Tour of our Yard

Come and relax on our deck!

WOW---here it is June 1st!!!  How can that be?????  Now that Summer is here (unofficially),  I will say that,  even though it passed by quickly,  we did have a gorgeous spring this year.  I have shared many of our beautiful flowers with you (crocus, hyacinths, daffodils, tulips, irises--- plus more including our ROSES).   The pansies are still blooming but will be gone if it stays HOT for much longer.  The roses will be with us until late Fall.

But now our biggest bloomers are our lilies and daylilies.  Most of the roses have finished blooming their first batch ---and will start a 2nd batch soon.   George and I have both been very busy lately working in the yard.  We enjoy it ---although working in extreme heat is not much fun!  We finally have everything looking pretty good ---after weeding and weeding... Of course though,  those pesky weeds do have a habit of reappearing!  SO--weeding is an ongoing process.

Today,  in order to do something a little different,  I invite you on a short tour of our yard.  All of my photos today were taken either on May 27th or May 28th.  Be sure to click on them to enlarge them.

First though,  you need to sit on our deck and relax a minute.  I'll furnish some cold lemonade!!!!! Let's just TALK....

Freedom's Glow Lilies

OKAY---time for the tour!!!!! Wasn't that lemonade good?????  Our first stop is on the 'upper' side of the house where many lilies are planted... Some of them are blooming (picture above) ---but there are many more to bloom.   It's nice to sit on the deck and smell and enjoy all of the lilies!!!

The Upper side of our home

Next we will walk along the rock sidewalk noticing other lilies --either blooming or about to bloom.   When I talk about seeing this beauty from the kitchen window,  this is where that flowerbed is.   I weeded this big bed (going all along the length of our home) last weekend...  The Chipmunks love to tunnel in this bed --and eat the flower bulbs.... Darn those cute little critters!!!

Our ground covers (Periwinkle and English Ivy) and several gorgeous Hostas

Now we are in the front yard ---on the upper side. We have quite a bit of ground cover in certain places around the yard.   It has taken this ground cover several years to get thick enough to 'eat' the weeds!!!!  We love it---and it helps with the mowing!!!

Our Home --taken from the street

Here is a picture  taken from the road ---looking 'through' our road flowerbed toward the house.  Sometime,  I'll share some before and after photos of how this flowerbed has evolved... Those red lilies are our Montenegro Lilies.  They have been gorgeous this spring.  Behind the lilies are some Veteran's Honor Roses (also red in color).

Our front yard ---looking toward the road

I took this photo from the other direction.  I was standing near the garage --looking out toward the road.  You can get a better view of the road flowerbed.  Many of you remember when George built that bed.   We did it for the same reason we have so many container roses----to have a sunny spot in our mostly shady yard!!!!  Roses need SUN!!!!

Small flowerbed along the rock sidewalk

Now we are walking back around the sidewalk toward the back deck.  This little bed along the house side of the rock sidewalk has been a 'work in progress' since we bought the house in 2002.   For several years,   I planted Impatiens along here every spring....  Then,  one year,  the rabbit (or more than one) kept eating the Impatiens.... I tried again the next year,  and the rabbits came back and did it again... SO--I had to come up with Plan B!!!!!   Dad Adams gave us more of his Autumn Joy Sedum (we have it in other places around the yard),  so I separated it and planted it along this area.  It has done well---and causes me no trouble at all.   Last year,  I added more Hosta between some of the Sedum....

Autumn Joy Sedum and Hosta

Here's another picture  (closer)  of some of the Autumn Joy Sedum and Hosta in that little flowerbed.  Both are doing well---and take very little --if any---care or upkeep!!!!  I recommend Autumn Joy Sedum if you want some plants that are easy to grow and maintain.

More of our back deck

Finally,  we are back to where we started!!!!!  Hope you enjoyed the little tour.  We didn't go to the 'lower' side of the yard since there's nothing much there now except for our big woodpile and compost... Can't say that that is worth showing off!!!!! ha

WELL---now that we are back to the deck,  George and I invite you to 'break bread' with us!!!!!  Do you prefer burgers or steaks or chicken?????  George can cook a mean steak on the grill...  I KNOW ---since he made me one on Memorial Day evening... YUM!!!!

NOW---take me on a tour of your home.  I learn so much from all of you bloggers!!!!!  Thanks for visiting today -and you sincerely are invited to visit us if you are ever in Beautiful Tennessee...

Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday.

Hugs,
Betsy

Hiking in the Smokies

George and I took our last hiking trip to the Smokies for awhile... (We stay away from that area during the tourist season as much as possible--due to the traffic and large amounts of people around.)   We had to go to Knoxville for regular Toyota maintenance early on Tuesday,  May 21,  so we just drove the extra distance and went on a 4.3 mile hike.

This time, we first stopped off at the Foothills Parkway for some pictures of these beautiful mountains  before heading on for our hiking trip near Elkmont to Huskey Branch Falls.  Today will be the first set of the pictures from that trip... Hope you enjoy them!!!   Be sure to enlarge them for bigger pictures.

The picture above was taken from the Foothills Parkway near Townsend.  OH how I love these beautiful mountains!!!!!   NOTE those threatening skies... Hmmmmmmm---wonder what that means??????????

George took this photo of me at one of the overlooks on the Foothills Parkway...  As you can see,  I was happy to be there!!!!

Now we are on the path to Huskey Branch Falls... We followed the Little River (shown above) all of the way up the mountain.  This is a fabulous area of the Smokies --and provided us with many photo opportunities.   The last time we were in the Smokies,  the leaves were still not on the trees ---so it was great seeing all of the beautiful new Spring growth.

Here's another picture of me enjoying the Little River.  Since the weather was 'threatening'--we decided to wear our jackets on the trail.   Am I ever glad that we did!!!!!! ha.....  Note also that I'm wearing my camera vest ---which is wonderful.   The camera is always right there in front of me,  but I don't have to carry it,  or struggle with it bobbing back and forth when I walk!!!!!   If you don't have a Camera Vest (or wear a backpack like hubby does),  then I highly recommend this!

Here's a picture of George doing what he loves ----taking pictures using his tripod and his new filter......  

This is a picture of the type of photos George is getting using the new filter... I think they are truly AWESOME...  He can make the water turn to SILK....

Here's one of my 'creative' shots --without tripod and fancy lens.... BUT--I think it turned out pretty good anyhow.  I call it "Swirling Water"...

Finally,  here is a picture  we took of us at the Little River,  using the tripod...  Oh how we love being in the Smokies!!!!  More pictures to come of this 'memorable' hiking experience.....

Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend.  We did --although it was HOT here (hotter than it usually is this time of year up here on the Cumberland Plateau)..   We got some yard work done and cooked some steaks on the grill on Monday!!!!

Have a fabulous Wednesday.
Hugs,
Betsy