Joanne's Beautiful Garden

This beautiful garden has caught my attention for the last couple of years.   I vividly remember stopping to look at it last summer.   This summer, I have regular stopped to enjoy the beautiful flower gardens.   It's such a beautiful yard, with so many flowers.  My garden is so sadly lacking in comparison.

Roughly a year ago, I decided to give blogging a serious shot.  I'd been posting random posts randomly.  Come early fall last year, I decided to post more regularly and to narrow my topics.  Gardening was a definite topic!  I can't say I'm super good at gardening, however, I have a HUGE appreciation for the work that goes into a beautiful garden.

What I didn't anticipate, on my blogging journey, was how nice people would be to me.  When I reached out to someone on Facebook, who I didn't know, and asked them how they did something, they called me and spent an hour walking me through each step.  Wow.  Someone who I didn't know!  More than once, a fellow blogger has willingly given time and shared their knowledge with me, totally without any expectations.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago.  This beautiful garden backs onto a golf course that I play at.  I figured out where the house was, drove there, with my camera, to ask if I could take pictures.  No one answered the door when I rang the doorbell.  I realized the gardener was most probably deadheading or doing some other garden chore.  So I peaked around the back.  And yes, there was the woman who I would learn was called Joanne.  Who has the greenest thumb!  Who was so generous, and gave me permission to take pictures that day, and any other day I wanted.

As I looked closer, I could see the labor of love this garden is.  I asked how many hours a week she spent and she chuckled when I suggested a part-time  job.  Yes, Joanne has no time for golf because she spends more time tending to her plants than many people spend working each week.  It took four years to get the flower gardens to look like this.  About 300 plants from the original owner and then another 300 that Joanne added.   And the beds were changed and moved around.  A FOUR YEAR project!!

I couldn't help but notice the stone-lined beds.  That was a summer project last year.  Can you imagine how long that would take!

Not only are there a ton of flowers in sunny areas, but there are also shade gardens.  All perfectly outlined by stones.

 

Now, this garden also has a little whimsy in it.  Love the cute statues strategically placed!

I love this bunny!!

{SIGH}  I have the hugest case of garden envy right now!

As I was wandering through this garden, I spotted these pretty purple flowers.  I recognized them.  Not the name of this plant.  But the adventure one had at my house.

That would be my Raji kitty.  The reason I don't keep a vase of flowers on my counters anymore.  Please ignore the mess in the background of the picture.  {SIGH}  It's summer and hard to keep everything picked up.

Thank you Joanne for the beautiful gardens you have created.  Know that they are appreciated by many.  Just not many people are weird enough to knock on your door asking to take pictures!   Hope you don't mind, but I will take you up on your offer to drop in and take more pictures. You will probably see me super early, at about 7:20am.  If I can get the first tee-time that is.  I'd be quick though, 'cause I certainly can't get behind on my game!