Our Backyard Garden

Like making lemonade when life gives you lemons, turn a few hours of weeding into an opportunity for a blog post! Among the features that we really love about our house are the screened porch and its view of the backyard. They are an extension of the home in so many ways. Walking out on the screened porch, it seems like you are enveloped in greenery and privacy. You can see one of our two ponds in the lower left of this picture:
When you step off the deck steps and turn into the yard, you are in shade and feel like you are moving into a new, expanding space. Early in the summer we had lots of rain, but lately it's been dry. The lonely sticks of grass under the trees are now a memory.The metal bench is a favorite spot in the shade across from the sugar maple and next to the Japanese maple.

We have several small concrete and stone garden statues/figures throughout the yard. This little bunny sits on a faux bois tree stump next to two mushrooms. These things don't have to be proportional, do they??Further away, you can see the urn and column (the latter we bought last year from Jeannie Trammell) that we love.

We have spiderwort growing around the upper pond (our yard has a slant). We find that the blooms get heavy for the stalks and they gradually fall over from the weight. The colors are purple, magenta, and white. The little praying cherub, like the previously-mentioned urn, are from Surreybrooke Gardens in Middletown, Maryland. At their home page, click on the "gardens" link to see many beautiful pictures.
Our ponds have fascinated us every year. Usually, we have goldfish, shubunkins, comets, fantails, and other fish, but they have always been too attractive for great blue herons. The herons had never completely wiped them out until last fall. I miss our fish! Meanwhile, we are enjoying our developing amphibious life. On the leaf is the tiniest baby frog I've ever seen. Its length is about the diameter of a dime or nickel.In the water you can see other frogs in their tadpole/pollywog progression.

A couple of chairs are always welcome for sitting and just staying put--especially after weeding, hacking branches, and other gardening duties.Here's to rest and enjoying the results!