When we first moved to our current house, the pine trees in the back yard were a hot mess.  In fact, it was clear the previous home owners paid no attention to keeping their yard trimmed back - even the hedge shrubs were about six feet tall.

The first thing we did was trimmed them to about 4 feet tall.  We didn’t want them so high that someone could hide behind them since our place is somewhat isolated.  After that all the trees were trimmed up so that we could walk underneath them without a branch hitting our heads.

Take a walk in a local park and observe … you’ll see that you can walk under trees and even magnolias, pines, evergreens, etc. can look gorgeous when their branches are not growing so that they touch the ground.  Though it’s a lot of hard work, trimming trees up will give your yard the “park-like” appearance.

For more information about the best time to trim, visit here.

From the site Epic Win: For the Win, the best chair for outdoors ever EVER!

Vino y Queso wrote,

Nevertheless, just like every year I am still a little in awe that we made it through winter, and everything is green again. So look instead of listen for a while.

Yes, green is what we like.  And the photos! Perfect! Thank you sharing, Saracita.

Photo by electrasteph via flickr creative commons.

I find the notion that a gardener’s shovel is to an artist’s brush so whimsical! I’ve always dreamed of a lovely walkway surrounded by trees, flowers, and bird feeders that leads to a gazebo sitting next to a weeping willow tree and pond.

The harsh reality is that I have a couple of rose bushes that are doing well, my azaleas are very pretty, but I can’t keep the ants off the Hydrangea long enough for a pretty bloom.  My river rock ground cover has itself been covered… by a creeping, gross vine. And my dreams of a water barrel have never come to fruition.

So when I read such beautiful words about gardening, I get a tad jealous,

A gardener’s shovel is to an artist’s brush. A gardener’s choice of colorful flowers, shrubs and trees is to an artist’s collection of paints, pencils and oils. An artist’s signature is to a gardener’s…hmmm?

The choice of garden decor that is placed throughout the landscape is undoubtedly the signature of a gardener. What does that mean? Simply, a gardener that chooses a sailboat weathervane over a rooster weathervane is more likely to be a water loving individual rather than a country/farm loving individual. It’s how they choose to express themselves in the garden.

My garden decor are some broken seashells that my daughters put down and and a frog statue that the previous owner left behind.  I think one of it’s legs has broken off.

Gazebo is one of those words that is always on the tip of my brain and/or my tongue, but I can never quite vocalize it.  It is a lovely word for a lovely yard feature, though.  We have a long front yard and have often talked about a gazebo for the very front so our daughter would have a place to sit while she waits for the school bus.  As it is now, I drive her up the driveway so she doesn’t get too cold during the winter months.  I like the idea of a gazebo much better!

Why get a gazebo?

We can conclude that a gazebo can enhance the beauty of your garden and your house. It not only gives a unique look at the region where is your booth, but also provides additional room for your home, you can use as a guesthouse. A garden gazebo provides a space for relaxation, meditation, meetings and other activities.

I can imagine how lovely one would be if you had bird feeders around it, along with a path or a pond. I’m adding it to my “someday” list.

Photo by Hickory Rose via Flickr Creative Commons.

When I learned about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki while in high school - and note that I was a military brat - we were taught that it was a hard decision for President Truman, but led to the Allied victory over Japan and the end of World War II.  I was grateful that the war ended, of course, but it still saddens me to think of the horrors experienced by the men, women and children who were directly impacted by the A-Bomb.

So when I read about the Tree Project today, it brings a sense of closure to that terrible time.  Here’s what the blog site says about the project,

The trees that still live from the time of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima are called, Hibaku trees (A-bombed trees).

In the winter of 2008, from a tree Dr. Riki Horiguchi in Hiroshima, I received seeds of Round Leaf Holly, Persimmon, Chinaberry, Firmiana simplex, Japanese Hackberry, Jujube trees that are the second or third generation of Hibaku Trees.

Hiroshi Sunairi has been giving seeds from the trees to people throughout the world so they can grow their own trees.  This month the trees will be on display at the Horticulture Society of New York, with the opening reception scheduled this evening from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Bravo to Hiroshi Sunairi for the undertaking!  Photo of the Parasol Tree given to Mr. Yuso Takesawa.  The tree has now been planted in Fukuromachi Kouen (park) in the center of Hiroshima.  Where desolution was once predominant, life lives on.

I had never heard of bottle trees until about a year ago when a friend of mine asked her brother to build one.   Then I saw one at a wedding reception earlier this summer and fell in love with them.

And this close-up…

Then I saw this bottle tree at Digging.com,

I am smitten - absolutely smitten!!

It is possible to plant trees during the winter months, and the people at BBC Breathing Places, the Horticulture Trade Association, and Guinness World Records are teaming up to prove it on Saturday, December 5, 2009 between 11:00am - 12:00noon.  In that one hour period, they hope to plant 653,143 trees for an event called Tree O’Clock.

HTA Promotions Manager Jennifer Thwaites commented “This helps demonstrate that you can still plant during the winter period. Trees provide many solutions in garden design, as well as the structure for other planting. They also provide habitats and a food source for birds and wildlife.”

What a wonderful way to promote both gardening and a green environment!  Find more information about Tree O’Clock here.

At Paradis Express, I found gorgeous photos of willow seedpods sculpted as garden art.  The results are nothing short of stunning!

Thanks to Carribean Garden for the link.