Carol's Garden

Carol's Garden, a painting by one of my wife's friends

Below are a bunch of reasons I am always reluctant to leave our garden. And when I do always happy to be back. The best is to be out there reading and smoking a stogie.

The painting on the right was inspired by the garden. My wife handles the flowers and vegetables while I do the shrubs, trees and general landscaping design.

Yesterday Vera Pavone stopped by with a gift of 2 more plants while there is little space for them, but I'll manage.

I hope the weather holds for this Thursday as we're doing a memorial/party for my dad for friends and family where we will serve his favorite foods -- plus some edible stuff. He told me, "When I go don't have a funeral, have a party. I'll pay for it." I hope the check doesn't bounce (and yes we did have a funeral). I wrote a piece about my dad for my writing group and after revising it based on their input I will use it to say a few words. Very few so people can eat that Waldbaum's rotisserie chicken he loved so much.

These are from my phone and do not do the garden justice. If only I were a real photographer.... I want to share them with you before I head over to the MORE Happy hour where we will eat, drink and be merry --- and have some great conversations -- and get to see some of the new MORE logos being developed.

Took me years to figure out how to get from deck to patio and a local guy has done work for 25 years for me executed it perfectly.

An offspring from my famous oak leaf hydangea  c. 1987 which is still in my backyard - I have given cuttings to everyone and gardens all over have the babies. At that time it was rare, now all over the place.

Oak leaf next to Daphnoides blue (purple) hydrangea

Vera gave me this as a young Viburnam many yrs ago -- I had no room so put it in my neighbor's yard. Then put in a twin.

Early spring in front

An amazing vibernum - blooms all summer

Side of the house that is not often seen,

An almost dead maple when I got it at Botanic Garden plant sale many years ago. I could stare at it for hours -- and often do.

A little mountain laurel -- a few weeks of bliss

One of 3 smoke bushes I have

Climbing Hydrangea -- the first time it bloomed like this ever -- lots of work pruning to get it like this

Gardening Glory

I spend a lot of time in the winter months just staring out the window. Just waiting for the sign. The sign of spring. My pals in the garden let me know. A bud here, a little flower there. Once we get into mid March I start making daily visits to my friends.

Yesterday was Mah jong day at my house and I was banished from the kitchen (though I sneaked down every so often to steal some cheese and macaroons. 5 hours of tiles crashing into each other was deafening so I had to get outside.

I had gone to Cosco earlier - practically had lunch eating my way down the aisles - and stopped at the gardening center next door. I can't walk out of these places without buying something. So I did. Some lettuce and some early spring flowering perennials. While planting I realized just how nice the space on my front lawn looks. So I whipped out the Blackberry phone. Not bad pics for a phone. Note my prize weeping red maple. I work very hard on getting that look. But once it blooms out you won't see it again until late November.

If I were to take pics tomorrow they would already look different. In a few weeks there will be no bulbs and other things have to happen to make it look good. It will take some creativity. That is the wonder of gardening. You get a new look almost every day. Just don't ask me to name any of them. I just go around saying "Hi pal."