One of my favorite hobbies is Gardening.

For me, it crosses my love of shopping, my love of remodeling, and my impatience of getting things done. It's the best of all of that!

I love shopping in the gardening section, the nursery full of possibilities. Beautiful flowers, the promise of fresh herbs, the coolness of shade providing greenery as well as the shade lovers that grow underneath. The sunny color splash of sun loving annuals and the long lasting durability of perennials.



Roses. I love white roses. so pure and clean. So fresh amidst of sea of green. Carpet roses, long stem or bush, I love roses.









These long stemmed beauties were planted over 50 years ago by Terry's Grandfather!

They are so lovely to see outside the kitchen window as I stand at the sink. A profusion of color to wake me up and put me in a good mood for the day!






Little periwinkle blue flowers trailing over the edge of the pot on the front porch are blooming well ahead of the tall white gardenias to come.















Underneath the birch in the front, society garlic blooms with its lush green leaves sprawling wide under the boughs of the trees. Bend closer for the pungent fragrance of fresh flowery garlic.






On the shady side yard, hydrangeas are just starting to flower. I love the expanse of the plant, so lush and full. The flowers surprise me every year ranging from pale pink to deep blue depending on the care I've taken to acidify the soil, the watering, the feeding schedule

As you can tell, these blue blooms got more in their breakfast than. . .




these dark pink blooms living in a more alkaline soil condition. Am I surprised? I know someone would go hungry when I ran out of soil conditioner and I was not industrious enough to get more before this bloomed! But, still, I love these demanding lovelies! Now, after seeing such a plethora of them in Rehoboth that year, they remind me of a great summer vacation memory!




Walking to the back yard, it is 10 degrees cooler under the shade of the avocado trees. The cool sprawling jungle of Boston Ivy clings mightily to the arbor. (Terry jokes that it alone has held up the fence and hopes it does for many more years, as you can see looking closely the separation happening at the top of the fence!) In a few short months, this green glory becomes a showy red and gold and just transforms the yard!



Beneath, the new sod Terry painstakingly tended is growing lush and green and feels heavenly underfoot.











Moving towards the back deck, my new shopping finds are waiting patiently in their humble little pots for their new home so they can show off.








And you may have thought I was done with the new slate walking path and bench niche, but no! I had to plant baby green dichondra seeds between the stones! And it, too, is sprouting up green, cool, and lush!



Follow this path and you will find. . .




Terry's herb garden. Neglected for years of dog abuse, this corner is now back springing to life with flavor!

Chives!









Basil. . . espisote (sp?) a Spanish herb












French tarragon. . . rosemary












and what garden of Terry's could not have Peppers! The spice of life!


Cool!