Favorite gardening Christmas gift

JRush, it's a pretty one, too! I have those pink & gray colors in one of my bathrooms.

And a bench, also made with the same pink granite. The color is lovely when the sun shines on it! I got the bench today - it weighs about 300 pounds! This is something I have thought about for a long time, but never went ahead & did anything about it.
I am very pleased, & very broke too :)
Julie

Well, it's beautiful, Julie. So nice to finally get something you really want.

Now to add a pink flamingo!

Hi,
I'm coming out of lurk mode cause I can't contain myself. That bird bath and bench are gorgeous! I would like one of each!! I feel myself going broke. And Nancy, what a wonderful piece of paradise. Jack (my other half) and I don't have a large piece of land, but what we have, we describe as our slice of heaven. Two more months and we'll be sitting outside in heaven again.

Nancy that is a lovely garden retreat you have there!
JRush, We bought the bench last spring in honor of my DMIL who passed 18 months ago. We stuck it by the pond where she loved to sit and invited all her friends down to plant flowers around it. I now will have to look into the birdbath as I think it would be a lovely addition in the flower bed they created. Going broke with you!
Anita, I agree with you on the bowhunting and the fair part. As DH says, "It's the CHALLENGE!!!!"
Gram, DH is a bow hunter??? Groan...I hear it all the time! But we can always talk plants and cooking!

Venue, Stop lurking, I like to hear from the person who's watching me! LOL
Besides, you are very optimistic...I can tell. "Two more months and we'll be sitting outside in heaven again."

You'll have to show us the birdbath and the bench in summer with flowers blooming all around them. Beautiful pieces, Julie.

Hmm, Pixie, I never thought of it that way but you're right. On these forums someone or many are watching. But I think I was over optmistic about the two more months and sitting outside. It should read two more months and WORKING outside LOL

work, yes....but I look forward to that kind of work!

Thanks for all your comments.
I have to agree with Pixie. It's a NICE kind of work. If it wasn't, I'd have 1 pot of dead plants. LOL!

The only part I don't enjoy because it IS work, is the clean-up in the fall.
I love being out there & I don't think it's the actuall "clean-up" I don't enjoy.
I think it's more because I know that it's going to get cold and grey and icy and yucky.

Between now & April I'll be planning next year's garden & going through tons of catalogues.
That & removing wallpaper & painting the kitchen. BLECH!

You can see my other garden pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlf/sets/

Check out the weekly updates albums. Every Saturday morning I take a picture from my bedroom window overlooking the yard. Using the slideshow feature, you can watch my garden grow & disappear as the season comes to a close.

You can also take a trip to Ethiopia by way of my Ethiopia albums. :o)

Nancy

Nancy, great pictures! the weekly slideshow is neat. looks to me like there's nothing you can't grow in a pot. and everything looks perfect. you're definitely doing something right (or quite a few 'somethings' LOL)

really enjoying your site
gram

Nice site Nancy. I'll go back later for a better browse.

I think it would be more fair if you gave the deer bows and arrows too ;)

Anita, I love that system. It would be great to have no more leggy seedlings. Do you start seeds inside?

Julie, Is that native Guilford granite? Was it from Rivezzi's?

Pirl, Christie Brinkley? Either your husband's fantasies were arrested 20 years ago or your just very loyal because she was/is a Long Island girl!

Great slideshow. I love the idea!

Dave, I only tried sowing Dragon wing Begonia's as they are supposedly too tender for wintersowing.

Dave - my DH only has eyes for me!!! I suggested CB for pixie guessing her husband is quite a bit younger than mine.

CB is older than my DH...he's a youngin. LOL He actually likes this one girl w/extreme eyes on one of the make-up commercials. One day a Victoria Secret catalog came and I noticed the "eyes". Hollered to DH took look and see if it was "her"...it was. He's a very happy camper now every time a V.S. cat. shows up!!! In all honesty, she IS beautiful with extremely striking eyes.

Gee, that's how we talk about dogs/pets. You can tell we're "older".

Nancy - I see you have some annuals & tropicals in your terrace garden - Do you bring them all indoors for the cold season? Yonkers is near the city, right? So your garden really IS a refuge in many ways!
Dave - The bench & bird bath are from Rivezzi's, but they are not local granite. I still got them anyway :)
I see other people's gardens, & they look so elegant & lush. The plants & decor look like they belong there. Mine just looks like a mish mash! I am hoping the granite pieces will add some structure & class.

Nancy, Thanks for the trip to your NY garden. It was a very nice stroll and fascinating to watch the progression in the slideshow format!

Yes, Yonkers is just north of NYC - where I work.
Annuals are treated as annuals. They live, they die, new ones are bought in the spring or started from seed.
During the summer, my yard is bathed in sun just about all day. Indoors is another story.
The lighting is VERY poor in the winter. I get about 1/2 hour morning sun in only one window.
I don't have a lot of space to keep too many plants inside so I just bring in the geraniums, hibiscus and whatever I can squeeze in.
My Mom lives next door to me. She has a basement (I don't) The cannas & tuber rose are stored there (in their pots). The callas & dahlias I dig up & store there as well.
The perennials are hardy for my zone & spend the winter in their pots outdoors.
All the pots get moved to the back & sides of the yard.
In the winter, the yard is for the birds (and squirrels). Lots of seed, suet & peanuts.

Venu - I'm glad you enjoyed your "stroll". Did you track Scuba Cat's travels around the yard? It's my own "Where's Waldo". LOL!

This shot was my last weekly update for the season - taken on Dec 9th - the garden has been put to bed.

Nancy

Yes, I had to look a couple of times but that scuba cat gets around ;>)