“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Colossians 3:14
Happy Valentine’s Day sweet friends. I have always enjoyed this day – the day we set aside to celebrate love. My prayer for you all today is that you feel loved by all of the special people in your life, but most importantly that you truly know just how loved you are by the Father. He demonstrated His love for us on the cross, where He died and rose again that we might have eternal life. This is the GREATEST LOVE of all!
With February now half over, my mind is on all things gardening. The past two weekends My Renaissance Man has been pruning and cleaning, getting it all ready for spring. If you have been a long-time follower you know that we established our garden in June of 2015. A wonderful benefit to blogging are all the photos that I have of our gardening journey. This is just a snippet from my 2018 photo journal so be sure to browse through more gardening posts here.
These photos came from the following posts:
Early Spring Garden • A Cloudy Evening In The Garden • Early Summer Garden • Our July Garden • For The Love Of Gardening
In early spring one of the first bloomers is the Arabis Snowcap that surrounds our bronze statue. Some people (including me) may confuse the snowcap with candytuft.
Our Pride of Mobile azaleas are also early bloomers.
Chinese Snowball blooms are so large and pretty…also an early spring showstopper!
Yellow Lady Banks Roses cascade from the arbor that My Renaissance Man built years ago. It once held a swing and was under a very old oak tree in our front yard!
Sunshine Ligustrums are a backdrop for the garden. The more hours of sunlight provide their unusual color.
Bold Awakening day lilies provide a steady show of blooms beginning in early May.
Last year was a first for the Indigo Frost Agapanthus. I love the indigo blue throat that changes to white on the trumpet-shaped flower.
Chives have beautiful lavender blooms and are an easy to grow perennial herb to have in your garden.
Apricot drift roses have a beautiful fragrance!
Many of you have asked about the stone pathway and its upkeep. It does require maintenance to prevent the zoysia grass from overtaking it. My sweet hubby does all of that and I do the weeding. It is a labor of love!
Echoes of Mercy daylily blooms a little later.
If you want pretty blooms to snip all summer, I highly recommend planting zinnia seeds!
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I have several Vanilla-Strawberry Hydrangeas that produce beautiful blooms. A change that was made last summer was the painting of the tuteurs and the garden table and chairs. They had been black for many years and we decided a change to white was needed.
Annuals are planted between the soft touch hollies, last year it was vinca. The Sioux Crape Myrtles mark the side entrance to the garden! The two story building is the hubby’s workshop that he built himself over twenty five years ago.
The entrance to the workshop is pretty in summer with white crape myrtles and a pair of urns filled with begonias! The inside is not allowed to be photographed, not that I would want to. (haha)!
If you look closely you can see the tinge of pink beginning on the Vanilla-Strawberry Hydrangeas.
Sunflowers are planted every year. The deer enjoyed them last year!
Butterflies and bees are always welcomed visitors!
Thank you for all of your gracious visits and lovely comments. Wishing you a joy-filled day!
Linking with:
Pieced Pastimes, Dwellings-Heart of Your Home, Stone Gable, Confessions of a Plate Addict, Worthing Court, Between Naps on the Porch, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, A Stroll Thru Life, Katherines Corner, Petit Haus, Follow The Yellow Brick Home, Love Of Home, Celebrating Everyday Life, Little Farmstead, Rustic & Refined, The Freckled Rose, Life and Linda, DIY 180, Celebrate & Decorate, Me and My Captain, Shabby Fufu, Designthusiasm, Imparting Grace, Calypso in the Country
Your garden is so beautiful, totally amazing
Thank you Marty!
Your garden is very appealing to me so thinking the deer will be attracted to it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I miss crepe myrtle here and yours are beautiful. Now I’m longing for Spring but first ITS VALENTINES DAY! Love is everywhere, yeah!
I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day Alice!
Would you consider doing a video tour of your spectacular gardens? So lovely!
I really should do that this spring and summer. Thank you for reading.
Now this is a truly glorious valentine for us all! And thanks for the zinnia seed reminder! I will be doing that here (though woefully neglected because of travel) and this year up at the lake to see what we get!
Thank you dear Jeanie. Zinnias are a wonderful garden flower!
Beautiful Pam……Zinnas are one of my favorites! Beautiful garden! Happy Valentine’s Day ❤️
Thank you Brenda❤️
Such a beautiful garden and variety of blooms and colors. Many of the flowers are foreign to us Northerner’s. Although we have many beautiful colors of Hydrangeas, I have never seen Strawberry Hydrangeas. I felt like I was reading an article in “Victoria” magazine!
Pamela, thanks so much for your visit and sweet comments. Have a wonderful weekend!
Glorious, glorious – Pam. Such beauty and needed by me this morning. We are to have up to 8 inches of snow tomorrow night and into Saturday. But I know all sorts of magic is still sleeping and waiting for spring.
Your garden is so beautiful, and, really there is nothing quite like spring in the south. Enjoy the beauty as it unfolds.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, Butch and family ! ❤
Thank you so much Sandra! Stay warm and safe this weekend. We are off to the beach for a wedding this weekend! Blessings❤️
You really do have a spectacular garden, so lovely to enjoy a glimpse of warmth and color on this cold winter day.
Thank you Carole, as you know it is a lot of work!
Every angle of your beautiful garden brings delight and a happy place for the eye to land. All yours and Hubby’s work not only brings you joy and pleasure, but your readers as well. Thank you for sharing it with us. But, thank you mostly for sharing the love of God with all who read your blog. Blessings on you today.
Thank you so much Elizabeth! Have a lovely weekend!
It is amazing how every year things appear right on schedule. Here the tulip magnolias are in full bloom and yesterday I noticed redbud trees are getting ready to explode with color. Nature is full of wonder.
The tulip magnolias bloom really early. Nature is always something to behold!
Your garden is gorgeous Pam! What a nice treat on Valentine’s day! It’s so lush, varied and colorful. It is magazine worthy! Zinnias are a favorite as they always thrive in southern heat & make the best cut flowers. I must try the chives as I love the blooms & the colors. How do you keep the deer from visiting your formal gardens regularly? Do the sunflowers steer them in a different path away from your formal garden? We live on the edge of some woods so it’s a constant battle but the deer are wonderful to observe in our yard grazing so peacefully so we have to settle for deer resistant plants (but I do miss roses!). Thank you Pam for such a lovely post on Valentine’s day! Happy Valentine’s day to you & Butch! Clara ❤️???
Good morning Clara, thank you for your sweet comments. The sunflowers are planted behind our garden and they ate a few of them once they came up last year. I always fear I will look out the window one morning and they will have eaten everything. We have 31 acres with lots of woods surrounding our acreage, so it is a constant battle. I so hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day! Blessings ❤️
By their works you shall know them….. Your beautiful gardens exemplify God’s gifts of
creativity, resourcefulness and labor unto Him. How else can one explain the essence of
love found there on this Valentine’s day? Bless you for sharing it all, Pam.
Thanks so much for your encouraging comments. Have a blessed weekend!
Your garden is so lovely. This spring will be our second in our house. Last year we did a little bit of basic gardening. Then year we plan on more. Hopefully in a few years it will start to fill out and look as pretty as yours.
Penny, it does take time for your garden to fill in. I like doing it in stages!
Pam, I always love a visit to your beautiful garden! It is always breathtaking! Southern Living needs to come to your home for a photo shoot. Happy Valentine’s Day, sweet friend!!!
Thank you sweet friend!
Happy Valentin’s Day, Pam and Butch!
Thank you Roxanne. I hope your day was filled with lots of love!
Happy day of Agape! 😉
Your photo’s as always Pam are breathtakingly beautiful as is your garden.
Blessings,
Jennifer ♥
Thank you my friend! ??
Thank you for sharing the lovely pictures of your garden. It is such a treat to see your plantings and stylings.
I have 2 daffodils blooming here in ne GA and have a bad case of spring fever…..seem to get it earlier each year!
Daffodils are blooming everywhere around our house, the bright blooms tend to give me spring fever! Have a lovely weekend!
Your gardens are stunning, Pam, like you all I am so looking forward to the spring planting , we were busy last week during our 80 temps. working as quickly as possible to get as much done. Thank you for visiting and for your sweet comment.
Blessings,
Sue
Thanks so much Sue. Gardening is a labor of love!
Pam, I just found your blog today. It has been a huge blessing to me as I read your story, I couldn’t help the tears. What a miracle! And to see your garden and your beautiful decor. I’m just blown away! Thank you, I will definitely follow along!
Cecilia, welcome and I am so glad you found our little blog. Thank you for following and I will be watching for you❤️
I have always said you have your very own private Botanical Gardens Pam! It is truly beautiful in every season! Thank you for the breath of spring today and such glorious eye candy!
Jenna
Such a beautiful garden and reflection of God’s bountiful earth!
Thanks so much! Blessings~
How beautiful your garden looks, Pam.
Amalia
xo
Thank you Amalia!
Your garden is just breathtaking, sweet friend! Your labors surely produce a beautiful harvest, and I so look forward to seeing all of the loveliness each time I visit here. 🙂 God bless you abundantly!
Thank you Cheryl. It is a labor of love!
I want to see in the workshop, why can’t I, WAAAAAAAH!!!!
lovely photos, Pam. Cath
If you come for a visit, he will let you take a peek!
The pictures of the flowers are a wonderful reminder that warmer weather is just around the corner.
Yes, I anticipate spring!
Absolutely gorgeous!!!Hugs!
Thanks Maristella!
You have done so much in your garden in such a short time. Lovely pictures and thoughts viewing your garden today.
It gets me in the mood for spring to see all the beauty.
We saw lots of flowers and trees blooming on the way from the beach today!
Your garden is just stunning!!! I haven’t had any luck with azaleas, and not much with roses either in my mountain top garden. I think our winters are just too severe, sigh.
Extreme cold weather is tough on azaleas, Debbie! Thanks for stopping by!
Such beauty. Can’t wait to get back in the garden. I so love the Lady Banks rose trellis. It just captures me. It is all so beautiful.
Thank you Dianne, can’t wait to read about your trip!
Your garden is gorgeous Pam!….Do you have an actual written/photographic journal of your garden…I was thinking about buying a journal just for the new garden…
I would recommend a written journal, I didn’t do that from the beginning and I regret it.
Wow! Such a gorgeous garden! I should try Chives. Oh, what a lot of work to make your gardens look so pretty! I love the colors that you shared. You are the most clicked post from last Friday-Congratulations! Thank you for sharing at Best of the Weekend! (We recently got a busy dog that took over our back yard– so this spring I will be moving a lot of my plants to the front yard to save them…)
Liberty, it is a tremendous amount of work, but worth the effort. Thank you for the feature!
How gorgeous, Pam! Now I am really counting down until spring! As Liberty mentioned above, your post was our most clicked post from last week’s Best of the Weekend! I think everyone is ready for spring! Enjoy your weekend!
Shelley
Thank you Shelley, Thank you for the feature!
Pam, I don’t know how I missed this beautiful post! I’m in desperate need of some flower therapy after nine days in a row of rain…your garden journal to the rescue! My Potting Shed and sleeping garden is currently surrounded by a moat of water that I’m not sure will ever go away. Your garden is what dreams are made of! Beautiful ???❤️
Thank you Mary! We have had major flooding in our county. The Coosa River will rise more over the next couple of days. Hopefully your sleeping garden and Potting Shed will be ok!❤️
Beautiful, thank you for this post. May I ask what zone you live in and if you can recommend any hydrangeas that can be grown in the south. Jeanne
Thank you so much. I am in zone 8A, and I highly recommend limelight hydrangeas. They thrive and are long bloomers. Happy Thursday!