A Storybook Garden: Part II

GiGi’s yard has such a classic storybook feel to it.  Visiting her yard is like taking a step back in time.

"Chateau GiGi" as the sun sets

GiGi's surinam cherry tree produces more cherries than humanly possible to consume. The wildlife can barely put a dent in the amount the trees produce.

Grayson picking cherries.

A momma and baby owl looking down at us from GiGi's tree.

Inside the kid's playhouse.

Entrance to the playhouse.

Tea time in the playhouse.

The fairy princess cleaning up after her "tea party".

Climbing playground made from... yes, the Banyan tree. She is having a commemorative plaque made to place here to honor the tree. Do you see the footprint slices?

Wooden footprints.

Standing on wooden footprints.

A picnic area. Doesn't this beat the usual plastic white chairs?

Servants quarters (the birds & bees house). This is the trunk of a Royal Palm tree from which Hurricane Wilma blew off the heart of the tree. It is now hose clamped together and provides many homes for wildlife... thanks to the condo city that the woodpeckers developed.

Guardians of the Castle.

GiGi isn't the only noctural creature in this yard. Do you see the owl in the middle?

There is so much wildlife in her yard…we are never alone.  The Great Horned Owls always watch us from the trees and the bees buzz over our heads as they fly to their house. The list of critters I could name would be practically endless.  I kick myself  whenever I forget to bring my camera.  The backyard was just a lawn with some beautiful trees when she bought the house.   She’s put her heart and soul into her yard and now it is her own personal paradise (not to mention a grandchild’s dreamland) and private retreat.  Her gardens inspire me to create more outdoor spaces, plant more and use more garden art in our own yard.

Come grow with us!

A Garden Flower Shower

Our garden changes every week and sometimes every day.  We pulled out the collards that had gotten big and yucky and pulled out all the cilantro.  A bunch of tomato plants grew up in the flower bed from the compost we had put in.  The heat in Southwest Florida is starting to take its toll on our garden.  We’re now planting crops that like extreme heat for the summer time.  The black-eyed pea plants are loving the 95 degree temperatures and so is the okra and callaloo.  We’ve trying to grow several unique varieties of watermelon this year and many, many unusual passionfruits.  The sunflowers love the heat too and a few of them are well over 6 feet tall right now.  

A surprise harvest of tomatoes.

This tomato has so much personality that we gave her a name. We haven't eaten her yet.

My favorite addition to the garden this year is our garden flower shower.  It’s handmade from copper and has a valve to turn it on and off.  It also has a spigot that provides a wonderful footwash. I’ve got it set up right next to our back door where we come in from the garden. It’s nice  to have a quick footwash before we go into the house.  My daughter loves to play in the shower and the ducks watch with envy in their eyes. 

Flower shower head.

The copper flower shower is 7 feet tall.

This is the spigot at the bottom of the shower. It makes the perfect footwash.

Foot wash.

The valve to turn the shower on and off.

The shower is used as a fountain in this picture. The base of the shower is in concrete and it is plumbed into a small pump and the pump is placed into the galvanized bucket.

A flower shower fountain.

I gave one of these to my mom for mother’s day.  The company has lots of flower colors to choose from…it’s tough to make a choice.  The footwash is an addition to the shower and costs a little extra, but it’s worth it.  The shower can be ordered from Crafty and Copper Creations.  It was a bit of a splurge for us but it is handmade from copper and we use it every day.  It has been a great solution to stop the huge amount of dirt that was traveling into the house from outside.  We love it. 

Come grow with us!