Posts Tagged ‘Yard’

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Our Lilies (5)

October 10, 2009

LiliesCollage0905

(This picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.)

We made another trip to Hendersonville yesterday to check up on my parents.  I’m happy to report that they had no plumbing problems this time and that they were both in good spirits and good health.  We had some interesting moments explaining the workings of Medicare Schedule D, but we even survived that.

Since I was away from my desktop most of the day, I’m simply sharing the last collage of this year’s lilies in our yard.  As I’ve mentioned before, lilies probably our second favorite garden flower after the roses.

Next year we should have even more lilies.  As both Betsy and I have mentioned we have a new sunny flower bed in the front of our house, and Friday night I got a shipping notice that some new lily bulbs will arrive next week.  So I guess I’ll have some things to keep me busy in the yard.

If you would like to see all the different lilies we had in our yard this year click HERE.

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Posted in Garden | 10 Comments »

My World # 49: The Look of Autumn

September 15, 2009
Our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. September 13, 2009.

Our front yard, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. September 13, 2009.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

There’s a hint of autumn in the air here on the Plateau.  The leaves on our dogwood tree are getting reader and some of the trees are starting to drop leaves, as you can see in the picture above.

The temperatures are now cooler, which is something the roses like.  They are now starting to put on their fall show.  Not only are the blossoms pretty (at least we think so), but I can enjoy the fragrance any time I’m in the front yard.  Even mowing the lawn yesterday was a pleasant experience!

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Posted in My World | 14 Comments »

My World # 48: No Need to Mow Here

September 8, 2009
The new retaining wall in our yard. September 7, 2009.

The new retaining wall in our yard. September 7, 2009.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

My world this week contains one less problem area to mow.  As I’ve mentioned before, the front of our yard had a very steep drop-off from the road.  We talked about several ways to avoid mowing that area, none of which seemed very practical.  Finally my bride suggested building a retaining wall and leveling the area.  You can see the result of her suggestion in the picture above.

I’m not sure when we started this project — it seems like we’ve been working on it forever.  The cashiers at Lowe’a got to know us very well.  I should have kept track of how many blocks and how many bags of dirt we brought home, but our hard-working Prius carried them all without any problems.

A new flower bed. September 7, 2009.

A new flower bed. September 7, 2009.

Finishing this wall and bed was our big Labor Day project and I’m happy to say that we got it finished.  Now I don’t have to worry about mowing that steep bank and we have room to plant some more sun-loving plants.  They’re already on order.

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Posted in My World | 14 Comments »

My World # 47: Autumn is Approaching

September 1, 2009
Berries on our dogwood tree, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 30, 2009.

Berries on our dogwood tree, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 30, 2009.

This is my post for the My World meme.  It is hosted by Klaus, Ivar, Sandy, Wren, Louise and Fishing Guy.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

My world is getting prepared for autumn — at least the trees in the yard are.  I’m not sure I’m ready for autumn to come.  I have too many things on my summer to-do list that still haven’t gotten done!

The dogwood tree in the front yard is now sporting bunches of red berries.  While most of the leaves still have quite a bit of green in them, the picture below shows that some, at least, have become quite red.

Dogwood leaf, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 30, 2009.

Dogwood leaf, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 30, 2009.

But there is a good aspect of autumn getting closer.  Our reblooming iris have started to bloom again.  The picture below is of Autumn Bugler, which so far is the only one to bloom a second time this year.

Autumn Bugler Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 31, 2009.

Autumn Bugler Iris, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. August 31, 2009.

I think it may have jumped the gun a bit, but it is still nice to see.

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Posted in My World | 15 Comments »

I Don’t Have Enough To Do

August 17, 2009
Our front yard. April 2, 2009.

Our front yard. April 2, 2009.

The picture above was obviously taken several months ago — in early April, to be exact.  I’m showing it because I want you to note the drop-off from the road.  I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older that the slope is getting steeper and more difficult to mow.

Our new retaining wall. August 13, 2009.

Our new retaining wall. August 13, 2009.

This second picture was taken a few days ago.  As you can see I have been building a retaining wall (it’s not yet finished).  I’ll then fill in the area between the wall and the road.  Our first thought was to have a level strip of grass, which would certainly be easier to mow.  But then we realized that we could put a pretty good flower bed up there.  That area of the yard gets more sun than just about any other part.  If you look closely you can see that we’ve already planted some ground cover at the extreme left of this area.

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My parents are experiencing some plumbing problems and Dad won’t call a plumber until I look over the situation.  So Betsy and I will be making a trip to Hendersonville today (Monday).  Unfortunately we have to go to Knoxville (in the opposite direction!) first.  I have no idea how long we will be in Hendersonville or when we will get back home.

If I don’t post tomorrow (Tuesday) that will be the reason why.

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Posted in Glade | 14 Comments »

At Least I Don’t Need to Mow There Now

July 6, 2009

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I’ll be the first to say that I really like our house.  But there is one thing about it that is giving me increasing problems as I get older.  Our house (and lot) is lower than the house next to us.  Our lot is lower than the lot across the street as well.  The result is a fairly steep drop from the road to a depression in our lawn which serves as a path for runoff water after a hard rain.

That slope, on each side of the driveway, has gotten steeper with each passing year.  It is just hard to mow.  The area around our mail box was especially hard to mow.  When a house was built across the street, that mailbox was put next to ours and made a bad situation even worse.

Since I’m always looking for ways to avoid work, I built the small retaining wall and built up the area between it and the road enough to put in some plantings.  Right now it contains hens and chicks (sempervivum) and periwinkle.  We’ll probably add some pansies for color in the fall.  The wall  extends about six feet before tapering out where I can mow without any problems.

Now I just have to come up with a solution to the other side of the driveway, where the slope steeper and longer.

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Posted in Home | 14 Comments »

The View In Our Front Yard

June 4, 2009
Our Big Rose Bed, Fairfield Glade. June 2, 2009.

Our Big Rose Bed, Fairfield Glade. June 2, 2009.

If you have visited here on a regular basis you may be tired of hearing about and seeing roses.  But Betsy and I enjoy them and enjoy growing them and we can’t help ourselves in wanting to share them.  The picture above was taken Tuesday from the edge of our driveway.  We rather like the view.

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Posted in Garden | 13 Comments »

We Came Home to This

June 1, 2009
Wildfire Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 31, 2009.

Wildfire Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 31, 2009.

When Betsy and I got home Saturday night from our trip to North Carolina we found the beauty above in our rose garden.  Wildfire is one of our favorite roses, but I’m not sure any picture can do it justice.  Wildfire is a red-orange-yellow blend and which color is dominant depends somewhat on the lighting.

But trust me — Wildfire is a beautiful rose.

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Posted in Garden | 15 Comments »

Our First New Rose

May 16, 2009
Sonia Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 15, 2009.

Sonia Rose, Fairfield Glade. May 15, 2009.

Our yard has been keeping us busy since we got back home Sunday evening.  It took me three days to mow the lawn.  That was partly because the grass was so tall and partly because it was so wet in the low spots, especially in the front of the house.  So I managed to get in quite a few walking miles behind the mower.  I know the exercise is good for me, but I sometimes wish the lawn was a little flatter!

In addition to mowing I also kept busy weeding and spraying.  But I’m happy to say that things now look pretty good in our yard.  That’s good, because we’re going to have company later today.

But I have to admit that the yard work is definitely worth it.  Yesterday we had a couple more roses bloom.  The rose above is the first of our new roses to bloom — Sonia.  It doesn’t have much a fragrance, but I like the color and form.  It has a lot of buds, so we should have many blossoms to enjoy in the days ahead.

On a personal note, Betsy and I went Hendersonville yesterday to check up on my folks.  I’m happy to say that they are both doing well and in good spirits.  I’m continually amazed at how well they do in their home.

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Posted in Garden | 12 Comments »

My World # 26

April 6, 2009
Our front yard. April 2, 2009.

Our front yard. April 2, 2009.

This is my post for the My World meme.  Last week there were over 120 people sharing their worlds.  To see more of our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Right now my world is pretty topsy-tervy.  Earlier this week we were enjoying nice warm weather.  Betsy and I sat out on the deck swing in shirt sleeves to do our daily devotions.  The picture above shows our big rose bed four short days ago.  As you can see the roses are showing lots of new growth.  And isn’t the grass nice and green?

Our front yard, April 6, 2009.

Our front yard, April 6, 2009.

Well, the grass is still green as I write this, but the rose bed has changed as you can see in the picture at the right.  We’re under a freeze warning for the next two nights.  Betsy and I worked this afternoon bringing in the container plants, but what to do about the roses?  We finally decided to cover them as you can see.  It’s supposed to be cloudy with snow tomorrow, but if it’s sunny in the morning we’ll uncover the roses and then cover them again in the late afternoon.

Would you believe that I’m ready for Spring to arrive and STAY in my world?

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Posted in My World | 19 Comments »

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