Evil Asian Jasmine and January Spring Fever

As we settle in to our dream home, I find my ADD at it's finest when I go outside these days. So many projects and not enough time in the day. Of course, now that I have some free time again, it is so very nice to be able to go out and putter around the yard when things are quiet. Of course the down side to that is I tend to stay in hermit mode because I have so many things I want to do at home. It feels as though it been a decade since I've really had time to dedicate to my love of gardening ( well, I guess it's been half a decade) and it feels so incredibly wonderful to be back.
Of course my body has let me know that indeed five years have passed and while I am still young, I can't quite pull off what I used to without paying a price. Oh well, nothing some aleve and a heating pad won't fix.
The latest quest has been to remove 20 years worth of asian jasmine ( or as we call it in this house, EVIL asian jasmine) out of a raised bed that has so much potential. I have also added a neighboring bed and have been relocating some of the plants that needed a more well suited home. My goodness, nothing has been thinned out in, well, probably never.
I am so happy that we are having some nice days in January so I can get these projects done so when the spring arrives, I can get to the juicy stuff and start planting my vision!
Here's how the progress is going!

Before:


After:

One more reason I love my neighborhood

A Day in the Snow

Notice

A Poolside View

Well, the memorial garden is going to take a little longer than I had hoped for. I have been in denial about the great presence of rock on that side of the yard and as it turns out, about four inches below the wonderful sandy loam, is nothing but a solid sheet of rock! Alas, it just means I will need to build the bed up, but that might take some time, as it measures close to 35 feet long and 5 feet wide. That is some serious dirt hauling, but it will get done. The good news is, that should be the only bed I need to raise. In light of that discovery, I decided I would start the first phase of another bed I have been designing in my head since we sat on the porch the first night. I am pleased to report that sandy loam really is da bomb, as it's pretty easy to clear the grass out for new plants. Oh, I still got a few blisters and my back is not very happy with me, but it's so worth the final results. As a cherry on the top of the sunday, what better way to put my garden in that with a beautiful overcast day, the dogs puttering about and helping me garden while my sweet husband sits out on the porch watching Sunday afternoon football and keeping me company. God is so VERY good.

Here's the bed ready to go after some shoveling.


My little helpers









The first phase almost complete. Now to get the mulch in. More to come in the spring!

Let the Gardening Begin!!

Ahhh fall! While the first official day of fall came last week, yesterday was the first day to really feel the coming of fall. I made an executive decision this morning to play hooky from my list of "have to's" to take advantage of this glorious weather. This is the fruits of my labor. It may not look like much now, but my vision of this space is a cottage/ wildflower garden that is being created with the love and memory of my mom in my heart. I can't wait to see how this great space develops!!

Here is before...
and after....

Home at last!

So...we didn't get the house with the double ovens or the fields behind us, but the great thing is, just as I said, God had our backs. He had something so much more wonderful in store for us and while the journey getting here had some bumps along the way, it made walking in the door of HOME so much more sweeter than I ever imagined.
When Scott and I married, we had a videographer that went around and let our friends and family share their thoughts and dreams for us as well as words of wisdom. One of the things I have cherished and hung onto over the years is my mother's wish for us to find our own "castle on the hill".





So different than Windreamer and yet, I have found my castle on the hill, complete with my trees AND sunset AND sunrise view AND a pool AND acreage and the list goes on. I can't ever remember feeling so completely at home in any place I have ever lived, save Windreamer, but then again, I never lived there, only stayed for short periods of time.
The peace and contentment I feel here is a small taste of the bliss that heaven has in store, I am sure.
I sit in the backyard in the early hours of the morning, my favorite cup of tea next to me, reading my bible and staring off into the yard, dreaming of the gardens I will create. I find myself distracted by the hummingbirds seeking out sweet nectar in the trumpet vines and count 4 cardinals on the fence line. I find myself amused that our yard is so big, I have lost track of where the dogs are on numerous occasions and I contently spend many evenings in the pool watching the sunset and the stars come out above. The quiet sounds of the crickets and cicadas are all I really hear and I am so very content. I am HOME!