Everything's Coming up PINK

George and I have been 'walking the yard' every morning about 7:30 a.m. AND--of course,  we are both snapping pictures like crazy... The Roses are marvelous now and so are the Lilies and Daylilies.

I have so many pictures of ROSES that I don't know where to begin to share some of them... SO---after looking through many many pictures,  I decided to do a post on some of our PINK ROSES in our yard...  Some of them are solid,  some multi,  some larger than others,  some have pink on the outside and some have pink on the inside...

I didn't bother to look up their names (since we have 55 different varieties) ---but these are definitely some of my favorites.   All of these pictures were taken in late May/early June.  Hope you enjoy the pictures today! You'll notice that a few of them were taken after the rain we had on Sunday/Monday this week.  Be sure to click on all of them in order to see enlargements.  See if you can pick out a favorite... I can't!!!!  I love them ALL.

Hybrid Tea and Grandiflora Roses are some of the prettiest I have ever seen.  And --most of them smell SO good.   However,  many people don't grow them anymore  (opting for ones like the Knock Outs or little climbing roses) because these roses take ALOT of EFFORT and WORK.

Growing these roses is one of George's many hobbies...  He treats each of these 57 different bushes as one of his 'babies'.... Each one takes lots of love and caring for...  I am the most fortunate woman in the entire world to get to enjoy the roses up close and personal.  As many of you know,  George brings a beautiful rose into the house in a vase for me to enjoy most every day....   I cannot express in words the JOY these Roses ---and my hubby---bring me!   Thanks, Sweetie....  I love you and I love the Roses!!!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Hugs,
 Betsy

Our Yard ---Then and Now

2006

Most of you know how much George and I LOVE yardwork.  When we bought our home in 2002,  the yard was basically bare (except for grass and some shrubs)--and there were only a few container flowers sitting around in front.   We moved into the house permanently in the summer of 2003 --but George worked fulltime until 2006... SO --most of the major improvements in our yard took place after 2006.  Since that time,  we have worked hard (George --much more than I)---and it's fun to look at the 'then and now' photos....

Today,  I will share some of the 'then and now' photos I have found...  Be sure to click on all of the photos for enlargements.  Above is our front yard as it looked in 2006.  We did have our 3 round flowerbeds built before 2006.  You can see two of them in this photo--but no ROSES yet!!!!

2012

This is what our yard looks like today from a similar angle.  (Picture taken on Monday, 6/4/12);    Doesn't look like the same yard,  does it?   (See George there using the edger?)

2006

Here's another picture taken from 2006.  We did have our flagpole up by then...  And we had done quite a bit of work on the two rock beds and our sidewalk...  But --the yard basically still looked bare!

2010

This picture was taken in 2010 ...  Can you see some differences????? ha...  Lots of work was accomplished between 2008 and now.... YEAH!!

2012

This picture was taken on Sunday, June 10, 2012... Compare it with the two above!!!! Unbelievable!

2008

Here is a picture of our Ivy/Periwinkle side (upper side) of the yard, taken in 2008...  It started out as a rock garden with Autumn Joy Sedum,  Siberian Iris,  Daffodils and Hosta....  Then we started planting some Ivy --and Periwinkle to have a ground cover along that entire area....  See the next picture for what it looks like today.

2012

And here is what that area looks like today!!!  Quite a change, don't you think?   Note that the tree trunk/stump is now gone...  We still have Autumn Joy Sedum,  Siberian Iris and Hosta in that bed ---but the Ivy and Periwinkle have really expanded in two years.  We wanted an area with groundcover (especially in areas which are hard to mow) ---so this has worked out perfectly.   (Picture taken on June 4, 2012)  NOTE:  The lighter green ivy is the new ivy growing now...  It has really taken off this year!

2009

This picture was taken in 2009...   Many of you will remember when George built our 'Road Flowerbed'....    He built it because that was the only really sunny area left in our yard...  In that bed,  he planted more Rose Bushes,  Irises,  Lilies and Daylilies...

2010

Here is what that bed looked like in 2010.  Things were beginning to GROW.....

2012

AND---finally,  here's that flowerbed in 2012. (Picture taken on June 4, 2012);    OH---the joys of gardening!!!!!  YES--it's alot of work,  but we love it...

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of the 'then and now' pictures of our evolving yard!!!!!

Have a wonderful day ---and get outside and play in the dirt... It's just downright healthy and joyful!!!!

Hugs,
Betsy