A Garden Tour

 

 

  Around here we've been checking things off the spring to do list.

The flowers and vegetables are now planted.

The porch and patio furniture scrubbed.

Driveway, sidewalks and porches have been power washed.

The shrubs have been pruned and the weeding is currently up-to-date.

It was with a great sense of satisfaction that we sat outside yesterday afternoon and just enjoyed the fruits of our labor.

While things are looking nice in the garden I thought I'd take you for a little tour, if you'd like to join me.

We'll start by walking down the garden path which takes us to the patio.  We'll tread lightly so we don't disturb the little fairy.

She's still in dreamland.

I want you to be comfortable, so please have a seat here on the love seat.  I'll be happy to bring you a cup of coffee or tea and you can relax while I show you around.  No need to even get up for this tour.

If you look diagonally from your seat you will see the pond and waterfall.  The sound is so relaxing on this beautiful morning.  There are goldfish living here, but they are kind of shy this morning.  We have also discovered many tadpoles this year.  This is only the second year that we've had the pond so we are making new discoveries all the time.

The water lilies are blooming nicely.

Over the weekend my husband added two more lily plants.  They are below the water surface, but in time will be just as big as this one.  Last year we had a problem with algae.  Now we are trying many things to avoid that issue.  The lilies will help to shade the water which should keep the algae from getting out of hand.

 Looking slightly to the left of the pond you can see the butterfly bushes I have planted in pots.  When the pond went in we had to sacrifice a couple of large butterfly bushes.  I replaced them with these which are supposed to stay small.  They are loaded with blooms and we enjoy watching the butterflies flutter around them as we relax on the patio.  You may have also noticed the hummingbird feeder.  It was placed where we could also see the hummers when they came to visit.  Oh look, here comes one now.

 I don't have the greatest zoom, but I think you can see him looking at us.

 The other day I put fresh nectar out for them.

I went in the house to put the remainder in the fridge and when I  came back out I had a little visitor sipping away.  I'm going to try hard to remember to refresh their food on a regular basis.  Seems like I always plan to do that and as the summer goes on I let it slide.

 We enjoy gardening and birdwatching too.

If you look straight across from where you are sitting, this will be your view.  A steady stream of songbirds coming to enjoy the breakfast buffet.

Continuing on with the tour, if you look across the backyard, there is another garden path leading to the walking trail which runs behind our house.  

The day lilies are just coming into bloom.

We have divided these several times and they reward us with pops of color all around the garden.

 The hydrangeas on either side of the arbor are also coming into bloom.  I love hydrangeas and have planted several varieties. I won't get into sharing them on this tour as this post is getting long enough.  Not to mention I just did a post on them which can be found here.

 When it comes to gardening, I could go on and on as it is something I am passionate about.

Don't worry though, I am going to wrap it up now.

Although there is one more thing I'd love to show you before I go.

My Blueberries!!  I have been trying to successfully grow them for years with no luck.  My three plants are small, but for the first time they have berries and one is even blue!  I'm so excited by this that I could shout it from the rooftops, but with my luck the birds would hear me and head over there for a feast.  So, instead I am quietly sharing it with you.  I finally grew blueberries.  Yippee!!!

Thank you for taking the time to tour the garden with me.

I'm linking this post to:

 A Garden Party