How Does Your Garden Grow?

I have always been drawn to the coolness of a garden. Perhaps it is because when God placed man on the Earth, He put them in the Garden of Eden. I can only imagine the beauty of that wonderful place and can't wait to see what the gardens in heaven look like.

In every single place we have lived, whether it is an apartment, a rental house or even our very own home, I have always placed plants in whatever space I had available. For living in an apartment, most of those stayed in containers or pots.

When we first bought our first home, it was truly a labor of love to not only have an inviting front yard, but also a wonderful garden in the backyard, that could become a personal space to get away from the day to day stresses of the world.

Even now in our rental home, we have carried on that tradition and turned our desert landscape into a backyard oasis that doesn't seem to fit in, because it is so lush and green. a far cry from the photo at the top of this post which was what it used to look like. The one thing missing however in this one, is a running fountain or water feature. We do have a fountain and bird bath for our local birds that stop by or the neighboring cat, but nothing beats the sound of a bubbling fountain.

I have to admit that my one escape these days has been for a new NetFlix feature called Big Dreams, Small Spaces with host and gardener Monty Don. It's based in England where any space is quickly claimed as a garden. I have to admit after watching a couple episodes I find myself wanting not only to learn more about the plants I currently have growing or in some cases dying and adding more varieties to lure bees, butterflies and birds to this rare space in the desert. I do know that every year with the extreme weather we get, from the blazing hot temperatures, lack of rain and water, and hard soil, it can be a challenge to keep things green.

Even something as simple as strawberries and tomatoes seem to be a bit of a challenge to not only grow but to keep the insects from devouring the plants before we can harvest anything. We do have two apples trees which thankfully are producing fruit each year, not only for us, but for the birds as well.

I love a fragrant garden, so all the plants we grow tend to lean in that common direction. From Honeysuckles, to Lavender, from Freesia, to Morning Glories, I love the garden to want to draw you in and spend some time just sitting and listening to the sounds of birds singing. My favorite local wildlife are the Mourning Doves. They come at sunrise and sunset and I have to make sure there is plenty for them to enjoy. I believe the most we have had at one time has been between 18-22 birds.

Of course we also have an entire Rose Garden with 13 plants of different colors and fragrances, and over the years, these have been the one thing Steve will purchase for me for Mother's Day or Anniversaries because I can enjoy them most of the year over store bought bouquets. There are also two hummingbird feeders to keep the local population quite happy all year long. Yes, they even stay during our cold Winters.

So I have shared mine garden with you, what is your garden growing?