Secret Garden

This is the little nook created when we demolished a crumbling garden shed and fence and replaced it with a functional yet not too pretty white fence around the pool (in it's favor, no maintenance and a life time guarantee - as a homeowner that's key!). In a prior life, this area was a repository for all manner of building debris which we dug out and disposed of before I created the rock garden I had always wanted.

See the climbing greenery we lovingly christened 'the monster'? By the end of the growing season it's tendrils had weaved their way fully 30 feet and long ago obliterated any sight of the wooden trellis supporting it's base. I loved going out every summer morning to find new growth and the time spent training the vines across a rather makeshift growing frame hastily constructed from suspended florist wire.

Then there's the gorgeous wall fountain that my partner (then boyfriend, now husband) mounted for me, providing the perfect backdrop, and in pride of place, the Wizard Stick fashioned out of wrought iron by a local metalsmith with it's warm orange glass gazing ball. I did add a whimsical garden gnome on a swing, suspended from the vines, but he has been lovingly relocated to the front yard for the winter and the windchime fashioned out of a vintage silver sugar bowl and cutlery for the chimes has been hung inside to escape the effects of harsh weather.

I will miss my outdoor retreat as the seasons change but hopefully my indoor nursery will suffice as the days grow shorter and the nip in the air changes to a decided chill.