Come walk with me.  I'm feeling much better now.  See, keeping busy really does keep your mind off your problems.  Whoever made up that song/saying about the lazy days of summer is full of it.  I'm looking at weeks worth of graduations, weddings, yardwork, community festivals, weekend getaways, you name it.  We are going to try to pack it all into the next few months along with a camping trip or two. 

What happened to the month of May?  I sure had a dismal record of blogging.  Four whole posts.  Pathetic.  Well, I was busy.  Purposely.  I wasn't just moping around wallowing in self pity.  I was getting things done.  Thanks to global warming we were able to get all the gardens and planters planted.  Here, lets walk through the garden.

Let's start at the top.  I've never had a house on a hillside.  I really like it.  You really have to get creative when you are gardening.  This is looking down the stairs along the side of the house, also along the neighbors rusty fence.  At the bottom is our tree sized Rhododendron.  Most of the blooms have faded and fallen but I'll throw in a picture of what it looked like a few weeks ago when we get to the bottom of the steps.

Honey used to put a variety of annuals in all these little beds along the stairs.  I tried to do that the first year I was here and it was mega expensive, so I introduced some perennials and filled in what was left with annuals.  This is last years perennial addition, Autumn Glow  Sedum, surrounded by Marigolds.

This year's perennial is a couple of Lupine, and a Foxglove (not shown).  Last year I did a mix of red and white annuals.  This year the garden center had these Impatiens in a salmon pink that almost looked neon.  Because Honey likes variety we also got some white with a little splash of the salmon color in the center, and the pinky purple.  

This is the Rhododendron in full bloom a couple weeks back.  We are looking down on it from the back porch.

We might as well see what's up on the back porch since we are here.  These are the pots on the edge of the stairs going up to the porch.  Honey was adamantly opposed  to putting anything on the four foot wide steps because it would be a tripping hazard.  My argument was that if anyone of us was stupid or drunk enough to not be able to safely climb the steps in the three feet of stairway that the pots weren't occupying, we deserved the injuries we would get from falling the 4 to 8 feet onto the concrete patio below.  Neither of us would budge so while he was at work I filled the pots and put them on the steps figuring if he really wanted to move them someplace else, he could.  They live there every summer now.

These are the hanging planters on the porch.  This year I'm trying some Million Bells which look like miniature Petunias without the plucking.  The Vinca Vines almost grow to the patio floor below by the end of the summer.  We are talking about 12 feet.

These are the pots at the end of the porch.  I made the plant stand out of an old aquarium stand my mom picked up at a garage sale.  Some white Rustoleum paint to match the railings, and some really pretty rose marble tiles.  I originally made this to put under our pot and pan rack in the kitchen to hold cookbooks and wine bottles.  I loved it, Honey hated it.  So now it lives on the porch holding the Tuberous Begonias, and New Guinea Impatiens. 

If we walk back down to the patio we can find some interesting Varigated Impatiens and my Big Lots end of season discovery, the ceramic bird watering vessel.

In the center of the patio, by the door into the basement, are a couple of plant stands I picked up at work that were marked for clearance.  I think I got them for $5.00 each.  One of the perks of being in charge of price changes and mark downs.  You get to see what's on sale first.  We aren't allowed to shop or put things aside but if no one has found them by the time you are off the clock, you can get some good deals.

Last year, at the end of the patio, we planted a Climatis.  The old climbing rose wouldn't bloom anymore, so we removed it and put this here instead.  I thought it was a run of the mill purple variety but we were pleasantly surprised when we got these pretty pink star flowers.

This is the raised bed off the patio.  Honey likes to put his peppers and cucumbers here.  Last year we had most of the herbs here, but we decided to move them to . . . .Oh let's just walk over there.

On the back side of the Rhododendron is this little bed.  We moved all the herbs here.  Honey trimmed some of the low branches of the Rhododendron out of the way and topped the pear tree so this bed would get more sun.  I've already pinched some of the oregano, basil, and parsley to make some really yummy  dinners.

If we go down the walkway toward the garage (this would be the same walkway that doubles as the expert ski run during winter), you can see the pear tree Honey pruned on Earth Day.  Why he left those branches jutting off to the right is beyond me, but whatever the reason they give me a chuckle as I go off to work in the morning.  Honey hates the tree, The Teen loves the tree, I think it's a comical tree.  No one eats the pears except for the neighbor who's yard they DON'T fall in.

This is the large raised bed at the back of the yard, next to the garage.  This garden has our garlic, shallots, tomatoes, Brussel sprouts, and green peppers.  Honey used some of the straight branches from the pear tree as stakes.  I asked him what he would do if they took root and turned into 6 more pear trees.  The garage would be that strip of blinding white in the background.  

 In the step garden next to the garage, I've planted Lantana.  It is pretty drought tolerant and has these really cool flower clusters.

This is the completed freshly painted garage. When the moon is out and I'm leaving for work at four in the morning, the garage being an Ultra Pure White now means we don't have to invest in yard lighting. It is also done due to global warming.  I don't know about where you are but we haven't had rain here for a week and a half now.  The lawn is looking more like the middle of August than it is the beginning of June.  Of course you can't tell that from the weeds growing in the cracks of the cement.   But then they are weeds which we don't want so we are destined to have a kill proof crop of them until we re-pour the garage apron.

OH YEA.  I almost forgot.  Look Ma, I got my hair cut. 

tags: summer  garden  flowers  vegetables  painting  yard work  hair cut  

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