Thursday, June 16, 2011

A View to Garden Romance

If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance
~Bern Williams


When Chuck and Sandra Price lean over the wrought iron fence, this is what they see. The stained glass rooster watching over the little rows of vegetables. Joining it are a trio of tuteurs (3 -dimensional trellises) holding up tomatoes ripening on the vine now that the roots are mature enough for adult-onset hormonal changes which allow fruit to set.

Beyond, blooming scented plants surrounding the ultimate romantic accessory: the lawn. Green year-round here, mine may be the last lawn left without a golf course or cemetery attached. 

Don't all romantics love lawns? I love the birds picking worms to take their children, the bunnies sunbathing mid-day.  The freedom and coolness of a lawn simply cannot be replicated by outdoor carpet. No matter how lovely it looks in the showroom, no matter how hard the retailers centers and water conservation hawks try to make it, it does not hit the same note in the garden.    

Albizia julibrissin adds an oriental grace
One of my favorite features of the garden is the well shaped and trimmed Albizia. Not just for the romantic lacy shade it creates, it represents a bit of my heritage. My mother didn't care much for housework- but she loved to garden.  So much so that in 1960 they chose to live in Whittier rather than Downey because she thought the neighbors in Whittier were less likely to look down upon her doing her own garden chores. 

Roughly 4 decades later, it was not much more than a whip of a tree. My parents had raised it in a black plastic nursery container and delivered it my mom's Ford Focus.   Now its majestic trunk is large enough to carry carved initials.  

The canyon- the blooming mass of Matalija Poppy mark the property boundaries
Their view of the canyon- in the culvert you can see where my husband went a little overboard when I asked him for a bridge to cross over to the hinterlands safely when   Agriculture Department okay ed nursery-ing bare root roses from Peter Beales in the UK- IF they were kept in pots away from the landscape.  

Spa areas should be private
The spa we installed at our first home was at the back of the lot,  under the open stars. Romantic, yes. However, this little spot, offers more privacy. In inclement weather, it is more usable.  The garden side planter is under-planted in strawberries. 

Picking ripe strawberries from the spa is romance that you will not find on travel. If your home is not the romantic place you've ever been- make it your goal.

20 comments:

  1. Absolutely beautiful!
    You excell at the written word. Grace. xo

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  2. What a lovely post. Your words in combination with the photographs create a romantic vision in my mind.

    Visiting from Cottage Flora Thursday ~ Hope you have a lovely weekend.

    Hugs,
    Marie

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  3. I had to laugh about the comment on your Mother moving where no one would look down on her for doing her own yard work.In the South people think a lady is uppity if she doesn't do it herself! Of course sometimes she might just sit and point to the yard boy, but still...

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  4. Oregon Sue, Marie and Mississippi- Thank you for your kind words.

    I don't know if it was generational or cultural. My mother was a Hispanic intellectual in an age when rules were not broken. One of the "rules" in suburban white Whittier was women did not push the mower.

    My, how things have changed.

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  5. What a beautiful yard and lawn. Couldn't imagine it green all year. We aren't that lucky but, it is pretty when it gets green. Lovely spa area.
    Sherry

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  6. Lydia,

    Those are THE best photos you have ever taken of your lovely yard. What a great view your neighbors have of your lawn and garden!
    I had to chuckle at the thought of a lady pushing a mower. For many years after moving to our first Diamond Bar home I was the lawn mower. No power mower but a push one with a cather on the back. I did my own gardening too.

    What a wonderful tree! Yes, Ethel's garden indeed! She would be proud!
    XOXO Trisha

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  7. What lucky neighbors! That view into the garden is spectacular. i love your philosphy.

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  8. I enjoyed your post. The pictures are just wonderful.

    Dee

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  9. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful both words and views. You are a very special Lady, Lydia. Hugs, Jeanie

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  10. Dear Dee, Lemon Lane and Escrow Angel- What a thrill to wake up to such nice compliments. Thank you and please come back soon!

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  11. This lawn is absolutely gorgeous! I love the stained glass rooster!

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  12. Thank you Susan. I adore Stained glass in the garden, too

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  13. How great is that? Wonderful view and yes it is romantic.
    Great blog. Kathy

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  14. Kathy- Thank you for dropping in with the affirmation.

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  15. You definately have a way with words - beautiful post. Thanks so much for linking up to Cottage Flora Thursday's!xoox, tracie

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  16. I love how you LOVE your Garden and all that it brings to you and yours, Lydia...Of course, you are responsible for that 'giving', for without your loving touch and artists eye---it might just be nothing but a lot of weeds or a jumble of stuff....! And that is not the case, at all! BRAVA, my dear.....! This is such a special post!

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  17. Tracie- Thank you for the invitation on Thursdays. Quite an addictive pleasure):-

    As is yours OOLH- dear Naomi.

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  18. Beautiful words and photos- thanks for this post!

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  19. Times have changed! My mother didn't even tend the flower garden. Daddy did all the yard work and look horrified when I asked to mow. He didn't let me I assure you.

    Now...I have a zero turn and Mr. Dumpling is more than happy to let me zoom across the land...and I love to mow!

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  20. Really lovely. It would be fun to have a rooster like that.

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