Last Wednesday evening I got to go to the coffee shop with my Dad. Once sitting very comfily in a recliner with my very own cup of hot cocoa, I looked over at my Dad and said "Dada, now we have our coffee, we can talk about IMPORTNANT things." Dad asked what I would like to talk about, and I said "Well..." and I then proceeded to tell my Dad that Jesus is my friend and that he died for our sins, but that then he became alive again. Easter in a nut shell.
Hope you all had a blessed Easter celebration.
My Momma asked me to let her post some pictures of her garden. Obviously, not all the plants have come up out of the ground yet. But you get an idea, and I'll let her post some more pictures once some more plants have come up. My Momma asked me to thank my Great Grandma Nana (Dad's Grandma Carol) for all the many many plants she gave us! Thank you for your generosity, we will enjoy your beautiful plants for many years to come!
This is part of our front yard. My Momma just edged the lawn, so it looks nice and tidy. A lot of the plants haven't come up yet, but the daffodils and hyacinths my Momma planted bulbs for are blooming. The tulips should start to bloom in about a week.
We have blue hyacinths,
as well as white and pink ones.
The daffodills are a mix of white, white and yellow, yellow, and yellow with orange.
Here is the little evergreen clematis my Momma planted next to the entry. She plans to let it grow up over the entryway, and back down the downspout to the other side. That might take a few years.
One of my Momma's antique chairs got damaged beyond repair during the move. The seat is gone, and one of the legs is too cracked to hold a person... but it works just fine as a flower stand! You're welcome to copy her idea, if you like it.
These prim roses are actually going to be planted in one of the flower beds in the back. But for now this is a good spot.
Meet the pigduck named Patooty. He lives by our front door.
So. Here is the back yard. You have to use LOTS of your imagination, because most of the plants haven't come out of the ground, the grass hasn't grown yet, and the bushes and trees don't have any leaves yet. The lower level has bushes along the left, a large, mossy bigleaf maple and some pines and firs, and once they come up, lots of ferns. The lower level will have a moss path, which will probably take a few years to grow. The moss that my Momma put on the rocks (salvaged from the ground before terracing it) is taking well, by the way.
About half-way along the boulder wall my Momma asked the landscapers to build natural stone steps. You can't tell very well in this picture, but she stuffed moss and some small succulent rock-plants into the cracks. A hardy ornamental grass and a bunch of ferns (not yet grown out of the ground) are planted on either side of the steps. My Momma has "planted" most of the stepping stones above the stairs that lead up to the deck - she will finish the last 4 this week some time. The upper level (above the stairs) is going to be a grass lawn - my Momma seeded it this weekend, so we should be able to play on it in about 2 months.
My Momma stuffs pieces of moss we collect on our walks into the cracks of the rock wall, and most of it has taken. A few pieces died, but those that didn't look really nice!
The landscapers place the large boulders, but then my Momma filled the larger gaps (where soil would have eventually eroded down) with medium and small sized rocks. The small gaps between the rocks are just right for planting wild strawberries e.g.
The little star magnolia might not bloom this profusely every year, since it is planted in the shade. But boy is it pretty! This version "only" grows to be about 15-20 feet tall, so it won't interfere with the large shade trees we have.
This little prim rose is a "baby" from a plant Dad's Mom gave to Great Grandma Nana. It has an honored spot in the bed right next to the steps.
Our back-yard-neighbor gave us quite a few plants, too. This is one of them, although we don't know what it is called. Courtesy of our neighbor, we also have more than 400 bluebells planted all over the back yard. Once the little clumps have grown together it should be quite spectacular in May in future years...
This King Henry flowering currant is mostly known for its fragrant and beautiful flowers, the berries are good for jelly or for birds to eat. We also have a black currant and two red currants, but they don't look as pretty.Well folks, that's all for now. Once all the other plants (ferns, hostas, astilbes, solomons seal, and so much more) have come up, and our back lawn has sprouted some green, my Momma will take more pictures!
