How to Tell Whether That Tree is Too Close to the House...

Here's a tip:  It shouldn't block the entrance to your porch.  I TRIED to tell my husband to move it out more but...okay, OKAY!  So I'M the one responsible!  But it was such a sweet, LITTLE Japanese Maple when we first brought it home and the description said that its width wouldn't be this large.  

     I guess I COULD hang a sign on the railing warning of an unfriendly Japanese Maple that eats door to door salespeople and other unwelcome visitors.  

     Have you ever noticed how photographs reveal things you really didn't want revealed?  Like the extra ten pounds and a double chin that the camera always adds?  Well, I've noticed a few other things that are revealed as well.  

     For example, when did this birdbath become heavier on one side than on the other?  I'm SURE it was level when we first pushed and grunted placed it in this garden.

Well, here's an area that definitely needs sprucing up... ...especially since it's right next to the house.

Look what happened to this rose trellis when I wasn't looking!

On second thought, maybe I'll leave this alone.  I kinda like it this way.  This chair, on the other hand...  My neighbor can use the boards from the seat in his wood stove this winter.  (He uses it to heat his garage)  I can repair the rest of it and replace the broken seat with a planter.

The brick path I started laying in this garden a couple years ago doesn't look too bad.  And, when you consider the fact that I've spent the equivalent of about 90 hours weeding (so far this Spring) and consider the size of this particular garden AND the fact that I'm a little old lady (well, according to my son, I am), this garden is starting to come along.

     However, SOME day, I WILL move this pink azalea from behind a lilac bush to a place where it can more easily be seen.  

This orange azalea will have brighter, prettier blossoms in another day or two.  They will, of course, fall off the bush and mound on my head as I viciously tear remove those pesky weeds from under the branches.

This lilac bush was looking pretty before the rain beat all the flowers off.

The yellow azalea in front of our house looks good.  It looks especially well in this picture, since I cropped all the unwanted growth aka weeds out of the picture.

Thus ends today's mini-tour and swift tree-planting lesson.