Hi!
Can't seem to figure out how to put all my pictures last, so start from the bottom.
My first attempt...

Wow!

I can blog!

Thanks for everyone's patience.

I have been wanting to share my pictures of the gardens we have this year. It has been very colorful flowering and bountiful vegetable gardening. Spirng starts early in the south. We had tulips and daffodils and crocus in late February and March. We planted the marigolds and pansies and petunias. Then the roses started blooming - all over our land (front in back). If you haven't been here for awhile we cut down 13 trees last year (old ones that crack easily). Then we landscaped the back yard and Michael is taking great care in growing deep green grass. The roses have doubled since last year (Knockout variety).

The morning glory and clementis have overtaken the mailbox. Thanks Mom! Your suggestion turned out to GREAT success! Every morning I think the morning glories double in blooms!

Then we have the perennials that we have been gradually adding to the gardens. We have hybiscus, verbena, mandevella, and cannas (the cannas are going to be enormous white lily looking flowers that won't bloom until September. I transplanted them from the front yard and ended up with 28 bulbs for the back yard - I'll send pictures when they bloom. I have hydrenga and magnolia and honeysuckle, but they just didn''t take off this year like the could. Last year was the end of a three year drought so they are likely still recovering. Oh yes, we had gorgeous luna hibyscus for two weeks - opens at night with a plate like flower.

Then....we planted 13 crape-myrtle last fall and we are THRILLED at how pretty they are opening up (blooms at the end of every branch!) gradually. All sorts of colors (pink, white, purple, lavender). It is a popular bush and also a tree. We got them at the Marietta Farmer's Market last year. And I can't forget the VERY popular bush for the butterflies & bees - the butterfly bush (it is six feet tall and five feet wide with purple flowers at the end of every branch).

In the spring I asked Michael if we could try growing a vegetable garden. Well, he went out and plowed the land in the back and made a real nice cultivated area that I put a fence around. We never expected to have such a nice harvest. We have had beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, egg plant, lettuce, and squash (not bunches but enough to go out in the back yard and pick something out for dinner!). We have coming the cutest pumkin!

Well, here are some pictures. It is so much fun to have the colors all over the yard. We didn't water them much this year (still shy of using too much water and we have had pretty continuous showers the last few months (the lakes are very full!!!). I added a picture of our "baby" Mercedes (our dog) and a picture of Melany for her birthday at Disney in front of a garden at Disney Village.

Lovingly, M&M

P.S. all these photos are from my phone. That's my camera.