Does Your GARDEN Mimic Your DREAM Garden ?

I think we all have dreams, fantasies about the perfect home, dream garden , perfect spouse, perfect job, perfect life...a dreaming soul is in all of us. And if I had a dream garden that I would love to have, that I would aspire to...it would be this one in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. I have written about how this garden ' draws me to it ' , every time I go on my walks. It is , out of all the glorious gardens there, my very favorite.

Outwardly, from the sidewalk in front...the casual stroller would not immediately notice this garden. But when you walk past the opening here...this is what you see,

 Wow, I do believe I catch my breath every time I see it.

 18th century design.

I love the small clipped boxwoods or hollies. The curved lines of the crushed shell paths , mixed with pebbles if I recall correctly....seem to lure you around the garden with your eyes.

To the right of the garden. I have to take all these shots from behind massive wrought iron gates , as my dream garden is out of direct reach to me.

I cannot set even my foot on the curved paths, without permission of course.

I hate to ask permission to do anything...not shy, actually assertive enough to go ahead and just do what I want to do .

But this is gated off , and I am in in bit of a paralyzed state when I am there.
If I ever am fortunate to see a real person out there, I will try to see if I can come inside. So far, I have not ever seen anyone outside.

I look out at it, and wonder what it would be like to go further  in ... there is a back larger garden area.

behind this guy...

This very handsome bronze statue, with his one broken forearm, always dances in my garden.

He is their centerpiece.

My daughter took this shot of me in early April, holding on tight to the bars of my dream garden. That is pretty much what I do when I am not taking pictures of it.

Staring and smiling, holding on tight.

Glad the homeowner's have not called the police on me before.

Alert, " Woman holding on tight to our garden gates in front , and looking dreamy."

That's me.

Oh !

forgot to show you the historic marker -plaque that describes this historic garden. Here you can read it for yourself:

Just click the picture to make it larger and read all the info. The John Blake garden, done in a  pattern style. Or parterre design info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parterre

Getting back to my earlier title to this post...Does your garden mimic your dream garden ? I thought that I am trying, unable to maintain mine like this one, as all of the historic Charleston gardens seem to have professional landscapers-caretakers come around and take care of them.

All I have is me, in the  yard-lady category.

Me will have to do though.

Here is part of mine below, overgrown, no clipped hollies surround, no winding pebble paths, no dancing teasing bronze statue... but it has a' feel ' of the other garden..at least to me.

 Late May.

Late June, today. Little wild out there isn't it ? Lush, needs further weeding and trimming.

But it is my garden, getting closer to my own dream garden at my own house.

I am sure this made you think of your dream garden .

Maybe it is already in your own backyard.

I do love my garden.

Have a great day,

going to be another scorcher here in the Deep south today...high 90's again,

Gina

 " All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirits. " Proverbs 16:2

A Terribly CHARMING White WOOD GATES View

I spotted these handmade , carved wooden gates during a early morning walk in Charleston , South Carolina last week. I recalled walking past them...stopping suddenly, backing -up...and wondering if I have seen these before as I walk through the historic neighborhood for many years when I visit ...and do not recall them.

I  mean look at this ! How could I have ever missed it before ?! Of course , delving into midlife has without a doubt softening my memory span...so have I seen these before and forgot ? 

Possible, not probable...but definitely possible..especially of late.
So much in life to remember.

Precious. Thick wood gates, with white picket fencing , obvious care went into the carving which is an original design.

Can't you just see the craftsman or carpenter, laboring over this design in his shop ?

 Old doorbell and historic marker as well.

 Solid, but peekable still.

Then guess what....as I am taking pictures, half out in the street of this gate, I look over about 10 feet to the left of the gate and see

this...

Another carved gate with different accents carved out !

Delightful.

I couldn't decide which one I liked better.

Which meant they were both special.

I liked the cracks in the wood too.

You can't read this , so I will tell you what it says.

It says, " Please close gate. "

Don't you want these somewhere around your garden ?

Tried to get these side by side, this is the best I could do.

You can see if you have a favorite.

I hope you liked these. Not fancy , not elegant , not formal...simply gingerbready-charming. My new made up word  to describe these.

Charm always surpasses elegance in a garden, to me.

Blessings in small ways for you today,

Gina 

Where The Gates Swing Outward Never Hymn

Just a few more days to be filled with praise,
And to tell the old, old story;
Then, when twilight falls, and my Savior calls,
I shall go to Him in glory.

I’ll exchange my cross for a starry crown,
Where the gates swing outward never;
At His feet I’ll lay every burden down,
And with Jesus reign forever.

Just a few more years with their toil and tears,
And the journey will be ended;
Then I’ll be with Him, where the tide of time
With eternity is blended.

Bubbling Fountain TRANSFORMATION Process

 

Here was my beautiful  birdbath-fountain my husband painted black for me to have a " Charleston-style ' look to it. This was in April, see the little dab of bubbles ?

They got worse. Look below...

Here was the next morning about 6:30 AM ( I have a previous post about this in April ) Kind of looks like the bubble-blob. Was funny for a few days, then NOT funny after a week and a half.  Nothing worked, so I decided to move another fountain here, and relegate this one to the back under my Carolina Jessamine.

Then I had the bright idea of putting my seashells in it. Look below...

As you can concur, and I know you do out there in cyberland, this was a definite YUCH.

Too bright. So...I went to Lowes, spent too much on assorted non-essential flowers and a sprinkler, and also fixed my problem.

see below..

 

I planted some peach lantana and some marigolds  ( I do not like marigolds very much, but I have a serious mosquito problem, and they don't like marigolds ).  Anything that mosquitoes don't like is a friend or flower of mine.

These will look better in a week or so. Very sunny spot back here.

 

Some bush roses and salvia also back here.

I have to go plant my unnecessary flowers I bought ( I have been reading Flower Lady's frugal post ), and clean my house , which is never as much fun, if any fun at all as gardening.

So far, mission accomplished with the wayward black fountain.

I hope you have a great day, I hope you get to that one or more annoying things that bug you in your garden, and fix them,

Bless you,

Gina

" The heavens are Yours , the earth is also Yours ; the world and all it's fullness, You have founded them. " Psalm 89:11

Planters , STATUES, & FOUNTAINS in CHARLESTON, South CAROLINA Gardens

 

 Up there is a happy camper in a Charleston garden full of blooming azaleas !

It was a hot 85 degrees in Charleston, South Carolina on Tuesday , and I decided to drive down and take some photos of Spring for inspiration. The top photo above is me, obviously dressed for the weather...and when you come to Charleston in the Spring or Summer, you'd better bring lots of shorts , hats, sundresses( women only of course ), lightweight clothing as it is HOT and HUMID.
Plus lots of water bottles.
I am standing above in the Nathaniel Russell garden located off Meeting St., I had a nice young teenage boy take a few pictures of me, he was vacationing with his family and he took 3 pictures of me, with his Mom's guidance and this is the only one that wasn't fuzzy. Lots of families vacation her, and lots of couples looking for romance.
Romance lives here so they will find it.
This city is very charming,  beautiful old historic homes and gardens. In this entry I will show you some planters, some statues, and some fountains. Be sure to click on any of the photos for a larger look if you like...lots of ideas for your garden planters,
Here we go...

Lots of sago palms in planters here

This is the same statue I have in my backyard garden, my favorite, and it is the only other one I have seen.

I love this idea, which I try to do in my garden, is get a center focal point, circular or another shape, and decorate around it with plants, rocks, etc.

One of my favorite statues that is hidden behind a Bed & Breakfast...you can't hide beauty though.

House on the Battery had this

Here is my favorite picture...look what I found in the fountain sunning themselves !

4 turtles stacked on top of each other ! Loved it ! I told some people I walked past to go look into that garden, and see the turtles at the base...you just have to share wonderful sights.

Most of these fountains in the backyards of homes are large circular pools with fountains in the center.

I have a few more entries to do from that day, one is about the Dock Street Theater ( the oldest theater in the USA ) that has re-opened and is renovated, one will be about small gardens I found , and one will be about some homes and the candy store in downtown Charleston that I always stop at on the way home.
Have a great, flowery weekend,
Gina

 "The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you;
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace. "  Numbers 6:24-26