Monday, August 1, 2016

How Does My Garden Grow? Quite Contrary!

This has been quite the summer!  We had this new deck and pergola
 added this spring and here is what it looks like with all the plants since the last post.

It's been lots of hard work between mulching, adding pea gravel and plantings.  Believe it or not, I still have 18 bags of mulch to put out.  It seems to be never ending, but I'm like Mary, Mary quite contrary....



It would be a lot more fun if the heat and humidity hadn't been so bad.  See Rick's new "Green Egg" grill in the distance?  He's so proud of that and has made some great meals out there!


At first we were afraid we had added too much pea gravel around the deck, but it's growing on me.  I can always add lots of potted plants to fill in.


We took out a lot of large yew bushes that were around the old gazebo and I'm not sorry to see them go because they were always needing to be trimmed.  We are looking for low maintenance plants at our age.


See those bags of mulch on the right?  Want to come help?


I still have my pale green adirandacks and they make a nice conversation area below the pergola.  


A nice and much needed rain arrived this morning and I got a break from watering the potted plants.   I've been working from my laptop at our new table and chairs early in the morning before the heat hits.


Each year I wonder how much longer I'll be able to take care of all these flower beds, but they do bring me so much joy to look out over while enjoying my morning coffee.


The blue hydrangeas were amazing!  They are my favorite.  



Rick added some sweet lights too!  It's so peaceful out here under is manmade stars.

The first person to tell me what that bag of water with a penny in it is for hanging from the light fixture by the door wins my "Chimney Smoke and Cheery Snow Folk" 300 piece puzzle.  I forgot to take it down for the pictures so I've decided to use it as a giveaway game.