July in the Garden

It seems like the dog days of summer came early this year, with heat and humidity in June that we usually do not see until early August.  It has made sitting outside a rare occasion when usually we spend some evenings sitting in the rockers or eating on the veranda table.  The additional limitation of …

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Creating Yard Art

Gardens full of flowers are a joy to behold.  Sometimes it is nice to have some art pieces in with the flowers to add some interest when they finish blooming, or before the blooms appear.  Something to add a bit of charm to the flower bed like this miniature rusty bicycle. So, with that in …

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June in the Garden

It has just been so frazzling hot here, with humidity at 68% early in the morning, it is hard to get out and get some weeding done.  I started early one morning, and had to come in after only an hour, in desperate need of a shower.   Even though the temperature was only 70°F, combined …

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Kensington Gardens

Next to the palace, Kensington Gardens encompasses a large parcel of land.  There is a small formal garden next to the palace, but the bulk of the 270 acres of land is given to a large grassy meadow lined with trees on either side of a wide concrete walkway.  This is devoted to public use, …

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Late May in the Garden

The irises are done blooming now, they finished up while we were out of town.  But, can you stand just a couple more pics of them?  They were just so spectacular! I love these white ones. And I was so impressed with these purple edged ones with the white centers. On the mountainside behind the …

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Irises and Azaleas in the Garden

The azaleas and irises are in full bloom now, actually starting about a week ago.  This is such a great time of year in the mountains, not too warm, not too cool, sweaters in the evening and sunny days.  The sweet fragrance in the air makes you want to pause and breathe, taking a moment …

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April in the Garden

Finally, we have some warmer days!  It seems like winter just keeps hanging on, but Friday was warm and sunny, and Saturday was perfect for a drive.  It is supposed to rain all day today, so I am glad I got some pictures of the garden.  Flowers are starting to show their colors a bit …

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March in the Garden

March in the garden has been up and down, warm days and the promise of spring then a cold snap with a hard freeze and a day of snow.  Back to warm, then another three days of overnight temps in the 20s.  I had to keep an eye on the forecast, twice having to cover …

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Bonsai Society Show and Garden update

Last fall, the NC Arboretum hosted a gathering of fifteen Bonsai Societies in a marvelous exhibition of this ancient art.  Entries for judging came primarily from associations in North Carolina, along with Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina. The bonsai trees ranged from the amazingly tiny to huge. I took almost 100 photographs of these interesting …

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Karesansui teien

I have been planning for some time to do a series of posts inspired by Japanese influence.  I hope you'll enjoy these posts, with interesting facts, fun projects, and even a couple of giveaways later this month.  These posts will be sprinkled around  other post subjects over the next month or so, with gardens, sewing …

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