Pups Welcome You at the Gate

The Pups have been Anxiously Awaiting your Return...Angel is standing and Rosie (left) and Jasper (right) on all fours - hope you'll come back and see them often...or just stay!  They love visitors - especially visitors who will play with them, give belly rubs or bring chicken treats with them!  They watch at the gate for trucks bringing mommy "goodies"...the mail lady...Dave with the loud truck and the other Dave with the boat.  They let us know when
someone is approaching...whether they know them or not.  But, they're learning when to STOP barking.  They'll even let you smell their favorite flowers in the garden.  They'll be at the Gate watching for you!

So far, there are a few more hydranges on the Endless Summer plants...but alot less than last year.  We trimmed them back quite a bit last fall and that trimming removed some of the buds for this year.  But we'll have plenty of Blooms - they'll just be a little later than normal. 

Alot of the Garden 2012 has changed.  I never did get any photos of our 2013 Garden...with all the storms we had {that made all the hydrangeas fall over, looked bedraggled} and a couple of vacations we took...time just slipped away and pictures wouldn't have looked good.  But, if you haven't seen it, here is our 2012 Garden!

We removed the grass in the center, after the dogs got a bad case of Fleas, which we found in the grass.  This was always a wet and damp area...and alot of the time, the dogs didn't even want to go anywhere near the grass...especially if it had just been raining.

So spring, of 2013...out came the grass and in went the rest of the pavers.  The Pups much prefer doing their potty on the pavers.  No more wet feet!

All of the Pink and the Burgundy Roses died over the 2013 Winter...making way for the 2014 herbs and peppers I planted.

A Special Story About Benny

This picture of Benny reminded me of a cute Story about him.  Just after this photo was taken, I groomed Benny for summer, removing most of his heavy coat.  It's a shame I never took a photo of him AFTER this grooming, because he had the cutest up-side-down heart on his butt.  The point was at his tail and the 2 scoops of the heart were at his butt line, making him look like he was wearing "daisy dukes"!  So many people would comment on it...making us all laugh.  A photo of that heart and "daisy dukes" would have been priceless, now that he's gone.  Benny was so precious to everyone he met. 

This is the area in which we eventually added the last Hydrangea this year.

Our first Garden, in 2007 had all these undulating lines around the concrete patio and stairs/porch.  It was filled with a variety of perennials, making it look like an English Garden.  Unfortunately most of my photos were lost last year, when my computer went crazy on me.

Luckily, I had this collage in a post on my old Blog and kept it in another file.  You'll see Butterfly plants, Cosmos, Hollyhocks, Dusty Miller, Coneflowers, Lilies, Roses and a multitude of other plants.  I planted 3 of all of the varieties in the garden near the porch...with Hollyhocks and Dusty Miller along the garage.  It was beautiful.  Gradually we added other areas of patio pavers and the Wall Garden, enclosing the courtyard.  Thanks for visiting our Garden again.