One of the hardest aspects of moving south when we did was that we had to leave behind so many flowers! In retrospect, I planned poorly, and of course weather did not cooperate, it being February in Ohio and all... So I can only hope that someone else will enjoy our day lilies, our daisies, our fledgling hibiscus, and our knockout rose, not to mention the Rose of Sharon bushes along the back fence. Sigh. But we remain committed to having beauty in our lives and yard, and so we start over.
First came the bougainvillea from our local hardware...we will try to winter it inside and enjoy it again next year!
It has thrived despite lots of rain, and it gets the attention of hummingbirds.
For nectaring critters, we added these blousey petunias early on, and they continue to prosper!
And what kind of southerner doesn't have an azalea? This one is now planted out front. We hope to plant one a year for the next few years to fill in a vacant bed. This one will tell us if we need to make changes to the bed. So far, so good...
We added this delightful basket of petunias, as well.
I have spotted a little male ruby-throat checking it out!
And of course we brought our babygirl geraniums!
The oh, so sexy Ms. Rita Red
And our darling Ms. Pinky Two-tone, the original pet geranium!
Actually, hummingbirds like our geraniums, too!
Our girls make us smile, and they are bustin' out all over these days!
All these lovelies are out front where they get plenty of sun.
As the resident flora came to life this spring, I saw that we had day-lilies in the ditch above our drive. The first to open was this gaudy thing!
And now these are opening!!! We are beyond thrilled with them.
They remind us that new beginnings are hard
But becoming who we are is a beautiful thing.
Out back, the signature feature on our lot is the presence of two beautiful white oaks, probably more than a quarter-century old.
Our lot also has an inordinate amount of rock beds. They are not unattractive when gassed with weed killer (I'm more into whacking and pulling), but really, how many rock beds does one need? So I am determined to convert this one out front into a wildflower garden...sometime...maybe.
As a start, I removed 3 dozen rocks from that little bed...and couldn't notice much of an impact...sigh. But those three dozen rocks served to built this bed, into which went 3 bags of soil and, though only 30 or so had been placed above, 3 dozen assorted impatiens!
Of course our dear Heather D. Sheep came with us to NC, and she has found the perfect summer spot for chillaxing! The soil is settling down nicely, and so are we. Now if I could only invent a true squirrel-proof feeder for my cardinals and titmice and such...
