In The Beginning(my first garden)

We all have to start somewhere with our gardens.  We start small, we plant the wrong plants, we listen to people who don't have a clue and we get in over our head. This is a picture of one of my early gardens....plastic pink flamingos,  the planter made from an old tire and all those annuals....Loved it

A lot of what we have in our gardens depends on our budgets.  My patio umbrella came from a dumpster behind a restaurant. When you are a young Gardener with a limited budget you learn ways to acquire plants, oh the stories I could tell you....... all in beauty's sake.

Gardening is the only art that is constantly changing, moving.......growing. It is best to have a plan in the beginning, but if you're a true gardener you wont stick to it, why should you?

One of my earliest influences came from a neighbor, I later learned that a lot of her gardening practices were wrong, but she loved to garden,and she loved her yard......and that's all that really matters.

Another great influence was my mother,it's important to share your love with the ones you love. Boy what she put up with.

I think she enjoyed it, after all  look at what she taught me.

In the beginning you will make some mistakes. Explore other gardens, read, watch, experiment learn. Your sure to have some happy accidents along the way. Have fun, I sure do.

The sun came out........then it snowed again

Last week we had temps in the 50's the sun came out and it felt like spring was right around the corner. I took advantage of the weather and did some visual measurements for the new garden.

One things for sure, this neighbors garage is not part of my garden picture, this will have to be screened out!

Yes, I beleive in controlling the view as much as possible.  If they wont hide it, I will. Take a look around your yard and ask yourself "do I realy want to see that". Not only can you block something out, you can also add privacy to you yard. I dont want to look at you and I dont want you looking at me.

Sometimes the thing you have to screen is in your own yard.....such as this brick wall, or at least make it not look so bland and boring, this is a direct view out of my kitchen window, this is a view that could use some   improving don't you think?

 I've got lots of ideas for this yard screening and such, but they all have to wait. It is still Febuary, and it is still winter. I did enjoy the warm up, seeing the sun and the grass.

Then it snowed.....again



A Blank (white) Canvas

                                          Here in Michigan, white is the prodiminate color in my
                                          backyard.

                             This is my new canvas, a garden waiting to happen

                                                    The snowman stands gard, he'll know when
                                                     it's time to leave. Even he is wearing a winter coat!!

                                          
                                          A view from th upstairs bathroom window, how will I
                                           color this?


My backyard looks like a blank canvas, there is no garden here. White, in a blanket of snow and ice and cold.  My snowman stands gard, offering a boquet of plastic flowers, leftovers from a holiday display.
            

          Just like a painter,a poet,a sculptor or a designer it all begins with a blank canvas. Gardenrs use this time to plan......how exciting is this blank canvas!!!

"Garden Fun Even In The Winter"

These are some winter decorations that I made for our yard while we are waiting on spring.  These are very simple to make.  They are spherical wire frames wrapped in standard christmas lights in a variety of shapes and bulb sizes.  Don't you think that these are a very fun and stylish way to decorate the garden during the snowy winter months?  I think they're especially nice when they are reflecting off of the recent heavy snow.  When I look out of the windows, instead of a dark and gloomy winter garden, I am warmed by the glow of my sparkling winter orbs of light.