It's the start of July and, boy is it hot! This seemed to happen rather suddenly (although I was in cool Paris last weekend so my perceptions might be warped). I feel like there is still a lot of gardening to do -- and not just weeding -- so I hope there are some more moderate days now and again before autumn. But meanwhile, this weekend, it's too hot to go outside for more than 15 minutes at a time. So, my first views are views from the windows! Visit Town Mouse and Country Mouse for some other garden "first views".
This is the backyard, what I call the butterfly garden. I said last month that it was just about to explode in Black Eyed Susans and so it has.
We moved the bench outside the bed just this year. I originally designed the garden with the bench and a path inside it, but once the plants grew I realized the garden wasn't as big as I thought it was! Since we moved the bench, we've gotten a lot more enjoyment sitting on it, watching the garden and the butterflies or just reading in the evening after work. I also spend a ridiculous amount of time staring out the bathroom window at the garden in the morning before I've fully woken up. The garden is north of the house, so all the flowers obligingly face the house.
And here is the front garden. This view is from our guest room. I actually had this in mind while I designed this garden (although the guest room view was only one of many priorities) but ironically our house guests usually come in the wintertime when there is much less to see. This view gives an unusual but more complete view of our little patio garden, which was conceived and built over the last few years (with the patio itself being the latest step and just finished last summer). The fence gives us just enough of a feeling of privacy for me to feel comfortable hanging around out front. This is the sunniest part of the yard so I really appreciate this garden a lot.
I hope this comment comes through. Since the storm, our internet has been a bit wacky. Your garden looks wonderful - colorful and happy. My black eyed susan's are just beginning to bloom. I've only been to Paris in the winter and really want to visit in the spring. I enjoyed picking the color of my zinnias this year instead of getting a mixed packet. I also started them inside, which seems silly, but it's allowed me to extended their bloom time. Plus, it was fun. :o)
ReplyDeleteI really love your curving walkway in your front garden. It gives the garden a soft voluptuousness.
I didn't enjoy Paris all that much, but probably because I was stressed out about the work stuff I was there for. Also, there was not much in the way of greenspace. The only "gardens" I saw were vast borders of bedding annuals in one color ... to me that's kind of like a sandwich with nothing but mayo on it. Thanks for the compliment about the path/patio. I committed us to having a curved one long before we paved it -- it was a dickens trying to figure out how to do it with (mostly) square pavers. I'm usually pretty fond of a good puzzle, but faced with a huge pile of square pavers on a 90 degree June weekend, I found I was not that good at it after all. My husband was the one who came up with the ingenious pattern of "darts" that allowed this to happen. Maybe I'll show a close-up in a future post.
DeleteOh, isn't it wonderful when the happy little faces of the flowers look at you in the morning? I have a bathroom with a garden view as well, and it's hard to leave...
ReplyDeleteThanks for playing!
I wish my house had better sight lines into the garden from other rooms, because I think it's kind of funny that the bathroom is the best view. I'm glad and amused to hear that you enjoy a garden-view bathroom also!
DeleteLovely views - your bench and your patio are both very inviting. I have thought about doing first views from our upstairs too - we have a wrap around deck and I love strolling round and round the house (it's like a lighthouse!) and looking leisurely around me. I can just picture coming to life slowly staring out a bathroom window - what a great detail from your everyday life!
ReplyDeleteLike a lighthouse! That's awesome. I hope I do get to see some first views from your wraparound deck before too long!
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