Comments

1. 
   user-1020932 07/30/2013

   today is just as good if not better than yesterday's photos. a family yard/garden and i love it all, the plants, the structures, the family history in the garden and especially your daughter watering. i always love seeing children in a garden most of all in a strawberry patch, they are in heaven. question: do you have problems with the sweet autumn clematis coming up randomly thruout the garden? i like the leaf and flower of that vine but i fight it all summer long. i'm also glad to know that like me you buy things on occasion that are cheap and pretty with NO clue what they are!

2. 
   user-1020932 07/30/2013

   i just noticed the flowers on the unknown/cheap vine. could it be Mandevilla boliviensis? i was busy looking at the coleus cuttings and missed the white flowers

3. 
   wGardens 07/30/2013

   I was thinking that it is Mandevilla also-

   Enjoyed your photos again today. LOVE the tomato arbor!
   Yay- I do the same thing... buy something occasionally that is appealing, tho not labeled and unknown...

   The photo of your daughter is delightful!

4. 
   Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 07/30/2013

   Thanks for sharing more great views. Do you remember the name of the variegated fuschia in your new favorite pot?

5. 
   Deanneart 07/30/2013

   How terrific, that Sweet Autumn Vine is going to be fabulous in a few weeks when it blooms. I really love your 'finish it up' container. I love it when that happens that the unplanned leftovers pots look as good as better than the planned ones and of course your garden helper is such a cutie!

6. 
   meander_michaele 07/30/2013

   Yowza... about the growth spurt the plants in your container grouping enjoyed in your "then and now" pictures...that banana plant (and everything else, come to think of it) went all Incredible Hulk on you...looks amazing!
   Love the architectural statement the tomato arbor makes...simple yet sophisticated and topped off with the fun rooster...perfect.

7. 
   tractor1 07/30/2013

   All interesting photos, each with a theme. A lovely trellis screening the sunroom with a fine rooster standing sentry over the tomatoes. And more people should at least have container grown veggies. Looks like a fine barn, bet
   Rob built it. I like the container on the picnic table, gives a view of my favorite garden shed... I wonder what that pavement is. Great planters abound everywhere. And there's your angelic helper standing on that intriguing pavement toiling away all color coordinated in her new blue Crocs... she'll grow into them, Crocs last a long time.

8. 
   Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 07/30/2013

   fuschia triphylla 'firecracker'. Answered my own question!

9. 
   MichelleGervais 07/30/2013

   Sheldon, Rob DID build the barn, with the help of a bunch of good friends and neighbors to raise the walls. The pavement is very old, very worn asphalt. One day we hope to replace the driveway, but it is sooooo far down on the priority list. Need to water-proof the basement first...yikes! Again, the joys of a 140-year-old house....

   Jeff, we didn't get seedlings from the sweet autumn clematis for years, until the main vine up and died for no reason, and the next spring there were seedlings everywhere. Luckily they are easy to pull out where I don't want them. The ones on the lattice are seedlings that sprouted in the right place.

10. 
    bee1nine 07/30/2013

    Ahh yes indeed, your splendid vignette of container plants
    around the pergola post from June to now, are growing in
    leaps n' bounds. Got to love how we wait patiently during the
    summer for this fullness!
    I would like to know what the rear specimen plant might be,
    up against the post with burgundy-tinted leaves? Boy- did that take off!!
    By the way, Michelle, your cute treat IS precious!

11. 
    Zinnia1 07/30/2013

    Very sophisticated plant selections - love it. I have two sweet autumn clematis and have never seen a random sprout anywhere -that's very interesting to learn. Beautiful planters as well.

12. 
    cwheat000 07/30/2013

    Your garden just keeps getting better. I love the original trellis design. What variety is the closeup shot of tomato, an heirloom type? Your little one has grown so much. She is just beautiful.

13. 
    tractor1 07/30/2013

    Michelle, I just knew that Rob built that barn, looks too well made to be built by the typical contractors. And if your blacktop is only very worn but still sound (not sinking/flooding) you may want to consider covering it with paver blocks, add a border of cobblestone, and sweep sand into all the spaces... will cost a whole lot less than removing the old and begining from square one with new blacktop because blacktop is mostly the price of labor, you can lay pavers yourself, and I think pavers make a better job, and requires no maintenence... blacktop needs to be periodically sealed. Just food for thought.

14. 
    user-1020932 07/30/2013

    tractor that's a GREAT idea about pavers over the old asphalt. i would have been focused on new surfaces and would have ripped it right out without ever having thought of that. 2 heads are always better than 1 but 3 sometimes causes conflict :) thanks, i'm going to file that for future reference. a real time, back and moneysaver

15. 
    Meelianthus 07/31/2013

    What a wonderfully interesting adventure your garden seems to be. I would love to just wander thru and examine all of your beautiful pots and 'special' little areas. I can tell you are a real plant lover. I enjoyed the tour ^_^