One of my Favorite Gardens

Grace's backyard is one of my favorite places. Her yard is so beautiful. She has been working in her garden for over 30 years and the result is a Garden of Eden. To be honest, who wouldn't love living in this garden. It is amazing!!! Grace will tell you she is sick, if the sun is shining she feels the need to be out in it. I must admit, I kind of understand the feeling. I haven't been too much of a gardener this year, but I am already getting excited to plan my garden for next year.

Her pool is a clear favorite with many friends and neighbors. Doesn't this look so great! We had a great time swimming and relaxing in the sun. It is always nice to catch the last few summer rays.

I love all of the flower beds that border the yard. This particular border is next to the pool.

This shade border is located over by the trampoline and playhouse. I love the hosta's and the snapdragons.


This is the back gate that leads to the pool. This fountain is a great little addition to this corner of the yard. I sat by it for a very long time enjoying the sound of the water and watching the boys play in the pool.

Grace just barely took down the fence to allow access into this part of her garden. It used to be a very large vegetable garden. In the last year or so, she has planted and developed this section of her garden.

This is the view from the farthest corner of the garden. I love the flagstone paths and all of the colorful flowers. It was fun to walk through this part of the garden with Grace. I could ask her what all of the flowers are and she could tell me what they are and what types of growing characteristics are. It was so fun to talk to someone who has a love for gardening also.
This is a better picture of the fountain that sits in the corner of this part of Grace's garden. Isn't it so cool.

To get to her newest garden addition, you have to walk through her fire pit area. I would love to have a little fire pit in our yard. That sounds like my favorite way to camp. (Enjoy the fire, and sleep in my nice comfy bed.)

This is a view of (part) of the grassy open area and the kids zone. I think it is a dream zone for kids.

I just love the logs that you climb to get into the playhouse. What a fun idea! Just on the other side of this is the trampoline. The kids like to jump off of the playhouse deck on to the trampoline. I think my little boy spent a good majority of his time in this area. I would love to have a special garden and wonderland like this.

Maybe I will. . .



In another 30 years.






I'd better get started.

The Loss of Shade

A few weeks ago we lost a limb on our weeping willow tree during a wind storm. A good portion of one of the main limbs cracked and fell on to the fence that borders our yard. The break took over half of the main limb of the tree. We considered trying to save the tree until we realized that once the damaged limb was removed the remaining portion of the tree would lean unsafely towards the house. With nothing left to balance it out, there was a good chance of it falling and damaging the house. So, we decided it was most wise to take it out.
While the man from the tree service was here, we had him take a look at the rest of out trees. A few of the larger trees in the back yard had damaged limbs that we needed removed also. After taking a good look at all of the trees it was made known to us that many of them were planted incorrectly. The tree guy was very informative and explained what the concerns were and why these mistakes were of great concern. See how the tree in this picture has 3 trunks. We found out that you shouldn't large trees with multiple trunks. Because this tree has 3 trunks instead of a single trunk with branches that grow off of it, it posed a great threat to rotting out and falling on our house. Once the tree was examined we found it in our best interest to remove the tree before it got larger and more costly to remove. The man from the tree service estimated that within 2-5 years that particular tree would rot out and fall. While we were at it, we decided to have one more tree removed that was planted in a similar fashion. The third tree we had removed was also planted too close to another tree and our patio on top of having multiple trunks. The unfortunate part is that a simple trimming when the trees were first planted would have spared them.
Here is what the west side of the backyard looks like now. In this area the weeping willow, and the smaller maple tree was removed. It really opens up the space. On a positive note, now that the willow tree is gone it opens up many possibilities for our backyard. We are considering a nice vegetable garden with raised beds, a trellis with grape vines, fruit trees and possibly a fire pit. (Sorry I got these last pictures posted in reverse order. I realize it is anti-climactic to have the "after" pictures posted before the "before" pictures.)
This is the east side of the back yard. It is also a little bare without the huge cottonwood tree. I think that we have decided to fill the space with a nice swing set. Believe it or not, this space is actually about 15 feet deep and 20 feet wide. It will be a great space for a kids play area, and we won't even have to weed whip or mow around it.
I found it fascinating to watch the guys from the tree service work. It was apparent that they knew exactly what they were doing. I enjoyed watching them analyze where they should make there cuts so that the tree fell exactly where planned. Not to mention they cleaned all of the tree mess up beautifully when they were done. If you live in the area and are in need of a good tree guy, give me a call. These guys were great to work with.
It was amazing to watch this guy climb the tree with one hand (aided by the spikes on his shoes,) and with the other he wielded a chain saw. At was so cool to watch him climb and cut off smaller limbs simultaneously. My little boy decided that it was so cool that he wants to be a tree guy when he grows up too. As a side note, Look how high he is up there. He must be standing 12 or more feet in the air. (My fence is six feet tall.)
Now for the before pictures. Here is the view of the east side of the yard, complete with what is left of the willow and the maple tree. At first I thought it would be sad to loose three trees, but in all honesty now that they are down it is a refreshing change. We still have plenty of shade and now we have more options and more usable space in the backyard. It will be fun to plan and create a new haven in the backyard.