Well, not in my garden. That would be a short entry with many weeds and a few deer.
This was a real garden tour put on by the local Master Gardner's group. They apparently do this once a year, but this was the first time we had heard about it. We were able to tour 5 different gardens near our home.
While they were incredible to see, mostly they made me tired. All I could think of looking around was how I would need to spend all day every day all year working in the yard to have yards like theirs. Sure, all of these people had staff to tend their gardens. Some of the gardeners were even on hand to talk about what they did. I have no staff. My yard will never be like that, but that's ok. It's more fun to peek into others' yards and enjoy what they have and not have any weeding to do nor pests to contend with.
I admit it. I'm not really a flower person. Sure, I see them and think they're pretty and then my brain flits off onto other things. This dahlia caught my eye though. The colors look like a pineapple tomato. See? There I go with the food thing again.
There were lots of animals on the tour as well. I particularly liked the chickens. I have no idea why, but I've always had a thing for chickens. When I was in elementary school my friend had chickens (and turkeys which may be the dumbest of all animals) and I loved to visit the chicken coop. Maybe it was that book about chickens my mother gave me. Whatever it was, I love chickens. We also saw quite a few horses and I was surprised to see an elephant.
I was so busy looking down at the amazing vegetable garden that it took me by surprise to look up and see this huge ivy elephant. Talk about a garden ornament. The sign told us that he will be underplanted with sweet potatoes soon.
Several of the houses also had orchards. I love walking through fruit trees.
This reminds me that I should get outside and see if we have any pears growing.
These gardens were probably only 5 miles south of us, but their vegetables were so much farther along. It's really quite a bit warmer there than at our house. The tomatoes all had fruit on them while mine are still just blossoms. There were lettuces, green beans and even the start of squashes. Don't you just want to reach out and pick these raspberries?
The homes all had different ways to manage pests of the four legged variety. There were fences both tall and electrical. Some trees had been netted. I think to be successful at our house I might need something like this house has:
Isn't it amazing? A screened in house. The screening is small enough that even birds are kept out. It had two rows of planter beds and lovely gravel walkways. In the back was a sink! I cannot even imagine a house like this with plumbing too.
At several of the homes they had short lectures. We learned about keeping chickens as well as beekeeping and container gardening. The bee man will also set up a hive in your yard, tend it and give you a share of the honey. I think that's the way to go if we ever get a fence. I used to think I'd take the beekeepers class they teach near me, but realistic me says it would be better to let a pro do it and just have fun watching the bees and enjoy a little honey from our neighborhood. The container teacher said she is really successful with her container veggies because she really crowds the plants. She said if the plants have to compete for space and resources they grow bigger and produce more fruit so that their offspring will have a better chance. I'm going to try adding some herbs and flowers to one of my tomato pots. I'll let you know if we can see a difference.
-- marcella
