Visiting Melody's Garden in the Fall

A few weeks ago my friend Melody invited me over to take photos of her beautiful gardens.  Good thing, because an early freeze came soon afterward.  Despite our exceptionally hot fall and nearly rainless summer, Melody's garden looked wonderful.  Spring rains gave the garden a good start and kept us out of drought restrictions this year.

Peaceful porch.



And the view from her porch.  I always enjoy Spanish moss swaying in the gentle breeze.  Even though I live nearby there is none on my trees. It's common in Melody's neighborhood with larger lots to leave portions of the original native landscape in place.



Bright red Lycoris were in full bloom that day.



Melody grows a number of vines and I have been inspired to grow more vines after visits to her garden.  Blue Skyflower has found a home in her garden.



Through the gate and a view toward the rear of the house.

More vines.  Crossvine blooms primarily in spring.

Our garden styles are very different.  That one spiky plant in this display was a gift from me.  The chair is part of a vintage Brown Jordan set she rescued from the curb.

The rescued chairs nearly are very similar to her original Brown Jordan table set (under the arbor) she has had for years.

Stapelia bloom was out.  I think my plant was a cutting from hers.

A ducky bit of humor in the pool spa.

Frostweed blooms attract butterflies and moths.

Contrasted with goldenrod it's a good pairing.

Lots of red with tiny roses in bloom.  Melody loves roses though she is growing fewer roses as her garden becomes more shady.

More reds in the Hamelia.

Can't remember this one right off, but I loved the fullness of it.

More of those vines, Morning Glory still out.

Alternanthera which I know as 'Party Time' but it does have other common names.

Vignette with fish nicely coordinates texture and color.

Oh so pretty.

Headed to the woodland walk just under the cedar arbor.  A portion of dead tree trunk left in place and surrounded by flowers.

Wine bottles mark the trail.

And back out through the matching arbor on the right draped with more Skyflower.

We have different planting styles, but we both are plant collectors and enjoy adding found objects to our gardens.

The raised bed garden in the former horse corral was a little worse for wear in full sun with temperatures as much as 10 degrees above average.  Still pretty though.

Coral vine drapes the stone barn.



The Monarch butterfly migration was in full swing.

And here we are.  Special thanks to Neal who came along to help take photos since I sometimes enjoy my visit so much I forget to take enough photos.



Thank you Melody for sharing your beautiful garden with us again.

Happy Easter!

An Easter basket was just the ticket for my friend Melody who needs a little extra cheer this spring.  Three colorful Zinnias which are a favorite of hers, and because every Easter Basket needs chocolate I tucked in a pot of Chocolate Mint.  Chocolate mint smells like Thin Mints but lasts a lot longer.

She is a gardener so I left the plants in their 4" pots wrapped with tissue paper and twine making them easier to transplant later.  The eggs are cascarones, a tradition from China by way of Mexico.  Colorful eggs filled with confetti meant to be broken over the head of a friend.  Good fun for our upcoming Fiesta season.

Tucking the eggs in the basket works too.

A surprise visit found her in the garden and she said those magic words "do you have a few minutes." It had been a while so we spent at least an hour walking and talking through her large gardens.  As we talked I took a few photos to share with you.  Enjoy!

Columns of Crossvine blooming by the pool.  I can't remember seeing these in bloom before so this was a treat.  Melody uses a lot of vines and climbers in her garden and after my first visit to Melody's garden nearly five years ago, I was inspired to plant more vines in my own garden.

Blooms in a large honeycomb rock which I don't remember what they are.  She will let us know I'm sure.

Pink Poppies and matching roses by the arbor entrance to the woodland shade garden.

Masses of Texas Gold Columbine mixed with Bluebonnets and poppies yet to bloom by the barn.

The sign of a real gardener, a potting bench with works in progress and a bouquet of bluebonnets.

She was delighted with the basket and even told me she had planned on getting Chocolate Mint at the nursery this year.  Love it when that happens.

A nice spring day to spend time in the garden to catch up.

Happy Easter!