05 June 2010

Les jardin.

After a few good Virginia thunderstorms, the green in my (!!!) backyard is unfolding into color.


The lavender I went into raptures over on closing day.


My hydrangea blooms are funny things. You'd think those large, round clusters would be showy, but they're actually sort of shy, hiding in amongst large leaves. I had to move several aside to get this picture.


I'm not sure what this guy is called, but he's sociable, as his tendrils are trying to come inside the porch for a glass of sweet tea.


Again, don't know this bush's name, but the flowers remind me of the kind that live on the sand dunes of Sullivan's Island. I know they can't be the same --- what semi-tropical flower of coastal South Carolina could thrive in the temperate, chilly climate of the foothills of the Blue Ridge? --- but I like to pretend they are. It feels more like home.

Notes:
* Can anyone tell me the proper names of my two mystery plants? I'll give you a glass of sweet tea on the back porch if you do!

* I feel like an accessory to murder. Our kind Realtor had given Akash and I a lovely, flowering basket of petunias, and after a few days of it thirsting on the front porch, I told A. to put it out on the walk during a rainstorm.

I had completely forgotten a sparrow had been nesting in its depths. The poor bird's home is now a soggy, brown mess. If there were any eggs ... but I can't bring myself to ascertain.

* I got up at 7 this morning and mowed the lawn. (I felt like my dad, getting the lawn done before it gets too hot. I even wore tube socks with my shorts. I liked it.) We bought an 18-inch Reel Mower, and I'm so glad we did. I'm not a gym kind of girl, so pushing this mower around for half an hour is good for my bony arms. It doesn't use any electricity or gas and has zero emissions, so I feel all smug about my carbon footprint. (This smugness will dissipate with the to-go cup of coffee I will inevitably buy on Monday because I will have gotten up too late to use the new espresso machine my family bought us as a house-warming gift.)

6 comments:

  1. YAY! Can't wait to read more!

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  2. Ok, first just love, love the linens for the bathroom and second I don't know the flowers by the pictures, I would have to see them up close, but can I still sit on the back porch and have a glass of sweet tea? No make that Firefly sweet tea!!!!

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  3. Yes, Marmee. You can even have two.

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  4. The purple plant is a butterfly bush. you have to trim it every year down to the bare bones - cut off all the hugeness of this thing so it just looks like a pile of sticks at the end of the summer. IT will grow back HUGE and beautiful every year. I heard butterflies don't like to drink the nectar if it's not been cut off - you will triple your number of butterflies by chopping it too...

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  5. I love it. It's beautiful and you are amazing.

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  6. Thanks for the tip, Sara! Please offer any other you have, as I know nothing about plants. Just that they need sunlight and water, but in what amounts I have no clue.

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