May 19 2007
Gardening With Marvin
What would I do without Marvin’s help in the garden? He’s my constant and essential companion out there. I consult with him on important design decisions and he assists in quality control. When he was younger he also helped me catch grasshoppers and bat dirt clods around, but we don’t do much of that anymore. Our garden is a quieter place these days.
In the first photo he’s pacing along the stone walk, helping me find a suitable space to tuck in a plant that can tolerate foot traffic. When we built this path a few years ago I planted Irish Moss between the stones, but most of it didn’t do well so it’s being replaced, a few plants at a time. Wooley Thyme is doing okay in the sunny spots, Baby’s Tears seem to like the shade. Today I planted…oops…I forgot to save the tags. Well, I planted a ground cover ferny-looking thing in a shady spot and some mat-forming ornamental grass-like stuff in the sun. This view of the path is around the side of the house with a Southern exposure. The intensely pink flowers are those of an azalea shrub that spills out onto the walk.
Here’s Marvin testing the plush appeal of this grassy path. Rather than plant the garden in borders along the edges of the property, I laid out beds here and there and wove the paths between, around and sometimes through them. While the stone walkway is a main thoroughfare, this little side path leads to other parts of the garden that can’t be seen unless you venture forth. My husband and I are sometimes at odds about this concept because he’d like to view it all as one, whereas I enjoy the temptation of the smaller path and what might be found around the corner. As always, he indulges me and tends to his lawn, hedge and hardscaping because, after all, the garden is my baby. Marvin, by the way, found the grass to be satisfactory and then moved on to test another spot.
Now he’s making sure the sun warms the soil to just the right temperature in this precise spot at this certain time of the day. Marvin can be very exacting. He’s the only thing that will be planted here, though, at the base of this Butterfly Bush. Corydalis and ferns choose to sprout there on their own, but Marvin has claimed this spot for himself.
He works hard, doesn’t he? This photo shows the head of the walk where Marvin’s making sure no intruders enter our sanctuary. Don’t be fooled, he’s only pretending to be snoozing. The pink flowers are Armeria, or Sea Thrift, just coming into bloom. They’ll carry on most of the summer if I pick off the spent blooms. They grow well in a dry, sandy soil because they have a tap root that can be up to 30 feet long on a mature plant. My amended garden soil is actually a little richer than they prefer.
Poor old Marvin has worked hard enough for one day and he’s tucked himself away for a while in one of his hollowed out spots where he likes to nap and I never see him until I nearly step on him or accidently spray him with the hose. I’ll see him again around dinner time. Just a couple more pictures and then I have to do a few household chores and work on some swap cards.
Sometimes in the winter it’s hard to imagine it will look like this come spring time. This view of the garden definitely requires a trip off the beaten path and you’d have to stroll around a bit to really notice the Calla Lilies, Chain Tree, Columbine in blue and blush, and the tiny violets with their blooms atop a carpet of heart shaped leaves. The Honeysuckle arbor up by the house is the gateway to the back yard and garden which we’ll visit another time. I wish you could smell the Honeysuckle on a summer night when it releases its fragrance to attract night flying insects (moths). I could do without the leaf chomping caterpillars they produce but the Honeysuckle is worth it. This area is heady with intoxicating scents in late summer when the Phlox, Honeysuckle, Oriental Lilies and Alyssum are all in bloom at once.
This last photo, below, shows a variegated Weigelia which occupies a prominent position across the walk from our small patio. The patio is slated for enlargement this summer so that more than two people at a time can share space with the flower pots. It looks like just a bunch of bushes in the background, but a grassy path winds through Fuschias, Azaleas, Hydrangeas and all manner of low growing flowering plants, ornamental grasses and ground covers. In the past I planted a lot of Spring flowering bulbs, but we have so much rain in the Spring I was always disappointed that I couldn’t be out to enjoy them when they were in bloom. Now I have a few gems in the Spring time, but it’s the variety of greens and other foliage colors that steal the show and I happily wander among them, anticipating their yield of bloom.
Well, this is primarily a stamping site, not a gardening site, but I can’t help myself. I have two all consuming passions that offer each other some stiff competition. When I’m in the garden it affects me in such a way that I’m overcome by it. If I start a stamping project in the morning before I enter the garden I have a hard time tearing myself away from it. It’s almost impossible to believe I only have two days a week to really enjoy either. One more day and then it’s back to work for another week…sigh… BUT, I have a three day weekend coming up and I’ll take any crumbs Life wants to toss my way–and I’ll love every minute of it! Sometimes I think maybe I’ve got the whole darn cake and have just failed to realize it. I certainly do feel full sometimes. I truly hope you’re enjoying your weekend and I’m happy to have shared part of mine with you. Thank you for coming by for a while!
MMMM… I think I can sleep now. My walk through your garden (and Marvin’s) has been a peacful one and for that I thank you!
Oh Leslie, what beautiful photos! Your yard is simply amazing - I would also have a difficult time heading inside to stamp if I could sit on your patio and enjoy the magnificent view! Thanks so much for sharing this with us, it’s been wonderful to see a little more of your sanctuary, and your journaling on this post was so much fun to read!
Loved the walk through your beautiful, peaceful, fragrant garden. Lovely pictures. Please continue to share both of your passions with your readers.
I just loved the walk through your beautiful garden. eing a gardener myself its always great to others people gardens and plants. Plus most of your lovely cat, they do mae a home don’t they!
Whereabouts are you by the way?
I am not a gardener but I know a beautiful peaceful garden when I see it. Thanks so much for sharing such awesome pics. Your cat is cute too!!
I am enchanted by the garden. I want, so badly to have a lush oasis of my own. You, wow, you are amazing. And Marvin, what a helper. Please keep sharing these lovely pictures and intoxicating narrative. TFS!
What a GEORGEOUS garden… amazing pictures. Love the kitty helper - I love when my furbabies hang out with me outside, too.. they just seem… happier…
A mighty lion in his jungle!!!! Very pretty pics I wish this was my back yard!!!
Oh my! How nice of you to share your garden (and Marvin) with us this morning. The beauty of your garden surpasses description with words. It truly is a sanctuary and an inspiration to me. I just wish you didn’t work Marvin so hard! :o) Linda
WOW!!!!!! What a beautiful Garden!!!!! Can Marvin Shovel???? (he he he). He is adorable. I spent three hours digging weeds and roots out of one of our gardens yesterday. I can only wish that it will be as gorgeous as yours!!!!
Vicki
Ahhhh, thanks for the beautiful walk thru your garden this morning, Leslie . . . Marvin sure is a good gate-keeper! Loved seeing all your gorgeous flowers and hard work. Enjoy your day off today!
Oh Leslie! What a beautiful garden you have. All the work you do shows. I too would have a hard time coming inside to stamp with such lovely surroundings (maybe you could set up a little table and chair outside somewhere to watercolor your images that way you’re getting to enjoy both your passions simultaneously.
I have to also tell you…I LOVE Marvin! What a sweet kitty! I found my little Rocky laying in a sunny spot shaded by Peony yesterday. The perfect spot to sleep and stalk our friendly Robin who loves to come and bathe in our pond.
Linda
Your garden is beautiful. I hope your stamping area is where you can see this at all time. You could lose yourself in this beautiful place and get away from reality. Also I bet you could get that creative juice going. Thanks so much for sharing this bautiful, awesome garden.
Oh Leslie, this virtual tour of your gardens reminds me of the very 1st tour I had of your gardens years ago……10 maybe? I was so impressed then and I still am today. Your creativity and talent with colors comes out in everything you touch. TFS and letting us spend time with Marvin too…..
What a gorgeous garden! It looks like something out of a magazine. I love your big fluffy cat, too! He sounds like a very valuable companion, as all cats are!
So beautiful and peacful. Thanks for sharing it with us. I can almost imagine the warm breze, the fragrant smell and how soft an fluffy Marvin is. Is is so great that Marvin helps you out nd keeps you company in your lovely garden.
What an amazing garden! Marvin is a good helper too! Thank you for sharing your garden with us. Have a great weekend.
grace
Leslie, your garden is so lovely! Thanks for sharing it. I signed up for your blog feeds because of the stamping, but I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to see your outdoor pictures. Please share more! And more of Marvin.
Kimberly
Thank you so much for the wonderful tour of your garden and for sharing Marvin with us. You have made me want to come visit and walk along the paths with you. What a wonderful oasis Leslie!
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful garden. I miss gardening and can’t wait to do it again. You’ve inspired me!
Oh my goodness!!! Such beauty!!! Your garden is so green and full and lush and beckoning!!! I so wish I could walk those paths and for just a few moments enjoy the fruits of your labor!!! WOW — that’s all I can say!!! And guess what — we had snow today — YES, we did. Our plants are popping up, but so, so far from yours. Great photos!!!! Enjoyed them muchly!!!
Thank you for posting your lovely garden pictures and explaining the details! It looks as beautiful as any they’ve featured on HGTV. It was so nice to meet Marvin as well!
Wow…that is an amazing garden and blog entry too. Makes me want to come visit!
I get so jealous of the garden pictures you post! What a beautiful space. I bet you can get lost for hours in there.
Oh my goodness, Leslie! Your gardening should be displayed in a magazine! It’s beautiful! (Love your little gardening buddy, too!)
What a lovely garden. Looks like a paradise.
What a beautiful garden!! Your pictures are amazing! I think your cat may enjoy it as much as you to cute!
I consider your entire blog - “candy” and especially look forward to the shots from your ornamental garden. We don’t have the luxury of open spaces in most of our neighborhoods here so “gardening” for me was limited to a small patch of herbs and a lot of orchid plants before my illness. Stamping as a newbie/novice is ALMOST as good as fiddling with my pots and new starter plants. Almost. Your garden is absolutely breath taking and ever since I read your info on the DD section, I have wondered about your garden. So, this blog has been an absolute treat to me. I agree that the side paths offer treats in themselves.
Thank you.
What an awesome blog entry, Leslie. Marvin is such a big helper, I can see that!! LOL!! thanks for giving us a little tour of your garden. Wish I could come see in person!!
Leslie, I’m so green with envy, girlie!! What a wonderous retreat you have!I’m very happy to have met Marvin too! My kitties love helping where they can when I’m in the dirt as well! I try but I just don’t have the green thumb like my mom! And my yard is tiny as we live in a townhouse. Hopefully someday I’ll get there! I hope you get hours of enjoyment from your garden over this coming 3 day weekend!
~Angie
I do love your garden.
I hope you can tell me the name of that bush variagated leaves and pink flowers. Is it wiegelia. probably mispelled.
i think our gardens are inspiration for our art and crafts. and our crafts are inspiration for our garden now and then.
well, I don’t do much crafting these days, but enjoy the art of others. Especially your blog.
jo