pieces of my backyard

my backyard is a work in progress. when we moved in, it was just a little slope of grass, dropping dramatically to the forest and a little stream below. we (and I use the term "we" loosely, as it was mainly ken) built a deck with an arbor, a brick patio, a retaining wall that extended and leveled the yard and a curving fence. it really is my favorite place to be. here are little scenes from this evening:

I love bright ceramic pots with candy-colored blooms.

the bird bell was a gift from my friend krista (it has three sisters). this one hangs in the butterfly japanese maple. she sings a tiny "tink-tink" in the summer breeze.

I planted the trumpet vine in 2002. it has made its way up and over the arbor, mingling with the honeysuckle and jasmine, but this is its very first bloom.

I love candlelight and fairy lights on summer nights. there are so many fireflies, it looks like we strung the fairy lights in the forest too.

this is the neglected side yard. somewhere in this overgrowth is a huge rosemary bush and a buddha statue.

thanks for visiting. hope to show you more next month as projects are completed.