Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Zen and the Art of Garden Maintenance

Repeat after me: I enjoy my gardens in all their glory, faded or otherwise. Though I cannot help add that I love them most when they are tidied. What I really love is being outside and nurturing each of our garden denizens as best as I can. 

Several irises have gone by, including my dearest "Among Friends," and we all know what that means in terms of maintenance...but how I love their lush leaves. 

Haircuts are in order for several specimen trees too. Specifically the center tree in the grouping by our front door, which is a Weeping Larch, nick-named "Cousin It" from his likeness to the character on the Addams' Family show. Believe it or not, "It's" S-shaped trunk is a knockout when it isn't hidden beneath all those branches. More maintenance.

Welcome to our home!


View looking out our front door


Here's another fellow in need of a trim: our Weeping Cyprus. His nick-name is "Curly," not just because of his curly trunk either. No: beware or he'll poke your eyes out, just like his namesake of Three Stooges fame. 

Weeping Cyprus threatens intruders


Well, that's enough about maintenance. Time to put my money where my mouth is!

What do you love most about the outdoors?

18 comments:

The Charm of Home said...

Your gardens look lovely!

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Thanks!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Vickie, I'm so glad you came by for a visit... Please keep coming. I blog on Mon/Wed/Fri most of the time --but getting ready to take a week off to celebrate our anniversary.

I love your home/garden. Hubby and I are retired and we grow flowers. Right now the Lilies and Daylilies are blooming... Our biggest interest is our Hybrid Tea and Grandiflora Roses. We have about 60 different varieties in our yard now....

And--as you know since you saw my blog post today, I love my Backyard Birds. I'm also into Genealogy. Life is GREAT in retirement.

I noticed that you may be new to Blogging. If you ever have questions, just ask. My email: betsyadams@mac.com. I've been blogging since 2006... I also am on Facebook,

Looking forward to getting to know you better. I did sign up to follow you...

Hugs,
Betsy

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Please take the word verification out... If you need help doing it, just ask!!! Thanks.... That thing is SO hard to read and I just don't enjoy going to blogs who insist on having it.... Thanks again....

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Hi Betsy, I'm emailing you right now! I thought I'd fixed that option this morning because another blogger was kind enough to tell me about it. I looked it up on the HELP menu, but will go in again. I have had a lot of issues using blogspot. I hope I can remedy this quickly - thanks again. -Vickie (PS: you will notice my email is from "fiberfurnishings@gmail.com" just in case it goes into your spam folder)

Bookie said...

Again, this yard/garden is beautiful. The scene and view are so peaceful!

Elephant's Child said...

What do I love most? All of it. The scents, the textures, the colours, the sounds of the wind (whistling or whispering), the play of light, the just washed by rain look.
And goodness your garden is tidy. Something mine is not.
Love it.

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Hi EC, Well, it's a lot better than it was....but I confess to selective photography, LOL! There are a lot of weeds in some of the gardens. But no matter, I do enjoy being out there with all of Nature's offerings, maybe minus the visits from bears!

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Having several technical issues today. Wanted to circle back and let you know my reply is independent (see below) - my own fault because I selected the wrong area; have also had a few other technical issues with the blog today but nothing a little break didn't cure!

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Hi Bookie, Thanks very much for saying so. We find a great deal of comfort in our small slice of heaven on earth! We started with a yard devoid of any plants, which seems impossible when you see what's there now. We consulted many books to see what appealed to our senses most. And we've moved plants around like my mother used to move furniture! After figuring out what does best we shaped each side of the house....only to have Mother Nature laugh in our faces at our hubris! "H!" She seemed to sneer: "you think just because you like conifers you can grow them in New England? Not this winter!"

Oh well, from what I'm gleaning off various blogs, a lot of folks suffered shrub and tree loss this past winter. So it is with gardening, what doesn't work teaches us humility, and gives us reason to redesign. If it weren't for my visitors, I think I wouldn't realize how much we value our home-made haven. -Vickie

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Oops, Mother Nature actually sneered: "Ha!"

Paulette said...

Smiling about "Cousin It" and "Curly." Very creative!

Susan said...

Oh, Vickie, the plantings and yard look gorgeous...so neat, proper and perfect! Great job!

I love laying on the lounge in the backyard with the sun beating down on me. I love the sound of the nearby trickling water in the fountain and the choruses of birds. All so lovely and reminiscent of spring and summer and even autumn in New England. Susan

Pat Wahler said...

Your yard is beautiful. I know how much work it takes to keep everything looking so nice.

Pat
Critter Alley

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Glad I made you smile. Funny how I tend to anthropomorphize - makes me laugh too. Thanks for visiting.

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Hi Susan, So happy you stopped by. You're making my head swell! I'm with you on the sound of trickling water and bird song. I think I'm happiest this time of the year!

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Thank you, Pat. It's a pleasure to share it with such an appreciative audience, too. Good thing we're retired so we can keep at it! So pleased you visited.

Musings, Tea, and Me said...

Got your emails - thanks so much for your help today....and your visit. I double checked and it seems that my word verification is off and is staying off. Whew! What a curious hassle.