I have another garden

      Most of my blog entries have been about my garden plot over at Bellevue State Park.  A couple of minutes ago, I took the screen out of the back bedroom window to take a few shots of the back yard garden.  Before I go off to my visit of Momma Robin.

Back yard, 5-5-11

      This shot is from of our little private garden next to the house, then off across the lawn and out to the flower and vegetable garden in back.  Our lot is 100 by 220, so almost exactly 1/2 an acre.  Enough to keep me more than busy.  The red Japanese maple is in the bottom right corner of this shot.  Hosta to the left of the maple, and the Bleeding Heart in bloom to the left of the walk.

White Ash Tree, 5-5-11

      Panning to the left a bit is the White Ash tree that casts such a pretty shadow across the lawn in the early morning.  The large Pin Oak tree in the back ground is the culprit and cause for me to seek out my addition of the park garden to get a sunny spot for squash, peppers and tomatoes.  If you remember the tomato pictures from the back yard from last August, you could question that need.  But then I don't have garden buddies and robin's nests in my back yard garden.  Just a corner of the deck can be seen in this picture.

Soon to be much enjoyed, again, 5-5-11

      Here is a shot of the deck.  Where we will be "Deckadent" on many a lovely summer evening.  Hauling the pick-em-up truckload of 12 foot boards in a 6 foot bed on I-95 in heavy traffic was not one of my more brilliant moments.  The lumber yard probably would have delivered for free if I had not had to start the project at that very moment.  A friend insisted that I buy stainless steel nails for the project.  I thank him every time I sit out on the deck and miss seeing rust spots everywhere.  Even years ago I think it was eleven cents a nail.  I banged in lots of elevens.  The picnic table used in some of the header shots of the blog is at the far end of the deck.  Just to the left of the table but out of the picture is the porch which has featured in quite a few blog posts.
  

Private Garden, 5-5-11

      Dropping back closer to the house is our little private garden, a space which we don't get the time to enjoy as much as we should.  Though Cindy enjoys this spot, as the view is right outside the window where her computer resides.  The clump of green to the left of the shot are the hellebores after finally loosing their blossoms, and the Weigelia can be seen blooming in the bottom left corner.  The hummingbird feeder has been the site of some intense aerial skirmishes.

Back Yard, 5-5-11

      And now walking out to the back, a little closer shot of the garden.  The long pile on the right is the result of running the lawn tractor repeatedly over the BIG leaf pile from the fall.  Now it needs to be used or moved to make room for the tomatoes to go in next week with more settled weather in the forecast.  The Pin Oak on the left will cast a lot of mid afternoon shade.

Back to the house, 5-5-11

 

     
      Looking back to the house from the garden you see the porch on the right side.  The neighbor's house to the right is almost due south, so the porch has a short southern side exposure, with more glass facing west.  Not ideal, but no complaints.  The large glass expanse with the glass roof to the left of the porch is the kitchen.  We knocked out an exterior wall and replaced it with a mostly glass 6 foot by 16 foot addition.  It is amazing how much light it brings in even on dark days.  Although we keep some plants inside the kitchen, it is by no means a greenhouse :-(   The deck is in front of the kitchen, looking out over the back garden.  The little "Private garden" is to the far left, to the left of the ash tree.
      Now you have had a tour of the back yard and garden.  Now I had better get to working on it!