Southern Beauty for Sale

Just on the outside of the Murfreesboro city limits stands this Southern Beauty. I have admired her for a long time, but today was my opportunity to take a closer look. Because, today, under the canopies that have spanned for at least a hundred years and on a lawn that has been impressed upon by horse hooves, carriage wheels, laced boots, bare feet, high heels, flip flops and even Nike tennis shoes, was splayed a collection of wares for sale. And while the collection was new and modern, this homestead was rich with history and style that has graced these Southern soils for many a decade.

While I admire the architecture of the home, it is the design of the gardens that I am particularly interested in. You see, I cannot build a house, but I can plant a garden. Boxwoods line the reclaimed brick walk. Ferns grace antique iron urns, complete with pedestal. Impatiens gain footing at the base. By mid-summer, it will be as if the iron pieces are floating on clouds of pink and purple petals. These plantings will take the dog days of summer in stride, thanks to the expansive shade of the prestigious oaks.

While Pippi's treasure was a pristine Barbie doll that was still in the box, the treasure that I found was just in the ability to gaze upon and dream of a world that I had not quite experienced for myself. Really, in some ways, I think that what we found is actually the same thing.

xoBeau

Busy Bees

Limelight hydrangeas went into the garden this week

Captain Awesome is... well... awesome at digging the holes

Pippi is fabulous at getting her hands dirty and discovering the little things

Like this little thing ~ bzzzz

xoBeau

Gifts from the Garden

A little garden clean-up was on the list this past weekend:

Planting a few plants for fall
Weeding
Removing spent blooms

And look at the gifts that the garden provided in exchange:

hydrangea blooms tied gently with a satin ribbon set on the shelf to dry

hydrangea blooms with stems freshly cut at an angle and placed in a vase of fresh water
~ I've heard that you can get hydrangeas to produce roots this way ~

xoBeau

Earthday VIII

How I miss the days of composting! The satisfaction of not wasting good rich nutrients. The delight of harvesting rich black gold. The joy of watching the earth's bounty flourish from such a healthy diet. But now that we live in a more structured neighborhood, erecting a compost barn out of 4 reclaimed pallets would definitely land a cheerful little note from the homeowner's association in our mailbox! So, what is an earth-friendly gardener to do?

These products from Green Culture might be good solutions:
I like the idea of this Stainless Steel Compost Scrap Keeper. A stylish container for keeping eggshells, coffee grinds, and veggie scraps from smelling up the kitchen.
Also, at 40" high and 23" square, this compost bin is small enough to hide in between the house and the bushes. It is called the Outside Gourmet. Perhaps because it is preparing a fine meal for the garden!

Do you practice composting? What do you recommend?

xoBeau

Circle of Life

The blue point juniper topiary that stands guard by the front door is fading. The stress of the summer heat is sure to be the blame. But as it says goodbye, it also says hello and welcome to a new little life, who has entered the world by way of its boughs. Welcome baby bird ~

xoBeau

Favorite Garden Additions

This year, we made many additions to the garden, planting some blue point junipers, red sunset maples, crimson king maples, green velvet boxwoods, midnight blue agapanthus, ligustrums, and a bonanza patio peach (for Captain Awesome). They are all growing merrily and I trust that they will grow stronger and more beautiful each year.

However, my favorite additions to the garden are:

Dwarf Katie Ruellia - blooms every morning with fresh purple blooms; wonderful dark green texture; forms nice clump; grown by monrovia


Blue Star Creeper - small groundcover with dark green foliage and teeny tiny blue flowers; spreads gently


Rock path - made from rock that we pulled from our creek bed


The katie ruellia, blue star creeper and rocks work great together!

Unidentified Flying Object

Yesterday, my neighbor, Tiffany was outside watering her garden, when she called for us to come take a look in her maple tree. This is what we saw:
This little creature had the most interesting combination of features:
And look at the other wild creature I captured in the picture, Scout peeking through the leaves:
Have you seen an Unidentified Flying Object like this before? If so, let me know. We would like to identify this natural beauty.