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

My Prayer for America

Today, on this National Day of Prayer, this video expresses my prayer for the world, my country, my state, my town, and my self:  for a return to Torah.

Advice for Gardeners

My new planter for greens.  Grape vines and our budding fig tree are behind.

 My sweet husband has begun our garden.  He even built this planter for lettuce and spinach.  I saw it on a gardening website and he graciously agreed to make one.  I like it because I can snip the new leaves without having to bend over.  Pretty ingenious, huh?  He's the best husband in the world.  

I ran across this poem earlier in the week, and wanted to share it with my fellow gardeners.  It's old and I don't know the author, but I like it.  

 Advice for Gardeners

 Plant three rows of Squash:
Squash Gossip
Squash Criticism
Squash Indifference

Plant three rows of Peas:
Purity
Patience
Perseverance

Plant four rows of Lettuce:
Let us be Kind
Let us be Faithful
Let us be Obedient
Let us Love one another

No Garden is complete without Turnips:
Turn up for Meetings
Turn up for Service
Turn up to lend a Helping Hand

To conclude our planting,
We must have Thyme:
Thyme for G-d
Thyme for Study
Thyme for Prayer

Water freely with Patience and Cultivate with Love.
There is much fruit in Your Garden.
Because you Reap what you Sow.

The world is G-d's garden.
We are here for a short time.
Let us be thankful for having the privilege of the visit.

Author unknown