Full-on Spring in our Yard

We returned from a two-week trip at the end of April to find it's full-on spring in our yard! Especially the side yard to the east of our house where the lilac bush and snowball bush are in full bloom and the Rose of Sharon is greening up. In the distance, you can see the apple tree almost finished blooming!

 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!

It hasn't snowed more than three inches in Wichita since March of 2016! We didn't get three inches, but it snowed enough on February 19, 2019 to make everything look sparkly and white. I always say, if it's going to be cold, it might as well be pretty with snow! But we're both eager for spring flowers!

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:

The checkerboard patio continues to look great and offers a nice "landing" at the bottom of the deck stairs.

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

Late April and a beautiful misty spring morning. I love the view looking across the deck.
[Click the photo to enlarge.]

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.

Spring brings the prettiest sunsets!

The crabapple tree is my favorite spring welcome committee!

The Coke crate sedum

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.

This is where the sedum came from. We had fun planting this back in April.

The plants quickly filled out the box.

Mid-June, we added a perfect hen and chick, and some pink blooming sedum from a farmer's market.

In late July, the creeping thyme bloomed!

Now, in mid-October, the thyme has almost covered up the Coke box.

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.

Meanwhile, I'm thoroughly enjoying having some of it inside to brighten the coming winter days.

October is here

 The other day, someone said their favorite color was "October." If that means the colors of these pansies and mums, I think I agree! Even though October marks several sad anniversaries (the deaths of my sister, my sister-in-law, and last year, my mom) it is still such a beautiful time of year and very symbolic of the beauty of death when you have God's gift of eternal life.