Diane's Garden

I want to say a big "Thank You" to everyone for your sweet comments on my mom's pink and green tablescape!  My mom enjoyed seeing her table on the blog, and she really appreciated all the nice comments!

I'll bet many of your thoughts are starting to turn towards fall, yes?  Mine too; I pinned some really pretty fall images yesterday.  :)  But I'm still trying to hold on to the nicer parts of summer; the older I get, the more guilty I feel about rushing the seasons and wishing my life away.  Life really is so precious, and it goes by much too quickly these days. So for this post, I'm going back to late spring/early summer to share with you some pictures from my mother-in-law Diane's garden this year.  I always enjoy walking around my mom and mom-in-law's yard every spring and summer to see what they have blooming.

The spikes of pink flowers that you see in this picture are Coral Bells.  I just love these flowers; their foliage reminds me of geranium leaves and their dainty pink blooms are so sweet!

These stalks with the purplish flowers are Beardtongue and were given to Diane when she was in a community garden club by a fellow member.  They had not fully bloomed in these pictures; I was there a few weeks later, and they were just beautiful.  Naturally, I didn't have my camera with me then.

You can also see some of the Beardtongue in the left portion of this picture.

Here's a closeup of the Coral Bells; I just love this color of pink.  These are an old-fashioned variety; the ones I see in the garden shops nowadays have more of a reddish color bloom and darker leaves.  I like the old-fashioned ones best.  Some of these Coral Bells were used in the flower arrangements adorning the sanctuary when Mr. Forest Manor and I were married, so they have sentimental meaning to me, as well.

I used the "Soften" feature of Picasa editing to try and cut the glare in this picture.  Here we see some Columbines and pretty Lenten Roses in the foreground.  Unfortunately, it was the sunniest part of the day when I took these photos, and of course, I forgot all about using my polarizing lens.  Sigh.  I used editing to bring in shadow where I could, but some of the pictures still have too much glare.

In this same area are white Peonies, which came from my husband's grandmother's house (used the "Soften" feature here too).  She had some pretty, old-fashioned southern plants that she gave to different family members when she had to sell her house and move to an assisted living facility.

Beautiful Irises (also from my husband's grandmother) grow in this same flower border.

I adore this big garden snail with the butterfly on his shell.  Diane bought him at a neat gift shop in the town of Black Mountain, where hubby and I like to eat at the German Restaurant.

Diane's garden is a combination of classic and whimsy.

I think every garden needs a classic armillary.  I like the shadow it's throwing onto the brickwork surrounding the gazebo.

--Love this little statue holding birdseed outside the gazebo.

How about this colorful toadstool?  :-D  We gave this to Diane for Mother's Day this year; it's ceramic, so it has to be brought inside before the first frost.  We got this at a local garden/gift shop that carries wonderful plants, art, and bird houses for the garden.  The toadstools came in a variety of colors, but I thought the red and yellow looked more like the toadstools I remember from childhood stories.

The frog, made of glass mosaic tiles, was also a gift from us a few years ago.

At the bottom of the deck stairs, Diane's herb garden is planted in front of the brick foundation of the house.  Again, it was still early in the season, so the herbs had not completely filled out.  The chives are in bloom here.

 I spy some oregano behind the Bird Girl, and some lavender and parsley in the right side of the picture.

 ...and a rosemary bush and sweet garden bell.

In the natural area to the left of the house, the Rhododendrons are in bloom.  To the left of this rhododendron, you can see the foliage from the daffodils, which had finished blooming at this point.  In the early spring, this natural area is filled with cheerful daffodils.

Bird bath in the natural area...

Below the natural area is the barn, where the Azaleas are in full bloom...

...and the New Dawn roses on the fence are just beginning to bloom.

This picture shows just a small portion of the buds that were literally covering this shrub.

When the roses were fully in bloom, Diane said they were the most she'd ever had since she planted this rose bush.  I saw it in full bloom after I'd taken these pictures, and it really was beautiful.

In her raised flower bed, more vintage Irises were growing from Granny's old house.  I just LOVE this variety!  Irises always remind me of a Monet painting.

A last few images from around the yard and flower beds...

Thanks for touring Diane's garden with me -- it's always a pleasure to have you stop by!  I'll be sharing this post at:

Seasonal Sundays, hosted by The Tablescaper
Amaze Me Mondays, hosted by Cindy
Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary at Little Red House
Inspire Me Tuesday, hosted by Marty

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Denise