I Have a Garden

Posted on June 29, 2018 by

I have a garden…well, almost.

My Arranger and I have completed our move from our home and garden to a lovely retirement community here in the Charlotte area. It was challenging, to say the least, to leave a garden into which I had put twelve years of sweat and muscle and love. But time presents new challenges and new opportunities.

We were able to get an apartment with a screened porch, and we have now outfitted it with a few plants to help us feel at home when we enjoy our glass of wine on the porch before dinner. It’s not the garden of the past, but one for our future here.

 This heuchera survived four years on our previous porch, made the transition, and appears none the worse after two months of travel.

A few colorful plants add to the show:

This stone adds a touch of history and a touch of continuity to our “garden.” I first saw this piece of granite in my grandmother’s woods over seventy years ago. I salvaged it for my Chapel Hill garden, moved it into our last garden, and saved it to be a part of this next chapter of my gardening life.

I hope you will accept this post as my “End of Month View.”

Posted in End of the Month View, Gardening | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: All Time Favorites

Posted on June 5, 2018 by

WordPress is calling to a halt its very popular Weekly Photo Challenge, inviting us to share our favorite photo. I could easily choose a dozen, but I think that is out of the spirit of the word “favorite.”

I have chosen this photograph of a Camellia japonica ‘Magnoliaeflora’ blossom. It represents for me the ultimate in form, color, and beauty that we gardeners can find in one of our favorite flowers.

Camellia japonica ‘Magnoliaeflora’

It is a true disappointment that the Weekly Photo Challenge is ending. It has helped me see and understand people and their hopes and interests all over the world.  I wish all the contributors to this meme over the years a productive and peaceful life.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/all-time-favorites/

Posted in Gardening, Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged | 15 Comments

In a Vase on Monday: The Wandering Gardener

Posted on May 28, 2018 by

Since we sold our house at the end of April we have been wandering about until our new condo is ready for us to move in. We are currently house sitting for our daughter in South Carolina…a very wet South Carolina. I thought it might be nice to surprise her when she returns with a new pot of annuals to brighten her back yard.

It also gives me the opportunity to join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, for In a Vase on Monday, a meme for which I have been absent for too long. Please visit Cathy and see her vase…and so many other lovely ones…this week.

Posted in Gardening, In a Vase on Monday | Tagged , | 16 Comments

Change!

Posted on May 2, 2018 by

Change!

Change is inevitable.

And change has come to me and my Arranger…big time.

Two days ago we closed on the sale of our home and garden. We will be moving in June to Windsor Run in Matthews, NC, a new retirement community. Age…and the inevitable wear and tear on the back…has caught up with me, and it has been clear that it is time to give the shovel over to younger hands. I am delighted to be able still to run around and dance in my octogenarian years, but lifting that big pot of annuals has become a big no-no.

When I walked through my garden…my garden…for the last time over the weekend, I was struck with how beautiful it has become. This photo catches a sweet memory that I will carry with me: an Itoh peony ‘Keiko,’ backed by a bed of luscious ‘Caesar’s Brother Siberian iris, backed by viburnum ‘Summer Snowflake.

This is by no means an end to A Walk in the Garden. I intend to continue writing about my own garden memories, the good lessons and the bad, about other people’s gardens that I visit, and things I see about town. I won’t be able to include flowers from my own garden for In a Vase on Monday, the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, but there are wild flowers out there by the road that may make their way into a vase from time to time.

I’m also working on a new book, and I can guarantee that you just might be hearing about that as well.

My Arranger and I are grateful for you readers out there in the blogosphere from all over the world who have encouraged us with your kind comments about our offerings over the past four plus years. You are so much appreciated.

Posted in Gardening, In a Vase on Monday, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged , , , , | 38 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: PROLIFIC

Posted on April 20, 2018 by

The theme of this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is PROLIFIC.

There is an oak tree on the edge of the community ball park near us. The ground beneath its branches was covered with acorns, wall-to-wall (or should I say shell-to-shell?) acorns. It just goes to show you how prolific one old oak tree can be. Our squirrel community was overjoyed with such abundance.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/prolific/

Posted in Nature, Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: AWAKENING

Posted on April 11, 2018 by

The theme of this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is AWAKENING.

The contrasting red of the new maple buds against the background of its just opened leaves tells me that the maple (Acer ‘Summer Glow) is awakening to the first warm days of spring.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/awakening/

Posted in Gardening, Nature, Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge | 10 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: SMILE

Posted on April 5, 2018 by

The theme of this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is SMILE.

Can you find a more heavenly smile than the one on my pet frog’s sweet face?

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/smile/

Posted in Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged | 9 Comments