Bloomin' flowers and a weed

Retaining wall garden along pool.


Long view of 60% of same garden.


Maybe Dianthus?? These were planted last year as annuals but they survived the winter. The odd part is that the flowers didn't stay true to the color they were last summer.




Here's a little stray Jack in the pulpet. I thought I took all my wildflowers out of this garden but two Jacks escaped my shovel.


Blue irises




Bleeding heart, hostas, and silver fern.


Coral Bells


A plant like this grew out of nowhere in a planter two summers ago. I let it go to seed. This thing got maybe 4' tall and seeded all over. Here is one example of what has started already this year from a seed. Last year I pulled up every one I could find and seeds are still sprouting.


This is the biggest Lupine.

Beautiful Blooms and yard. It looks like you must have a pretty large yard.

Actually our yard isn't very big but narrow and long. Where you see that second row of trees is where the property stops, behind what we call a gully but actually is is a perfect bowl shaped area. The people on each side of us mow there part of it too. So it looks like a park back there. I have lived her 40 years so most of the trees have had lots of time to mature. We've even had to take out a couple of the big ones as limbs started breaking off and endangering our house. That was not a cheap job.

That weed plant is Mullian and yes it seeds all over the place. In 2008 the first one grew at the end of a brick planter, probably planted by a bird. They are still coming up here and there. The one you saw will soon be gone.

The pool was here when we bought this place. I had never swum in a pool and neither of us had any idea how to care for it. The sides were pulled away from the wall about 2-3" here and there. There was a three pronged birch tree near the pool that had died. The people here had not used it for several summers and you can imagine the mess in it. There were limbs off that birch even, leaves galore, a dead rabbit, a rotten egg, lots of worms, an apple core and unbelievable gunk. There was green floaty stuff on top like a swamp. We redid the sides, and eventually tore down the wooden fence, put in a huge patio along the pool and a pool storage shed. Then after Pete and I were married he put in sidewalks going to the pool and to the deck. redid the deck, and it goes on and on. You know, 40 years is a long time for things to fall apart.

This is the back of the house. It is L shaped and you can just see the cement porch on the left and there is a door where we come out of our bedroom, into the back yard.


This is the front yard. See how the pond is practically right up against the house under the dining room window and next to the front porch and sidewalk?

Thanks Esther, those photo's give a lot more perspective. And even though you think your yard isn't that large, compared to ours it's huge.
Our lot is 40' X 120' But I tell myself that means easier to manage when it comes to gardening.
I've almost finished the planting I'm doing for this year.

And today we're on our way to Louisville for the Koi and goldfish show.

I guess you're right. This lot is 440' by 880' I think. Our street and the one is meets up with down the road run on an angle from each other so as they get farther along, they are farther apart, but angled. So the houses behind me also have a lot that is long and narrow. There is a line of trees back there and we can't see the houses behind us until the leaves fall. Even then they aren't very noticable.

Deer come back back there in the summer and eat from the wild apple trees. Two nights ago around 10, Smokey started up barking like crazy so Pete went to the patio door to see what was the fuss. He kept telling Smokey there was nothing out there and to be quiet. Eventually Pete saw two deer at the back of the neighbor's yard beneath their apple tree. It's a little early to be looking for apples though.

Pete saw a coyote a couple of summers ago there and there were two momma turkeys last summer with their babies. Of course squirrels and rabbits are around all the time.

We are located east of Grand Rapids in an area called Cascade and this was totally country when we moved here 40 years ago. But there is a little village/crossroads about a mile away that has developed and also platts have sprung up all over out here. In fact, we are now in the middle of about 4 of them that all border each other so it's like living in town again. The river is a draw too for builders. Oh and the back end of the Grand Rapids airport is only about a mile and a half from here.

Beautiful yard Esther! And I know a lot of hard work goes into keeping it that way!