I let it "slip" in my last post that we'll soon be moving from our beloved Kansas! We have loved living here in Kansas whether country or city, in small towns and large. But our hearts are torn because all our kids and grandkids live far away.
As hard as it will be to leave our native state, we want to be part of our grandkids' lives, and most of them live in Missouri, so we are packing up and moving to the southeast corner of that beautiful state. Our house has sold to a wonderful family—friends of ours from our church—which makes it so much easier to leave the Kansas house and yard we've enjoyed so much.
We're buying a house in a new town (smaller than Wichita) and we're excited to explore a new kind of gardening. I got to check off the #1 item on my wishlist with this lovely wooded backyard that will soon be ours.
Leaving our garden to a new family
Clematis in June are bustin' out all over!
The clematis in the backyard is in full bloom and so pretty this year. We once had a red clematis mixed in with that white, but it seems to have died off. Still, the dark purple Clematis Jackmanii and the white Clematis Huldine are so pretty and give the yard a great summery vibe. We didn't plant nearly as many pots this year since we'll be moving next month (to Missouri!) but these flowering perennials do wonders to brighten up the landscape!
I'm especially pleased that FINALLY, the hellebores seem to be established and are full of blooms!
Full-on Spring in our Yard
This little redbud tree we transplanted from a little sapling volunteer in the front entryway garden has come into its own in the backyard. I think now that it doesn't stand in the shadow of the pear tree we had to cut down, it will really thrive!


Finally, a little snow!
Fall 2018
We had an early freeze on October 14th and that was the beginning of the end for many of our plants. But the frost on the last roses of summer was gorgeous!
Summer 2018 – A Sad End to a Tree
One of the things that attracted us to this house was a backyard full of trees! We were especially fond of the majestic Bradford Pear tree that towered over the house. It gave such beauty in all seasons and survived several snow- and ice-storms.
And then, last summer, its leaves started turning long before they should have. Ken sprayed and pruned, trying to save the tree. But this spring, it barely put on any blooms or leaves and it seemed apparent the tree was dying, as Bradford Pears are wont to do after the 20-plus years this one has probably been growing.
We had a tree guy come and take a look and he confirmed our fears. The tree was diseased and needed to come down. We were SO sad! I never knew you could have such feelings for a silly tree.But down it came, limb by limb. And within half an hour, this tree that took decades to grow so tall was only a memory. :(
But even in death it gave us some gifts. A nice pile of free mulch.
Gorgeous sunrise views that we hadn't even realized we were missing!And memories that will last a lifetime. We might replace it with a much smaller tree (although the budget is blown by the price of removing a tree!) Or we might just enjoy the views and wait for our other trees to grow tall and strong.
My favorite outdoor office
It's the end of August, but there have still been some days when it was cool enough early in the day to bring my laptop out to the back deck to work. This is my favorite spot on our property when the weather is fine.
Spring 2018
Such a late spring we had, but now, on June 1, it feels like summer already. Here are a few views of the deck and backyard:
Peonies Popping!
The peony bushes are early this year... starting to bloom on May 14, when usually it's not until Memorial Day weekend! We're headed out to a conference and I'm afraid we're going to miss them! But a few of them have opened enough to come inside and cheer up my office space.
April Morning Mist
April Flowers
The hellebores have finally started to do something! We planted these the first year after we moved here and they did almost nothing for 4 years! I would love it if they'd fill in the space under the deck stairway.
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Spring brings the prettiest sunsets! |
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The crabapple tree is my favorite spring welcome committee! |
The Coke crate sedum
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It's October 18, 2017, and we're starting to bring some of the plants inside in preparation for winter. Love how this pretty little sedum planter turned out. |
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This is where the sedum came from. We had fun planting this back in April. |
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The plants quickly filled out the box. |
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Mid-June, we added a perfect hen and chick, and some pink blooming sedum from a farmer's market. |
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In late July, the creeping thyme bloomed! |
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Now, in mid-October, the thyme has almost covered up the Coke box. |
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We'll be planting most of this in the ground, but it was a huge success in this spot and we hope to recreate it next spring. |
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Meanwhile, I'm thoroughly enjoying having some of it inside to brighten the coming winter days. |