Upon returning from my vacation earlier this week I was heartened to see the beginnings of my garden returning to life. Though today is a cold, dreary and rainy one I managed to capture the first flowers of 2019, here in my garden in Michigan.




Living the Dream in Retirement
Upon returning from my vacation earlier this week I was heartened to see the beginnings of my garden returning to life. Though today is a cold, dreary and rainy one I managed to capture the first flowers of 2019, here in my garden in Michigan.





Even as August ends, my garden continues to bloom. While enjoying a glass of wine last evening in my oasis I grabbed my iPhone to capture the beauty….


Within the last week, my irises and peonies are blooming, lily of the valley and bleeding hearts are finishing their cycle. With a heavy rain last night following several hot days this week, my herb garden is starting to show growth as are my tomato and peppers plants. It’s a joy to share my oasis; this slideshow features my peonies, irises and some of the mixed flower and herb beds.
The beauty of Spring is starting to appear in my garden – at last. After a couple of hours of dead-heading, cleanup and pulling early weeds I stopped to take advantage of the photo opportunities that surrounded me. I hope you’ll enjoy this slide show…..
On Monday we had the most glorious warm Spring day which inspired my trip to a favorite nursery. To my delight, they had a huge variety of herbs for sale. I purchased fourteen plants in total though it’s still a bit too early to plant them. I set up a temporary kitchen window herb garden.

The feral cats who live in my backyard love to visit us via the kitchen window so it’s not unusual to see them peering in. This little guy was fascinated by the “herb forest” that he found on a recent visit. I had to grab my phone and see if I could capture a few interesting photos.

Columbine are one of my favorite perennials, I call them the ballerinas of my garden.