When we put in the patio, we built a fire pit in the center. You can see it in these pictures from 2003, and 2005. It is under the center table.

We didn’t use it very often. It didn’t actually work that well, sunk in the ground like that.

Now, 15 years later, our family has grown from the 4 of us, to 9! And grandchildren need to have hotdogs over a fire!

So, after some research, Doug decided that a 1/2 barrel, surrounded with decorative bricks, with a table topper, would work for us.

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Doug used some exterior paint for a temporary finish on the plywood topper. We’ll do something decorative when we decide on what. It’s a good scale for the patio, a useful table size, a functional and safe fire pit, and altogether it looks really great, too!

We had a milder winter for the 2019-2020 season, but it brought a few unexpected surprises. A kiwi vine that had been doing really well up to last summer, was dead. I didn’t see rabbit damage, so I have no idea why it was done.

I have had terrible viburnum beetles on the high bush cranberry bushes, for several years. I figured with the mild winter, the bugs would be really bad. But the bushes have come back with a flourish, only a few bugs, which I have controlled with insecticide. There have even been blooms.

The Korean Spice Viburnum was full of glorious blooms! And the scent – oh my!

And this iris! I bought it last year, and planted it, and promptly forgot about it. Until it bloomed! And then I remembered, and it is so much nicer in real life than the picture in the catalogue.

I have had this honeysuckle vine on this trellis for about 20 years. It has never really bloomed due to various issues, but here it is this year!

So pretty, and wonderful as it drapes on the trellis.

Every gardening season has its share of disappointments, so it’s really nice to get some unexpected lovely surprises too!

We have a row of pine trees in the yard. They are not very healthy or very attractive or growing very well anymore. We took one down years ago and made a sandbox there. Then another was cut down a few years ago. And this year, another tree was just looking so bad, it needed to come down.

As it hit the other pine tree, you could see the green pollen cloud, from the pine cones. A short time later, the tree was chopped up and all cleaned up. Now I can see that the next tree down the line is looking pretty sad too. Next year?

Our garden shed has always been irresistible to groundhogs and rabbits. They loved digging underneath, and hiding out there, taking quick trips to the vegetable garden for snacks! So Doug decided to do something about it this COVID-stay-at-home year.

Doug wanted to redo the foundation. He dug out the topsoil, refilled it with gravel, and laid out a concrete base and a perimeter of concrete blocks.

Then it was time to get the shed back on its new foundation. The first attempt resulted in a crushed finger tip, so for the second try Doug enlisted the help of Murray.

The shed rests perfectly in its new position, and it would be an extreme challenge for any animals to get refuge underneath. Good job, Doug!

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will likely not be any Garden Tours this summer. But we still wanted to somehow share the garden with people. I have been told people walk by and are curious to see the garden, so we decided to get an Open Garden sign.

Now there is clear permission to come in, and wander the pathways, and enjoy the garden. It is actually working! Everyday people are walking or biking past, and stopping to wander. Or they sit and chat in the gazebo. Or they drive here just to check it out. Good idea, Doug! And thanks for getting the sign, too.

Finally this year the wisteria is really putting on a beautiful show. I could see that lots of buds were developing, and the lovely lilac blooms atop the pergola are pretty special to see.

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We travelled to New Orleans in March of 2020. The azaleas and magnolias were already finished blooming, and we were too early for many other things. But we enjoyed the gardens, plants and trees that we did see.

The Longvue Historic House and Gardens

New Orleans City Park and Botanical Gardens

The live oak trees were so amazing!

Flowers and Orchids

Robins are always late to my garden, or I am late to see them. I am always happy to welcome them back.

This one was determined to get into the office, flying into the window again and again. We had just cleaned the window – so maybe I should have left it dirty!

I hung a jacket in the window and he moved on before he knocked himself out. I’ll need to clean the window again!

The winter of 2019-2020 was a fairly mild one. The coldest spell was in November, and then temperatures were never that low again. There was not a lot of snow. In January there was an ice storm that brought down a large piece of our willow tree.