Note that in the right corner of the picture you can see the beginning of a trellis. That is where several clematis are planted.


Now turning the corner and heading downhill a bit to the north is the full trellis. The clematis were so pretty years ago, but the River Birch has grown so huge and keeps this area shaded, so we loose a lot of the blooms.

This is a picture of the sloping west garden. It is a work in progress this fall. There are herbs planted there...sages, oregano, parsley, rosemary etc, along with iris, lilies and the border is ajuga. I had pots of cherry tomatoes there, but decided to move the empty pots to the front and side of the house. I was making room for Japanese Anemones. I planted 6, I think.Three pink and three white. I hope these do well in this partly shaded bed.

Now coming around the corner to the back of the house. That would be the north side. My Lilies of the Valley are contained in this little garden. The windows that you see are the windows in my basement. My workroom is there with plant shelves and tables for painting and my sewing machine. I love having these big windows in the basement. I don't feel confined there....I can paint and look out the windows at the snow falling. Joe got me a little fireplace and it is turned on...not so much for heat...as a cozy feeling. Joe just had the heat vents put in and now the basement is warm enough to work in.

Here is a picture that is out of order, but it's on the north east corner of the back of the house. It was such a sunny day that it was really too bright for picture taking. This pot just has the leftovers in it. There are Black Eyed Susans behind and hostas. An evergreen on the corner that you can't see.

This is the garden along the back side of the house.Hostas, an azalea, and sedums line the garden. In the spring Columbine and Lilies are next to airconditioner. Here is another picture of that garden. The sedums were beautiful this year. My favorite plants in the garden. Joe's geese share the spot. A broken birdbath was not put back because the Sedums had grown around there and I didn't want them spoiled...so the bath part lies on the ground for the little birds on the ground to bath in.
The last garden in the back has a lilac bush and many perennials including Lady's Mantle, Blackberry Lilies, Asters, Coreopsis, Star Gazer Lilies, Daisies oh, I can't think of anymore. It's a pretty little garden that requires little care. Now turning the corner and coming up the east side of the house toward the garage. We planted some Bird's Nest Spruce in this spot. There are some Stella D'Oro lilies planted in between each spruce. They have done so well and really need little care. I will have to cut them down soon. So, that's about it.

Had I been younger, when I moved here, there would probably be a wide perennial border along the neighbor's fence. There I could have drifts of flowers in all colors....or maybe I would have planted a ditch garden across the front of our property next to the road. I was feeling my age and knew that I couldn't take care of that much. My gardens are close to the house and I can sit on my green chair and reach most of the places to weed. Everything is mulched with a cloth barrier under...so we don't get many weeds. Things are filling in nicely and it is as easy to care for as a garden can be. It is still a lot of work and the gardens on the sides of the house are all up or down hill. The woods is way back on our property and that is where I can be more creative. There is no mulch there and no landscape cloth. Weeds are rampant, but it's a more natural area and that's to be expected. I week whack once in a while to keep the border tidy. I plant along probably a 10 foot deep border. That's where I have my Crabapple tree, Lilac bush, Forsythia, Redbud, Honeysuckle, Phlox, huge Hostas, and lots of wild flowers. I've posted pictures of the woods border before...so you can look back in the archives if you want to see them. This is where I live and I love our area. I'll tell you more about our neighborhood tomorrow.
Balisha










5 comments:

Margie's Musings said...

Lovely...just lovely, Balisha. Nothing much grows in my yard. It was a low lot filled in with rock before they hauled in dirt. I have lost eight flowering shrubs here.

Tolentreasures said...

Beautiful garden tour. Wouldn't you just love a "working" trip to Pa? I could sure use a hand to get my yard looking like that!

Cathy

Elenka said...

No wonder you are constantly working on your garden, there's so much to do!

Lona said...

You have a lot of beds surrounding your home. I love the entry beds. Your mums have so many blooms on them and are really going to put on a show when they open up.

Barbee' said...

You have a lot to take care of. Sorry about your knee problem. Knees and backs seem to be weak areas for me, too. That really cuts into my doing things. I enjoyed the tour of your garden. Thank you.