Sunday, June 15, 2008

What's the Story, Morning Glory?

I tend to slow down on making scrap layouts and projects in the summer. Instead I turn my attention to gardening. Until I get a layout done, here is a portion of one of my gardens. Creativity...garden style:


The photo above is a gravel path I made by myself...no one was dumb enough to volunteer time helping me gather up my free finds. I have smart friends! LOL! The stepping stones are slabs of granite that used to be a wall in an old Snyder's Drug Store. I work in the management office of the shopping center, so I laid claim to half. Ahhh...the perks of working for the landlord. The gravel was obtained when the center's parking lots were being resurfaced. I brought home three pick up truck loads full. Shoveled them in the truck and out with my own two hands. I know...be impressed with my prowess. Gag. The rocks lining the path were free, too, but I had help gathering them. Once people know you like rock they appear out of nowhere to give you all they have. They will even deliver them to your house, if you smile and buy them a case of pop (or drink of choice). Lastly, all the flowers were found via friends, neighbors or freebies sent with online orders. Oh and yes...that would be a stack of tires on the left hand side. Those were donated by my brother when he took off and ran to live in Seattle. He can come back and claim those any time he wants. However, for now I am pretending they are stacked art or a garden seat. I also have a tire hanging on the fence behind where the photo was taken. I filled the bottom with dirt and it now is a container garden. Last year it held coleus. This year nothing. As soon as I plant it, I will post a photo, but for now it is u.g.l.y.

In case you are wondering what drives me to garden, here it is. First, I come from a family of gardeners. My grandma could have been regarded as a master gardener, my great uncle, Russell Johnson, was a professor of biology at Bethel College and my uncle worked for Northrup King seeds for many years until his retirement. Somehow having a link to all these green thumbed people allowed gardening to seep into my blood. However, this drives me more than all that put together. Behold, my neighbor's front yard:


You should see her back yard. I have garden envy. She has a son with bobcat skills. I have bobcat skill envy, too. LOL! Seriously, give me a bobcat and a bit of training and the ideas that are stuck in limbo inside my head would finally be a reality. That would get expensive and scary! Anyway...a few of my neighbors have massively large green thumbs. All this competition gets my blood a-boiling. Game on neighbors...game on.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your garden looks beautiful. I miss gardening. I really enjoyed it when we lived in South Carolina and Georgia. Here, in Miami, it is waaaay tooo HOT and the mosquitoes are awful.

Sweet Peripety said...

Beautiful garden!!

Kristii said...

Totally beautiful girl!!

The Mom said...

Your garden looks so nice and green and lush!! Wish we would get some rain and then maybe I could grow something beautiful too!!

Jenn said...

I love the great path you created with all stuff you "found"! It looks great and I think your neighbors should be jealous of your green thumb too!

Davinie Fiero said...

I am so jealous of all the green in your thumbs. And yOU GO with getting free stuff. It looks awesome. Let me know when you are ready for directions to my house. lol I need HELP.

Lauren said...

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!!!!!

Inspiring... too bad that we are buying a house with almost no yard! But honestly, we aren't yard people (I will use the little patch to do a veggie garden)... but seeing a yard likes yours really makes me WANT to be a gardener extradinarie!

liz mataraza said...

there you are! and your background is white!

love the path. beautiful. i was just thinking about trying to grow my own tomatoes, as we can't buy them at the store anymore. care to help, ms. green thumb?

(you should make your background green instead of black or white.)

Dawn said...

Looking GREAT girl! Love what you have done with the place. It is good to have another hobby. You could always scrap about your gardening...
Seriously, it looks great! Can you come to Massachusetts and help with my yard? It could be fun...
I will supply any beverage of choice...

Larajc said...

Lovely garden, Denise. I only wish I had your prowess. I absolutely love your side yard and I have been thinking about redoing mine but then again, there is next year. LOL

Kimber-Leigh said...

it's just lovely denise! we can't wait to get ours planted...in good time!

mom2ee said...

wow...something else for me to envy along with your photography skills...the garden and your knack for "finds"..this is beautiful
judi