FRIDAY FLOWERS: GARDEN TOURS

Are you a fan of garden tours?

I hadn’t done many until I moved down here where they are in abundance. Then, this year I was on the Tour Committee (sounds quite grand, doesn’t it?) for my village Spring Garden Tour. You may be wondering if my garden was on the Tour…well, no. I just didn’t feel ready last fall when one had to commit. And, given the harsh winter we had (as did everyone else) I would have been having a fit about the sorry state of my plants. However, not to worry. By the beginning of April all was fine with the world. And by our Tour date of April 26 and 27 the entire village and all eleven gardens were looking absolutely spectacular. Of course, it helped that we had perfect weather!

Take a stroll down the garden path:

and catch a glimpse of this wonderfully hand crafted fence:

stop and be peaceful with water and shade:

The birds have a fun, colorful house in Nancy’s garden:

This shrub, illicium floridanum, was new to me and I love it!

The next weekend was the second tour for our area:
The Chapel Hill Spring Garden Tour.

So many interesting gates with different views on the other side:

The center gate above leads to this porch below:

Now, wouldn’t you just love to sit awhile and rock?

More lovely garden paths:

The center path above leads to this house:

with these views from the other side:

Hard to believe you are right in Chapel Hill! That’s the Methodist Church just barely visible, on Franklin Street..

And for a few details:

Many of the plants had these cute little critter markers…

“Tradescantia” aka spiderwort lining a pond. It has been one of my all time favorites for years.

Look at the metal raised planter. It was custom made and will last for years and show no wear and tear as with wooden. Great idea!

It’s a bamboo forest!

And, now for the grand finale!
Gorgeous, gorgeous peonies. No, I don’t know what they are and there was no marker (sadly)

One last detail for the day… and an important one.

I have been participating in yet another
Blogging Your Way e-course (see the square logo over there on the right?) These courses, run by Holly Becker of Decor8, are life changing. No kidding. Aside from forcing me to think about my blog, stay energized, rethink blog elements (this is definitely why I moved to WordPress and redid my graphics), and develop new strategies… the courses have been instrumental in meeting new people. We have homework each week and occasionally need to find a partner, or “buddy”, in the course roster.
For this particular course my partner of choice is Dana of
Chocolate and Sunshine

You know how sometimes you just know when you like someone and are going to get along with them? You can feel, almost immediately, that you are on the same wave length. Well, Dana and I , after just a few private messages and emails, have started what I hope will be a long-term friendship! So go on over and take a look at this energetic, fun and amazing woman.

That’s it for the week. My one regret is that I haven’t shown you any of my own flowers! I have so many! This time of year, as all you gardeners know, is just about the best ever. My peonies…. YES… they started opening up today; my honeysuckle is climbing the walls (literally); my moss has flowers; my dahlias are growing faster than I can stake them and on and on.
Maybe I will do an extra flower post next week.