On Saturday, a friend and I went on a garden tour in what I’d call a rural/bedroom community. Their population is around 10,000.
We saw a variety of beautiful gardens, traveled dirt roads, hiked through the woods between a couple of gardens, and bought fresh peaches on our way home. It was a good day!
Instead of showing you plants, I’m going to share some other things we saw. Hope one or two bring a smile. 🙂
Happy Monday and first day of August!
NewEnglandGardenAndThread 
How fun was that! I loved all the fun pictures… but the Zip Line for kids was my favorite! How fun!
That flower at the beginning …
S T U N N I N G !
Happy First Day of August!
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I have never seen a zip line for kids before, and it just made me smile thinking about all the kids squealing while they used it. That particular gardener had some really pretty Dahlias. Happy August to you, and I hope it is a great month at the lake.
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Judy, you find the most fun things on your garden outings! Enjoyed all the photos. Happy August!
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Happy August to you, and I hope your weather isn’t as steamy as ours is.
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This is the best collection of fun and creativity I’ve seen in a long time! Worth another trip next year. There’s a ‘white-ish’ section of tree against the tree fort that looks like a standing bear to me!
Those little piggers are too darned cute for bacon! Say it ain’t so!
Glad you had such a fun day with your friend. And fresh peaches to boot!
Happy Monday and Happy August.
Ginger
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It is always fun to see what folks enjoy and how creative they are. There was another tree house I forgot to photograph because I got distracted by the zip line. It was a beauty, and it had a huge slide to exit from. It was a hoot. Fresh peaches mean peach pie, and it was mighty tasty.
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Lots of smiles here, Judy. I love that tree fort, and the rock sculpture (and the pigs).
I hope you got some of the rain that passed through here.
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We received 1/8″. It was better than nothing, but we sure do need some more. I’m pretty tired of watering every other day, plus I feel guilty when I do it. 🙂
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I can never figure out how stone balance art works. I have trouble putting one brick on top of another without it falling off!
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You and me both! I even asked if there was a hole in the center with a rebar. He laughed.
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What a fun day that must have been! Love all the images, especially the vernal pool and the massive rock garden!
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A better photographer with a real camera could have caught the beauty of that vernal pool. It is serene and situated between her garden area and the lake they live on. The view is spectacular. I think I’d have a chair right there so I could just sit and relish in the calm. I cannot tell you how many of the gardens had those massive stones as borders – young homeowners with strong backs and good tractor equipment. 🙂
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What a garden adventure! I particularly like the tree fort. Their tomatoes look like mine—a tomato forest.
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I wish I could have captured that hand welded tomato cage better – it was awesome! He had used tall rebars and then welded arms on them. The tomato plants grew up and the arms supported them. There were six plants there, and they were loaded with huge fruits. There were other plants in regular supports around the edge, and they were 1/3 the size of those. You have a forest, and I have a desert. 🙂
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Sorry about your desert. For some reason, most of the annuals here are growing like a son of a gun. It must be the humid weather. Glad they like it. 😉
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A nice variety of garden styles and art. Great source of ideas!
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The one constant in all the gardens was the use of those large rocks for garden edging – big and bold. It was just something else. You would have enjoyed it.
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Wow! Right out of a gardening catalog! The sculptures are so creative and tastefully placed. The walkway and pond so inviting…I’d love to step right into the scenes! But I’m most impressed with the tree fort. What a heavenly place to snuggle up with a good book and escape the world!
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The garden walkway with those wood rounds was truly captivating because of its uniqueness and practicality. You were with me in spirit Saturday when one of the homeowners proudly said she was getting ready for ‘Grandma camp.’ I didn’t have the heart to tell her I knew the ‘Queen’ of Grandma Camps so I just listened. 🙂
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Awwww…..saying “thank you” with a little tear in my eye!
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I’m always so so amazed how creative people can be in their gardens or yards. That rock garden is exquisite. – Marty
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Yes, to have the artistic vision and the John Deere to pull that off would be a real adventure.
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Rock sculptures look so impressive, but I wouldn’t fancy their chances in a wind!
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He had several in a variety of sizes, and I was in awe of them all because it is for sure nothing I could accomplish.
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You probably could with a tube of glue, Judy!
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I love garden art and have a hard time finding pieces that aren’t overly cutesy. The metal art in a few of the gardens were wonderful. And, the zip line… how great would that be?… although I hope the parents have good insurance 🙂
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Garden art does run a wide range of items, and these were interesting because they were so unique. Oh, that zip line was something, and I got distracted and didn’t get a photo of the gigantic playhouse that went with it. The Mom said it was a Covid project, and her kids were so over it but their friends loved it. Good insurance would definitely be a must.
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How wonderful! Literally — wonder-full. What a good getaway that must have been. My favorite is the pond; I could spend a long time there, and, if someone were to INSIST that I have a glass of wine (white, chilled, and sweet, please) while I sit and stare, well, I’d just have to. I’m a fool for white flowers, and so that top portrait made me stop in amazement. It says zinnia at the top of your blog — that’s a zinnia? Whatever it is, I covet it. Thanks for taking us along!
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You are so right – it is a Dahlia. It was one of those that I think they refer to as ‘dinner plate.’ It was huge and beautiful. I corrected it. Thank you! That pond actually belongs to a MG friend. She keeps it looking wonderful, and a chair and a cold glass of a good white wine would be a wonderful way to spend some time. There were several people there, and I didn’t want to walk down right to it and encourage others to do the same, but closer photos would have been better.
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Everything about this was cheerful and relaxing. Must have been a wonderful outing.
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It was a fun day with a good friend, and we could laugh as we bounced along the dirt roads to our next destination.
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Great photos Judy, and what a lovely day walking through pretty gardens and hiking through woods. I like the hen tractor, a great way to fertilise the garden. The first photo ( Dahlia?) is gorgeous.
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Yes, beautiful Dahlia. For some reason, ‘media text’ block wouldn’t let me put a caption. We saw a couple of different hen tractors, and I thought the same about the fertilizer plus the hens in there looked pretty happy checking for bugs.
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There’s nothing nicer than a day out with a kindred spirit enjoying all your favourite things. That dahlia is a stunner. Happy August to you, Judy.
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It was a really nice day, and it wasn’t as hot as it has been. If you’re still getting a lot of rain, send some our way. We’re baking from the heat and definitely suffering with drought conditions.
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It’s not as wet here as it was a couple of weeks ago. I would send you some if I could.
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I’m so worried about the lack of rain it’s hard for me to see much else. It’s supposed to hit as high as 105 this week. That’s freaking HOT. Anyway, we got 10 mintue of rain today. It wasn’t a lot but hey, every little bit helps.
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We got 1/8″ of rain last week. It would be funny if it wasn’t so scary. Yes – wicked heat, and the humidity was 100% at 5:30 a.m. this morning. This is Midwest weather.
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That sounds like a genuinely awesome day. 🙂
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It was fun, and I didn’t pull any invasive weeds. 🙂
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I enjoyed your travels through the gardens. You always seem to find interesting places to visit.
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You would have been laughing right along with us as we traversed between gardens. ❤️
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Looks like fun! Friend, gardens, fresh peaches, yes to all. Chicken tractor?
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Yes, it had a couple of hens in it, and they can wheel it around the yard to provide good pickings for the chickens and fertilizer for the grass.
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Looks like a lovely place.
‘bacon not pets’ xD
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I had quite the conversation with the home owner about his raising three to four pigs each year to provide food for his family including parents and siblings. He was quite proud of how they treat them during the year and how they handle all of the processing themselves except for smoking the bacon. 🙂
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Beautiful photos. I like the rabbit sculpture. It’s one of those things I look at and think “I could do that,” knowing full well I won’t do it! Happy August
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I understand that quite well. After seeing that hot pink bench in the previous tour, I picked up two free headboards to make a bench. Sorry to say the parts are still here, and I haven’t turned it around ‘yet.’
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Those a great photos, Judy, and wonderful things to see on the tour. My favorites are the tree fort and vernal pool, and this reminds me that I really need to seek out a garden walk next summer. Oddly enough, I’ve never been on one.
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Oh, you will enjoy a garden tour because each one is unique to the gardener and his/her ideas and passions.
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