We planted!

I hate to say it, but I think the green thumb in my family skipped me. My grandmother is a phenomenal gardener, my mom is a phenomenal gardener, but me . . . not so much. It's so sad! I really want to be a green thumb, but I'm not. I'm stuck following instructions and advice from others. I have no gardening instinct.

But, when we (my husband and I) bought our first house last year (I won't tell you that I almost spelled "house" like "h-o-w-s-e"—thank you, Winnie the Pooh), the landscaping was/is in dire need of help. We've been caught up in a kitchen remodel, so the landscaping has taken a back seat. But, with the kitchen almost completely done, we decided to put a little bit of time into the yard recently. So, we headed up to good ol' Home Depot (our home away from home), and another local garden center, and stocked up on potting soil, mulch, a sprinkler, some various plants (including a gorgeous hydrangea), and our first tree for the front yard—a Kentucky Black Gum. Our front yard is sadly lacking for trees. And while the projects are NEVER done, here's a little preview of some of the flowers we planted. I will post more when the grass gets cut, after the mower gets fixed, and my husband has a chance to take on the jungle in our yard. :) Let's just pray that everything stays alive, despite what I may throw at them.

A Garden in Fall

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house.

So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

Photo taken at Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, MI

The last bit of summer

I'm finding it difficult to believe that the summer is coming to an end. It blows my mind to think that we're already half-way through September. My daughter is getting closer and closer to her 2nd birthday. We just bought a house. We're in the midst of a kitchen remodel. Vacation is coming!! There's a lot going on!

I love the Fall, so I'm honestly not that sad to see summer go. Maybe that will change when we have a child in school, but for now, I really enjoy Fall. It's one of my favorite seasons . . . well, as long as it's not too hot. That makes me grumpy. But, I do love Fall. We've already been to the apple orchard once, and I'm sure we'll visit a few more times before Winter. Can you say, "cider doughnuts?!"

Happy flowers

I'm in a floral period, right now—can you tell? I haven't had a chance to get out on the trail lately, and it's killing me. It's so hot here, too, that it makes being outside just way too oppressive. And don't get me started on the bugs! I know—I'm a wuss.

I've also been terribly busy with work, taking care of a toddler, and getting ready for a move. That's why I haven't been posting a lot of pictures lately. I did happen to snap this one just recently on a walk through our apartment complex. There's this one secluded little courtyard, and someone has planted these in a large area in the front of their townhome. They just make me happy!

A walk

I was recently at the Arboretum, snapping some family photos for some friends of mine, on a beautiful Lexington evening. It was humid, but the lighting was great, and we had fun. But, I have to be honest . . . I had to REALLY reign myself in from snapping photos of every botanical object we passed. Everything was gorgeous! I didn't realize that so much was still blooming there—guess I figured that since our garden was ravaged that nothing was blooming anywhere else. :o) But, I did quickly snap a picture of this beautiful succulent (not sure of the name), because it just inspired me. Then, on with snapping more family pictures. So, now the thought of all those beautiful plants and scenes are plaguing me, haunting my dreams, and I have to get back there really soon.

It bloomed!

We've had this guacamole hosta for about a year and a half. It was part of my birthday present way back when. And, it looked like none of our hostas were going to bloom this year. We expected that they wouldn't last year, just because they were brand new. But, we had hoped they would this year, and had given up hope that they would, until . . .

I glanced out of our slider the other day, just looking outside, and voila! There it was . . . blooming! Since just about everything else in our garden got eaten, it was exciting to see these guys thriving, but even better to see one pop into bloom!

Impatiens

Impatien (impatiēns)

Did you know that these cute garden flowers got their name because the blooms would burst open when touched? 

Daisy, Daisy . . .

I love old-fashioned songs, and this picture put one in my head. Now, I can't get rid of it! Every time I look at this picture, I start singing the song.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do,

I'm half crazy all for the love of you.

It won't be a stylish marriage -

I can't afford a carriage,

But you'd look sweet upon the seat

Of a bicycle built for two.

Fern

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous."

—Aristotle

Teacup

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."—Henry James

More Purple Hydrangea

Happy Saturday, everyone!

I mentioned before that my neighbor was kind enough to allow me to photograph some of her garden, since ours is so lack-luster this year. These are some more of her gorgeous purple hydrangeas. I feel a bit like Anne Shirley when I'm enjoying flowers. I just want to say things like, "Drink them in, Diana!" and, "Can't you feel them blooming in your soul, Diana?"

Hosta

Holy cow! It's almost July! This year is flying by!

So, our hostas are about the ONLY thing thriving in our garden right now. This one is my favorite. It's called "guacamole." The color is really fun, and the leaves are nice and big. It had rained a bit before I took this picture. You can see some of it still on the leaves. I love the way the hosta's new leaves unfurl from the middle. It just doesn't seem like I can kill a hosta. Maybe that's why I like it so much!

Grass

This picture is so ironic to me! These grasses are planted en-mass in a teensy little garden outside our apartment. The ironic part is that the people who live above us throw all their nasty cigarette butts into this poor little garden, and have let their dogs . . . well, you know . . . in this garden and NOT picked it up. So sad! All that said, these hearty grasses are really pretty, so I thought I would help them look glorious through photography. I just got close up, and snapped the shot. So, if you see our neighbors, tell them to clean up their act! :o)

Purple Hydrangea

We have not had any luck with our garden this year. I just don't have a green thumb! All our petunias were eaten by chipmunks or rabbits, and our marigolds were probably eaten by the chipmunks. Those little stinkers!! Our hostas look great, and the begonias have been left alone. But, there's this huge gap between the begonias and hostas. Ugh!

But, our neighbor's garden looks gorgeous! I'm so jealous. She and her husband live across the courtyard from us, and have this beautifully lush garden. So, I had to just wander over there the other day and ask if I could snap some photos. She was so nice to let me! The photo above is a close-up of one of her beautiful purple hydrangeas. Gorgeous! I took this in the early evening, so the lighting was nice and soft.

Garden

"My beloved responded and said to me,

'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along.

'For behold, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone.

'The flowers have already appeared in the land;

The time has arrived for pruning the vines,

And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.

'The fig tree has ripened its figs,

And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.

Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,

And come along!'"

--Song of Solomon 2: 10-13

Easter Blooms

Happy Mother's Day! This is my second Mother's Day, and right now, I'm on the road with my little family, traveling home from my brother's wedding. I thought that flowers would be appropriate to post today. So, this one's for all you moms out there . . . enjoy!

Easter weekend in the Lexington area was absolutely beautiful—everything it should be. The weather was mild (not too hot, and not too cold), and the sun was shining brightly. We visited the Lexington Cemetery on Easter Sunday to take some family pictures, but I also took the opportunity to get some flowery shots in. The flowers were absolutely gorgeous!

Narcissus (daffodils)

Red tulips

Red Dahlia

Dahlias remind me of my grandma. For as long as I can remember, she's had these fabulous gardens, full of marigolds, dahlias, zinnias, roses, and a multitude of other gorgeous flowers. But, I always loved dahlias. This particular one was in my mother-in-law's garden. With a dahlia, you could try to count the petals, but you would soon become frustrated. They have so many—they are so detailed! And I love how they are curled up close to the center. Ah, the wonderful detail and minutia of Creation!

My Birthday Present

I'm 31 today. Nope . . . I'm not ashamed of my age. Why should I be? I hope when I'm 55, or 79, that I'll still tell people how old I am on my birthday. It's a symbol of how much I've lived through--how much I've experienced in life. I just love celebrating birthdays! It's just fun. It's like saying, "I've made it another year!" or "I survived this much longer!" or "I've lived through this many hardships and joys." So, while yes, I am only 9 years from 40, I say so what! I still get cake at 40, right? Then, we're all good!

I like to get experiences for my birthday, instead of just presents. Like one year, my husband took me to Chicago for an Ikea shopping extravaganza. Awesome! Or, like last year, we went up to Interlochen, MI, and spent the weekend at his parents' vacation place with some family. I just love DOING fun things on my birthday, rather than open silly presents. So, this year, I asked for a patio--not that we didn't already have the patio, we just needed to furnish it, decorate it, etc. We spent the day yesterday rounding up the things we needed, planting our garden, and putting up fun things like tikis!

Can I just say that it looks AWESOME??? I'm soooo super excited. After we were done yesterday, we spent a while just sitting out there and taking it all in. It was so freaking fun! We even have a garden gnome! Doesn't that sound like an old-people thing to do? Well, it was my husband's idea. :o) Hehe. I just can't wait to spend a LOT of time out there. Our garden looks great, and should fill in quite nicely. We planted hostas, marigolds, red ornamental cabbage, some red flowers that we can't remember the names of, some tall-ish grasses, and some tall purple and pink flowering plants (also can't remember the name of them). Honestly--it looks like HGTV stopped by and did a special on our patio. I'm not braggin' or nothin'. Anyway, it was a really awesome birthday present, and one that we'll be enjoying for quite a while.

And, this is my first birthday as a mom, which is surprisingly un-weird. It doesn't feel much different--just enhanced. I love being a mom, now. It's part of who I am, and the most natural thing in the world. Hey, I'm not saying it's without it's bumps and adjustments, but it's amazingly natural, too. Having my baby girl around for my birthday is such a sweet gift.

I have a good life, by God's grace, and I'm just a thankful woman today.