My Garden

I wanted to share some pictures of my garden with you today! My garden is very much like therepy to me; I can be all upset or disturbed over something when I go out to pull weeds, plant something, or even just water, and with in 15 minutes I can feel all of those worked up emotions just dripping away! It truly is therepy for me!

My garden is also a place of inspiration and solitude for me. I go out there with my thoughts and ideas and before to long the creative juices are flowing FULL FORCE!! I usually come away inspired to try something new!

This is my Echinacea plant! I love daisies and sunflowers so this was a "must have" for my garden this year!! I love the striking contrast between the "bright" purple flowers and the green foliage (which, of course, you can't get the full effect with the picture).
I first saw echinacea from one of my Mom's friends who happens to have an herb garden and I was rather inpressed with it's size and beauty! I've been hooked ever since!

Off to the left of the marigolds are some wildflowers that I purchased from Gurneys. They are getting tall and I've noticed that the bees, butterflies, and the hummingbirds have been visiting them quite frequently!
They were easy to grow too! Just planted the seeds in rows and water! No thinning of the plants required!!! I love easy maintenance!

These are just a few of the marigolds that I planted from seed. They have gotten so big and smell so good!! I've heard that marigolds deter certain bugs so I'm glad to have them!! I've been deadheading the flowers AFTER they have dried on the plant and am saving the seeds for next summers garden! I think I'll have more than enough!! :o)

I think the best plants for a garden are ones that are given to you or that you find and dig up from your property!! My Mom has had beautiful gardens where many of the plants were given to her! Each plant is a reminder of the person who gave it to you, or maybe it's a memory of a certain place. Either way, they are very special to you!

I pulled this flower out of an overgrown garden here and just plopped it in the ground. It seems to be enjoying itself!! I've been told that it's some kind of a Hollyhock, but I'm not real sure on that.

This year I planted seeds that I had harvested from my Grandparents house in Michigan. These seeds were over a year old so I wasn't surprised when they didn't "sprout". Here is one that did!

This is my obnoxious Love in a Puff. I planted 5 seeds and I now have this! It's about three feet tall and two and a half feet wide! I've given it one "hair cut" already and I know it's going to need another one before to much longer!!

Behind the Love in a Puff are my strawberries. This is their first year so I didn't let the bear fruit. As I'm sure you can see, I'm letting them grow all together. I thought about doing rows, but I decided not to since that would require more weeding and pinching back of the runners. I can't wait to see how they do next summer!

I must be running along~ the garden is begging to be watered! Have a Blessed Sunday!