Conversations across the Country
continued
Denise: I moved back to my hometown, next door to my childhood home. Summer
is spent gardening in a primitive, eclectic, and carefree manner. I've never
been a girly girl and don't grow many girly plants. Mostly all the plantings
have a purpose, either to sustain us, or to use in my crafting.
Click the picture to download the free instructions on how to make your own
shoe garden!
I do love my shrub roses and hydrangeas, because they're not only beautiful,
but I can craft with them. The grounds are packed with vegetable garden beds,
perennials, herbs, fruit trees, and shrubs, which thankfully are all thriving
while the birds, bees, and butterflies flutter about.
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Click on the picture to buy the pattern and download Potpourri instructions
for free !
The
vegetable gardens are planted in raised beds for drainage and easy care. We
don't use any chemicals and try to keep things as natural as possible.
Click on the picture to buy the pattern !
Everything
is heavily mulched with our own shredded leaves, and done in the early spring so
that we are weed free til frost. We plant more than enough and then some, so
that the wildlife will also get their fill, a theory preached long ago by my
grandfather.
I vividly
remember my grandfather's cold frames, trellised grapevines, birdhouses, and
potting sheds.
They were
mere curiosities during my childhood, but are now a source of inspiration. We
have built our own coldfame and greenhouse for starting plants, large compost
bin, arbors and trellises to give everything structure. However, the
plantings are carefree and we try not to stress over things...if something
doesn't thrive, we remove it and find a better home for it.
Mixed
among the plantings are rusty roadside findings, a village of birdhouses, tufa
pots, and abandoned architectural treasures. I have an obsession with rocks and
we have several rock walls and "sculptures".
We also
celebrate nature with windmills, whirligigs, rainchains and tin roofs for the
rain to ping off of.
Lisa: When we located in the Sierra foothills to raise our family, we bought
five acres of what seemed like all rocks and red clay dirt. It also was full of
manzanita, madrone, wild flowers and California holly, which has been very
useful in my art. It was definitely a challenge to carve out our little niche to
house my 250 roses, grapes, many flower bulbs, fruit and nut trees. I guess you
could say we went overboard on the roses, altho that has dwindled down due to
some help.
One of 4 rose gardens and our California Wildflowers in the Spring
We built a sunken patio surrounded by a butterfly garden and put stairs to
lead to a secluded pond. Our wonderful daughter bought us a lawn swing to
overlook this treasured site, which the raccoons really get a kick out of.
 
Well, everything was going good right up until our beloved dogs died and in
moved the wild life. We now have bunnies to tend the flowers and deer to mow the
roses to the ground.
Click the picture to buy the stitchery pattern !
 
We even have a peacock that showed up and moved in and has become the new watch
dog.
It seems like every cat within 3 miles lives here, but they keep the field mouse population down
so we welcome them.
Click on the picture to buy this pattern !
Not to forget our rototiller wild turkeys who come through on a daily basis
and turn our mulch. We also have the usual suspects...skunks, possums,
squirrels, porcupines, foxes, you name it, we got it.
I still watch the birds and feed them. We have alot of finches, mourning
doves and humming birds. They love to play in the tree off our bedroom and keep
us entertained. We see falcons, turkey vultures, red-tailed hawks, Canadian
geese and even a duck recouperated here one winter. He let us bring him in the
house and put him infront of the fireplace to warm up.
At night there is the serenade of frogs from all the ponds around here. I
have even found one swimming in one of our toilets before.
 
Click on the picture to download the frog pattern for
free!
Denise: I confess to a hearty junk pile and shed to store my treasures.
Future plans include an antique bathtub fountain, a few more espaliered fruit
trees, and a bottle tree. There's always room for one more birdhouse or one more
pot of herbs.
Lisa: My yard is mostly an ecletic rambling mess now with all the bushes,
vines, trees and other plants having grown to full size. I think most of all, I
find greater happiness that the wild life all find our yard a safe haven while
their native habitat is being developed out from under them. I am still working
on getting a potting shed and the time to use it...let alone some much needed
yard work.
Denise: Here's to spring, the smell of dirt, and the warmth of the sunshine!
Lisa: Hey Denise, you know they say it "never rains in sunny California". Who ever
wrote that did not live here. It also snows.
Yes, here's to spring, flowers and all the wonderful wildlife that will end
up in our yards this year~ Lisa
Ever wonder where Denise got the name "Sassafras Hill", or Lisa got "Skunk
Hollow Country Store"? Just take a look...
Let us say Thank You to all who took part with pictures for this
conversation.
Debbie of Woolen Sails for the Butterfly Pictures.
Verlene of Fantasy Folk for her Stream, Dalia's, Cecil Brunner Rose, Purple
Roses, her pond and her frog in the pond pictures.
Sandra for her Raining Rabbit Stitchery Doodle and her instructions for Acid
Paper Doodle Painting
Denise of Sassafras Hill for her wonderful memories and help on the article
and her pictures of the Sassafras Tree that belonged to her Grandmother, the
Pansies, Sweetrocket flowers, the flower walkway, Miss Peekaboo Annie. The
Vegetable garden, potting shed, squirrels, shoe garden, colored shed, rock
garden and the birdhouse pole.
Lisa of Skunk Hollow Country Store for the Purple and white Iris, deer
pictures, rose garden, California wild flowers, sunken patio, peacock, snow,
skunk and sunrise.
Also, to all who donated a pattern or put one up for sale.
Thank you.
Click
here if you enjoyed this conversation or you would like to suggest another!
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