Walking is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside. Elizabeth von Arnim

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Saturday, June 28, 2014

Local Garden Tour

60 degrees this morning, sun and fog just like yesterday.  First walked to the post office and mailed off a couple of Netflix.  Then had a random walk around town and up Barn Sale Road to see how the friendly barn yard steer are doing.  Didn't see Charly but there were lots of others munching away on the grass.  They all watched me walk by and then continued eating.  I always say good morning to them.  It is quite a hike up the hill but then it opens out and I see this.  The picture doesn't do the scene justice.  It is breathtaking in person. That's West VA over there.
I saw a couple of people walking dogs around town and Ken passed me in the truck going to HT and then I saw him again on his way home again.

A nice walk and no dogs, bird attacks or bears on the loose.  A perfectly nice calm walk.
I walked 6.2 miles.
Found a penny.
BTW - my little dog nip bite is healing nicely.  Looks more like a bruise now.
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We had a treat for breakfast this morning.  I made waffles.  Haven't had them for ages.  Didn't have any whipped cream but we did top them off with strawberries and syrup.

Today was the garden tour of 4 local home gardens. You could go to any of the gardens in any order from 10:00 till 4:00.  We started with the closest one to home.

A Touch of Italy
An Italian garden of vegetables, flowers, fruit trees, and grapes.
This is the walk way to the front door.  Those shrubs on the right of the path are the same ones in my yard that I didn't know the name of.  The gardener who lives at this house told me they are called Princess Shrubs.  He is an older Italian man and we enjoyed talking to him about his gardens.
I loved his vegetable garden.
Here is Ken checking out the grape vines on the side of the house.
These two rock rounds are made out of the rocks he came across in the yard making the gardens.
Though the gardens were the simplest at this house, it was my favorite stop today. Everything was no neat and tidy and seemed very doable and I would love my yard to look like this. 

Next stop,
Villa Vista
Windy roads in the woods to get to this next house which opened  right on the lake and it was a huge beautiful home. The lake is behind me as I took the picture.
It featured this water feature.  I took the picture from up on the deck.
Everything was beautiful and seemed like a fantasy place and this stop was Ken's favorite.  I'm surprised myself, that this isn't my favorite too.  There was just something about the Italian one that drew me to it.

Stop number 3
Slab's Place
This one was pretty close to the previous house and was also on the lake. There was a water feature that ran along the whole side of the house.  What a great sound to hear a babbling book in your yard all the time.

Stop number 4
Stauver Oaks
A beautiful old house with a huge porch which I LOVED was in town.
There were some raised vegetable garden on both far sides of the property.  Didn't get anypictures though.
Flower garden on the side of the house.
There were also some bee hives here too, but no pictures of them either.

The last stop was not at a garden but at Garden Boutique were you could purchase plants and garden related items.  It was at Mountainside Marina which is a private place but just for today The Mountain Laurel Garden Club which sponsored the Garden Tour sold donated items for the club.  

The whole day was fantastic and we so enjoyed visiting all the places.  I still have some things to say about the tour and pictures to share of some special displays that caught my eye today, but will post them another time.  This seems to be a lot already for one post.

Hope your day has been a happy and sunny one.
happyone : )
♡     ♡     ♡     ♡
Flowers always make people better,
happier, and more helpful;
they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.
~ Luther Burbank
Three Thankful Things for Today
  1. Beautiful scenery when I walk
  2. Viewing the gardens and seeing all the beauty 
  3. A perfect weather day for the garden tour - sunny, clouds and a nice cool breeze

9 comments:

Ruth Hiebert said...

All the pictures are stunning. I love that first one with the view of the mountains in the background.

eileeninmd said...

I am happy to hear your dog bite is healing.. The garden tour looks lovely.. There are some beautiful houses there. Great photos, thanks for sharing your day! Happy weekend!

Vee said...

Gee, I was just getting warmed up! That is a beautiful scene looking to WV and I really enjoyed seeing all the gardens. I think "doable" is a very good defining point. I really, really like that side garden in the last photo. What a great area for a cutting garden and for some herbs. It seems to get great light there.

Happy@Home said...

One of my most favorite things to do is to go on garden tours. I didn't get to any this year, so I am thrilled to be tagging along with you.
They are all so pretty and it's fun to see how each gardener adds their own unique touches.
I look forward to seeing more.

Beth said...

The garden tour with you was lovely. I enjoyed the photos. And, just the mention of WV makes me miss my sister so much.

The Furry Gnome said...

Some nice homes and gardens there! We enjoy garden visits a lot ourselves.

Nellie said...

Such a lovely day you've had! I'd like to go on a garden tour! The picture of the WV scene is absolutely lovely!

Kerin said...

Beautiful pictures.
How lucky for you to find a penny :)

All the gardens are beautiful and lovingly tended. I really liked the old house and gardens. So beautiful!!

Hope that this week is a great one for you.

K.

o2bhiking said...

What a great view on your walk! I know that you liked your last home but you have better places to walk on the whole now than you did, I think.

What fabulous gardens! Wow! thanks for sharing. Art