Thankful Thursday - Pond Tour # 5

Water lilies in one of the many ponds in the backyard

Our next stop on the pond tour was at the home of Pat and Candy Murphy, and they were the most hospitable couple we met that day.  They served hot dogs, drinks, and homemade brownies to everyone who visited their garden between 11 am and 1 pm.  They even invited us to come back for a party on St. Patrick's Day. They enticed us with stories about their corned beef and cabbage dinners.  Sounds like fun to me, so I marked my calendar.

Not only were they hospitable and welcoming, they  also were very generous in sharing their garden wisdom.  They even gave us cuttings from some of their plants. 

You know they love to entertain because they have so many areas for dining.  I counted five dining rooms in their backyard.  Here is the most colorful one:

Above is one view of this colorful and creative outdoor dining room.  There is a small pond in the foreground.  Below is the same room viewed from a different angle.

Don't you just love the eclectic beachy style and colors?

I loved this dining room, too.  So shady and inviting.  On the right is a outdoor bar and grill from which the refreshments were served.  

My daughter wanted a picture with this old wash tub.  We had one when she was growing up, and I called it her swimming pool.  I still have that old thing, too.  I have been called sentimental, and it's so true. 

These are raised garden beds for growing vegetables.  The only thing growing at the time were the two plants above.  I think it is cabbage, but I'm not sure.  He built the supports so he could put shade cloth over the beds.  The sun here in Central Florida is really hard on vegetable plants in the summer.  

 This is another view looking toward the vegetable garden.  There is a pond adjacent to the bench.  The wood stacked there is for the fire pit below:


 

This is a genius idea.  The fire pit is the brick structure above, which is covered by a moveable table.  There is a pond on the right, and another behind the bush with the blue flowers.  I didn't take pictures of the ponds because I did that last year.  You can see more of this garden HERE.

My grandson really liked this decorative fish.  I remember these being used as lamps in the 70's.  I love how this couple uses all kinds of art to decorate their garden, don't you?  

I love this winding pathway through the backyard, and their use of native plants for landscaping. 

We'll leave this happy garden with a view of some angel statues guarding one of the tiny ponds.  We are not finished with the tour, though, dear Gail-Friends.  Be sure to come back next week to see another beautiful pond and garden.  There is so much more I've yet to show you. 
 (Don't forget to go HERE to see more photos of the Murphy's wonderful garden.)

Thankful Thursday is my weekly discipline - to express my gratitude to Hashem for His over-flowing, abundant blessings.

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  I'm linking up today with:
 Spiritual Sunday

The Gathering Spot Link-Up

All Things Bright and Beautiful Link-Up

Modest Mom Monday Link-up 

Growing Homemakers Link-Up

Titus 2 Tuesday 

Tuesdays with a Twist

A Hope in Every Season Homemaking Link-Up  
Wordless Wednesdays 

Winsome Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds
Whole Hearted Wednesday 
Wake Up Wednesday

Hearts for Home
Favorite Things 

Fab Creative Friday
Friendship Friday 
Freedom Friday

Garden and Pond Tour 2013

Entrance to this beautiful backyard garden

Part 1 of the Merritt Island Ace Hardware Pond Tour

Yesterday, my husband and I went on a local "pond tour".  Oh, the beautiful gardens we saw.  I want to share the beauty we saw with my dear Gail-Friends, so I'll post each garden separately.  My only regret is not taking my "real" camera.  These shots were taken with my little Nikon Cool Pix camera, and don't have the clarity and up-close ability of my other one.  Our tour only lasted from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm because the rain set in.  Next year, we'll be ready (with umbrella's ) to cover all the gardens from 8:00 am to 5 pm.  This was our first tour, so next year we'll be prepared.

The first stop on the tour was in the back yard of a lovely couple who are very eclectic in their approach to gardening.  They mix different styles and elements for a very cottage garden effect.  I adored this garden and found many things I want to re-create in our own green space.  (Hubby will do the creating because he's the one with the green thumb)

They had several signs throughout the garden with sayings that warmed my heart, like this one:



A kiss from the sun for gladness
A song from the birds for mirth
One is nearer G-d's heart in a garden
Than any place else on earth. 


So true.  I love my garden and feel so close to the Father when I sit among the trees and the birds.

I forgot to count how many ponds and water features were in this yard, but there were many.

The gardeners have a delightful way of putting items together for a whimsical effect.

Don't you just love this door?  Don't you want to see what's on the other side? 

This "pond" is an old bathtub.  Don't you love the window?

One of the many dining areas in the garden

This dining area is so inviting

This dining area is adjacent to the gazebo.  The one below is a deck with a covered hot tub.  I love the bright deck painting.  Don't you know they have lovely dinner parties? 

Another water feature.  Do you see the alligator?

Another pond...and another alligator.  (we have lots of those in Florida)

That's my sweet husband there in the Hawaiian shirt.  He's making mental notes about ideas for our garden. 

This is the fire pit - grill area.  The brick structure is a grill with a removable cover, so it can be used as a table.  The fire pit has concrete benches nearby

Love the decorated rain barrels

Another element of the garden is the vegetable garden.  They built  raised beds to make gardening easy on the joints.  The framework over the beds is for shade cloth to shield the plants from the strong, hot Florida sun during the summer months.

The plants in the back are tomatoes - coming to the end of their life.  We had a very warm winter, so were able to grow non-stop.  The plants in the foreground are collards, a favorite here in the South.

The man in the picture is the homeowner, and does the building as well as the gardening.  .  I'm sad that I didn't get a picture of his wife, who was a  pure delight.  They were so friendly and loved answering questions about the garden & ponds.  They also served the guests sodas, bottled water and home-made muffins.  That's what you call Southern hospitality. 

My next post will share a couple more of the gardens we visited that day.  I hope you'll stop by for the rest of the tour.

I'll be sharing with :
Show and Tell Saturday
  Spiritual Sundays   Monday Musings The Modest Mom
The Better Mom
An Original Belle

SharingHis Beauty

Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Teach Me Tuesday

Homestead Abundance Tuesdays #4
Titus 2 Tuesday 

Domestically DivineTuesdays
Wordless Wednesdays 
Wisdom Wednesdays
Encourage One Another Wednesdays

Winsome Wednesday

A Wise Woman Builds
A Hope in Every Season Homemaking Link-Up 
Thought Provoking Thursday
Jill's Home Remedies
Little Natural Cottage
Hearts for Home
Favorite Things
Faith Filled Friday