All the colors of our garden!

Gardens are a form of autobiography.

Sydney Eddison

I totally believe that above quote. Our garden is a mixture of multiple things. Many gifts from our mother's gardens, other family members and friends. It is also some well tended treasures from a life gone before us. It's odd to think that 68 years ago a different woman was dreaming of her gardens, tending to her children and trying to make their house a home right here on Bluff Hill. Our home has only been owned by that family and ours. We LOVE that fact. It was neat to hear the stories from their children when they sold us the home.

I'd like to thank Mrs. Van Conia for planting our yard full of iris, peony, lily and azalea.

What a sweet gift to leave behind!

I love all the gorgeous colors I have in different corners of our property!

So many different hues and shades: These two pics (above and below) show reds, purples, pinks

Look deep into nature,

and then you will understand everything better.

-Albert Einstein

I am following Nature without being able to grasp her, I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.

Claude Monet

Where flowers bloom so does hope. - Lady Bird Johnson

I love dandelions...they make me want to plop down and start making necklaces!

What is a weed?

A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm weird because I like to think of the trees in our yard like old friends. They always provide us shelter from the sweltering sun, let my children swing from their branches and the breeze always blows right between to cool us off. Thank you trees...especially since it has been well above 90 for sooo many days lately!

To sit in the shade on a fine day

and look upon the verdant green hills is the most perfect refreshment.

-Jane Austin

I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck. ~Emma Goldman

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone,
but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.
-Martin Luther

I love the quote above because I just can't understand how people can look at this beautiful creation and not see His glory.

Enjoy your gardens!!!

Summer Loves....

Green Apple Tree that wasn't shorted this year by a frost!

Flowers planted by seeds. They are kind of lonely looking, but that is what happens when you don't water them : (

Actually, that is a Summer DISLIKE: watering everything.

We NEED some more RAIN!!!

What are some of your summer loves right now?

Summer Blooms....

My flag is looking faded.

My mulch needs some tending! {and what does that pot think it's doing being dirty anyways?}

But oh, my hydrangeas....are glorious!

The funny thing about these hydrangea is that they came from my sweet m-i-l and were BRIGHT blue/purple when we dug them up and planted one on each corner of the front of our house. But when they started blooming this year...this is what we found. BRIGHT pink! Seriously, not what I expected. Good, but not what I expected. The only problem is that I have a serious symmetrical issue. As in, I'm OCD about only that. Seriously, I'm the most laid back, go with the flow person except when it comes to symmetry. And now I have one BRIGHT blue/purple hydrangea one one front corner of the house and then one BRIGHT pink hydrangea on the other. What's a {OCD}girl to do?

I guess stop stressing and focus on the gorgeous roses that are just fantastic. They don't have to be symmetrical so they don't have to wilt under my scrutiny. They just thrive on their loveliness!

So does this crazy little guy. or girl. What gender is a lamb's ear bloom? Oh well, it still doesn't have to be symmetrical. One because there is only one plant. two, because it's on the side of the house...not in my front landscaping!

Don't look at my mulch...it's not it's fault that it looks scimpy and left over from last year. Nope, it's the Man's... haha... just joking. partly.

But whosever fault it is...don't look. But look how my sweet little hydrangea. But don't look from the street at the whole house because if you do, you'll see one

BRIGHT blue/purple one and a BRIGHT pink one on the other corner.

I'm ok with that. For reals....No biggie at all.

grrr....

G-R-O-W-I-N-G

I LOVE plants, fresh flowers, veggies, fruit, and really anything that grows from a seed.

But I've only kept plants that are really easy to keep alive ..... from dying!

But I swear Bluff Hill has the most fertile ground EVER!

Remember the herbs my mentee and I planted...

Guess what...

they are growing.

i really was surprised because I had a good friend and my Daddy tell me that herbs are hard to grow from seeds. But looky looky, can't wait to cook with these. Hope basil, rosemary, and mint catch up. They've sprouted but are much smaller than these two.

Also, I've got a bud on my lovely roses...they bloom so great almost all year long.

Not sure if you remember, but I posted in December about how I had one last rose still in bloom. I'm almost positive it was December...weird, I know.

Again with the Lily of the Valley, but they are just popping up all over this one bed. I love them and their fat green leaves. Soo gorgeous.

One last bloom...My peony bush. We inherited it just as we did the Lily of the Valley too. The lady before me had great taste. We have peony, lily of the valley, iris, day lillies, azaela's, easter flowers and forsithias! I'm sure I left off something. We are so thankful because our yard is always in bloom with something.

Love watching everything grow. It is such an amazing example of our lives following Christ.

It also makes me often sit in awe of God's handiwork and beautiful creation!

Soothing....

Nothing like a good rain and God's Word to soothe the soul.

The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside calm waters.

Psalm 23:1-2

{This is one of my favorite treasures left on our property by the previous owners.}

Getting dirty!

Haha! Get your minds out of the gutter people.

I'm talking about dirt from the ground!

I would love to plant more stuff around here, but we've been so busy lately.

So I started small.

It's fun to get dirty! I guess because I grew up playing in the dirt growing up on a farm and all. We played in the fields, used mud puddles for Barbie's ocean, and dug plenty of mud for our pies and such! I guess digging in the dirt makes me think of childhood.

Quite different for this little girl. She is my mentee and HATES (with a capital H) getting dirty. She does love to play outside, thank goodness!

We plated my herb seeds the other day. Which I'm a little nervous about because it doesn't seem to be sprouting. My friend the other day told me that it's hard to get herbs from seeds so I might go buy some plants to put in there too. We'll see.

She said she had never planted anything so this was a fun thing to teach her!

A New THING

can you see it?

Oh my, I can.

It's green amidst the brown and blah...

It's there...small, but there.

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

He is doing a NEW thing.

I'm so thankful that God is a God who can turn yucky, brown, wilted things into something NEW! He is redemptive in all He does. Whether it be people, the church, or even the Earth....He is redeeming! Today, I'm praising Him for the smallest hope of bright, beautiful days ahead!

Memorial Day...Waiting for Watermelons

We had a great day out on the farm for Memorial Day.  It was a gorgeous weekend and it's always great scenery at my parents. We grilled out and ate way too much.

My mom is of course not only one of my favorite people, but my fav cook as well.

Here is Daddy, Em, and my cousin, Cindy watering the watermelon plants.  Umm.. I can't wait. I don't know a better watermelon farmer than my Daddy.  He treats them like his babies!

These pictures show just how gorgeous all the colors were that day.  The green was soo bright and happy.  A little rain makes things even prettier.  Em was having such a blast. 

In other news, My little sis found out she is having a BOY!!! So it looks like we'll be decorating the nursery and preparing for William "Fynn"!  I'm soo excited, I just can't wait.  

We had a long weekend full of graduations and Nina & Scott's wedding. Me and my Scott are plumb tuckered out.  I'll post some precious wedding pics soon.  I MUST go to bed or I'll be worth nothing tomorrow.  Have a great start to a good week!