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Friday, June 20, 2008

Garden Party!

WELCOME to our Garden Party! Please come in! Everyone is invited to relax and enjoy. Just step over our cat, Rex, on your way in!
Cielo is our hostess at The House in the Roses. Stop by her blog to see everyone's beautiful gardens! Before you do, here's a peek at my Southern California summer gardens!
Please join me in the front yard! Our home faces North which seems to be ideal for hydrangeas, both mopheads and lacecaps.Violets Pink JasmineImpatiens And more hydrangeas! I never thought I would admit that I love hydrangeas more than pink roses! The summer heat is great for numerous and large blooms. However, the intensity of the summer sun can burn the blooms, so I place a large umbrella over the plants to shade my precious pink balls of beauty!
My favorite variety are the pink variegated mopheads! On the East side of our home we grow yellow roses in front of the wrap around porch my husband built.Please follow me around to the back yard where we planted 3 pink rose bushes.
A few years ago we planted Morning Glory around the back fence. It grows like a weed and quickly gets out of control. Ask our neighbors! Several years ago we planted a Sally Holmes antique climbing rose on each side of an arbor my husband built over our back deck. It's finally climbing over the top. I look forward to a summer when the two Sally's meet in the middle of the arbor. I tease my teenage daughter that by the time she marries, the Sally Holmes' will cover the arbor where she will say her vows. She thinks I'm kidding!In the days before our pool, we had a small vegetable garden, a swing set and later, a giant trampoline. Now, there is limited space for a vegetable garden so we have only squash, tomatoes and corn. Yes, corn! I'm so excited to serve fresh corn on the cob this summer! We planted 60 stalks hoping for an abundance to share with family, friends and neighbors! After harvest, the corn stalks will be a festive fall backdrop for the Pumpkin Carving Contest I've been planning to host for years! Maybe it will happen this year!
Please follow me to the deck where we enter our home from the garage. There I have a flower box filled with pink petunias. It sits under the shade of a Crepe Murtle tree. On some mornings, I sit at a bistro set I purchased in Mexico sipping coffee. . . gazing at paper lanterns purchased at Big Lots last year, and . . . feeding our resident squirrel. She's a female squirrel we affectionately call "Mama." Mama has been eating sunflower seeds and peanuts from our hands for at least 5 years!Please follow me upstairs! Just outside our master bedroom, we have a small deck/patio. An old tree that came with the house shades this area and the deck below. I hang paper lanterns from the branches almost all year long. I found my paper lanterns at Big Lots, the 99 Cent Store and Cost Plus Imports last summer. Some are battery operated and light up at night! This year I planted pink petunias in sap buckets and in the flower boxes surrounding the rail. I also added a water feature with potted plants (more hydrangeas!) I squeezed in a "nap time" area featured in a previous post using a $5 metal cot purchased at a yard sale.
Well, I'm out of gardens to share! Thanks for joining me! I think it's time for a nap under our shade tree. . . . Thanks, Cielo, for hosting a fun garden party!

19 comments:

{oc cottage} said...

What an awesome eye full! Thx!!

M ^..^

Life on the Edge said...

I got here from the Garden Party! Wow, beautiful yard, beautiful flowers, and the most charming decks I think I have ever seen! It was so much fun taking a tour!

Kady

Alison Gibbs said...

Oh what a pretty garden you have
Alison

Debbie Kay said...

Wow Cindy, what a beautiful treat for the eyes. Your garden is absolutely gorgeous. I have had the honor of seeing it in person and it is truly a sight to behold. I miss you and as soon as my dad is on the road to recovery I would love to get down to your house for some shopping....

Lots of love to you,

Debbie

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I adore your garden! Those paper lanterns are so wonderful! Thanks for sharing the photos!

Anonymous said...

Wow, everything looks just beautiful. Your garden and all of your blooms are lovely.

I can tell that you are a lover of pink. You might want to pop over and think about joining us for Pink Saturdays.

Anonymous said...

Well now.....of everything I have seen today in all the gorgeous and fanciful gardens I think I love your corn the best. And growing right by the pool! I love that! Your hydrangeas are to die four. Hope you have time to pop over for a visit. ~ Lynn

Anonymous said...

P.S. I forgot to add that I love your boutique and blog and added you to my "take me away" blogs to read. :)

Judy said...

How beautiful!! I love your blog and hav added you to my favs. I can hardly wait to explore more.

cherished*vintage said...

Hi Cindy!
Your garden is beyond fabulous! I loved the tour. I'm convinced now that I need another hydrangea in our yard. I have to find me a pink variegated mophead now. I love yours! Love how you planted your corn too. Thanks so much for sharing your garden!
-Karoline

Miss Gracie's House said...

Just beautiful! Lucky you that you can grow hydrangeas-it is just too hot and dry here although my grandmother could get them to grow but she could grow anything. Of course, I love your cozy sitting areas-very pretty and peaceful.
THANKS for sharing-it is fun to see the landscape from different parts of the country!
Have a great Sunday!
Rene'

Anonymous said...

Cindy,
I wish you would really pay more attention to your garden area LOL!!!! It is absolutely magnificent, beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, can you tell I love it?

Hugs,
LeAnn:)

Kim's Treasures said...

WOW! Just wonderful! Everything is beautiful!

Have a great day!
Kim

Barb said...

Wow. I love everything. That arbor is just incredible. Flowers and veggies, you have the best of both worlds.
Thank you for sharing.

MARIA said...

Very Beautiful!!!
Thanks!
Greetings from Poland!

FancyHorse said...

Thank you for inviting me to your garden. I love all the colors, especially the pink and white decks!

Yours, Nancy

CIELO said...

I'm in paradise! Thank you for participating in our party and for sharing your cozy and beautiful sanctuary with all of us.... What a delightful occasion that was!

Blessings to you and yours.

All gardeners live in beautiful places because they make them so (Joseph Joubert)

Cielo

Lynn said...

Hi Cindy :)
I could never tire of seeing your garden, I love each and every picture and read every word, it was just lovely. I too love hydrangeas, I should plant some more, I have a beautiful pink like yours and I love the Snowballs, do you have those? I will take pics when mine bloom. Must be nice having flowers all the time :)

Lori said...

Cindy
That is the most wonderful garden and party! I loved everything!!! lori