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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

My Wonderful Garden

Gardening has never been my thing.  I've got the world's biggest brown thumb.  But - lucky for me - my hubby loves growing stuff.  He's really good at it too.

Not only is my hubby a great gardener, Roger's skills rubbed off on our son.  So much so that Cody now has a bachelor's degree in Botany.




There's a space in our backyard that over the years, has become a large flower patch.  Although some flowers would always bloom, every year there were less flowers coming up, and more weeds. 




Early last April when Cody was home for Easter break, he and his Dad teamed up to replant our old, overgrown flower bed.  Cody said it was my early Mother's Day gift.




The guys replaced the worn out soil with new, rich mulch.  They bought tons of new bedding plants (snapdragons and pansies) and placed them in rows.  Roger planted some bulbs, and Cody scattered a wild seed mix throughout.  Finally Roger created a small brick-lined path that cut through the middle of the garden.




After a good soaking, and lots of spring rains, beautiful things started to rise from the ground.




The first to bloom were the lilies.  White, yellow, and this gorgeous orange tiger lily.




Then came the dahlias, in many hues.  These big, poofy flowers really brightened up the backyard.




From the bulbs came sunny, orange gladiolas.




The wild seed mix spawned a huge patch of brilliant pink flowers.  Some had darker pink centers, and some were white with pink centers.  So lovely!




One of my very favorite dahlias ready to bloom.



It wouldn't be a garden without some sunflowers - and I had nearly a dozen of these yellow blossoms gracing my yard.




As June wound down, and July began, the sunny days and hot temps created a huge, colorful floral frenzy.




I loved looking out my dining room window every morning, checking out the recent blooms.




On the weekends, I'd grab my camera and catch the morning light illuminating these pretty blossoms.




I had more fun photographing my flower bed.  Capturing morning dewdrops on the dahlia petals.  Catching bees in their quest for pollen.  And discovering a cute little spotted bug hanging out on one of the sunflowers.




It was the greatest Mother's Day gift.  Something I've been able to enjoy throughout the summer.

And now I'm sharing photos of my wonderful garden with all you faithful readers.  May these images brighten your day.


Linking to:  Share Your Cup Thursday  and Weekly Top Shot.

20 comments:

  1. Linda~
    Good morning to you! LOVE the garden your son and hubby created for you--definitely a gift that will keep on giving! Your close-ups of the flowers (and visiting insects) are amazing!
    Blessings,
    Aimee

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  2. These images definitely brightened my day. Your shots are so lovely! It is so sweet that they created this garden for you to enjoy - and for us to enjoy as well through your photos!

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  3. What a great gift - neither me nor my wife has a green thumb.

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  4. Wonderful gift. Wonderful garden. Wonderful photography.

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  5. What gorgeous flowers. So nice that you have help with your garden.

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  6. They did brighten my day. That was a beautiful gift that keeps on giving!

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  7. Your hubs did a great job with the garden and you did a great bouquet of photos in this post!

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  8. I imagine your flowers look amazing in their new home. What an awesome Mother's Day gift.

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  9. I'm a big fan of shooting my flowers and bugs too!

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  10. Oh my, fabulous blooms and terrific captures!

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  11. How absolutely lovely and what a wonderful Mother's Day gift!! I love the flowers and your way of taking their pictures makes them even more special! What I want to know is when can Cody come over here and sort out my garden!! Joan

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  12. What a lovely present, and it really is a riot of colour.

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  13. Oh, wow, these are beautiful shots!
    And a good story behind them, too.
    I absolutely love it that your son has a degree in Botany - that just makes my day!

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  14. What a perfect combination, your guys like to do gardening and landscaping and you have beautiful plants and flowers to photograph!

    Thank You for sharing the gorgeous flowers you get to enjoy everyday, Linda.

    Ranch Wife Robyn

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  15. Now that is a fantastic Mother's Day present, gorgeous flowers that will last longer than the shop bought variety and the chance to capture them on camera. I love your term 'brown thumb'! xx

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  16. What a beautiful garden your hubby and son planted for you! A beautiful Mother's day gift that never ends! You take fantastic pictures of your flowers! I enjoyed seeing them!
    Nancy

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  17. beautiful. love that shot of the purple flower with darker insides

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  18. Linda, they are the gardeners and you are the photographer. Together you make for a wonderful bounty of glorious garden blooms! What a wonderful gift! Thanks for sharing it with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  19. A garden as a gift? Your husband and son are definitely the sweetest for giving you a wonderful gift. They even built a small landscape, so the plants and flowers will be properly aligned when they bloom. You must be one proud Mama.

    Mark @ LandScaperVirginiaBeach.com

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