Yards in June

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There was a lot going on in yards in June.  I enjoyed documenting my own yard and that of my daughter’s too.

The native plants in my yard are doing quite well: fragrant sumac (the first one I planted),

American spikenard (one that is a few years old and another than I planted this year),

Missouri evening primrose with its big yellow flowers,

Common Primrose that is becoming well established in my wildflower garden, and

Mushrooms keep coming up in the area where a tree was cut down several years before we bought the house.

My daughter and son-in-law planted some native plants in an area near their driveway and the street recently; they are thriving along with the yucca that has been there for a long time.  

There are non-natives: daylilies in both yards,

Asian hydrangeas in her yard (that she generously cut for a bouquet now in my office window),

A very large Southern Magnolia in my daughter’s house,

Lambs ear – that bumblebees like when it is blooming at my house,

Roses and hostas at both houses!

I have arugula flowers since I didn’t start eating the leaves soon enough. Oh well – they attact some small pollinators. There are zinnia flowers nearby too.

We are both challenged with grass growing where we don’t want it…and some invasives like Asian bush and vine honeysuckles. I have a lot of tree seedlings to control too – particularly hackberry, mulberry, redbud, oak, and maple.

Garvan Woodland Gardens (2)

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Our second afternoon at Garvan Woodland Gardens was after we hiked to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. Our lunch had helped us recover somewhat, but I still took more bench breaks in the gardens! The model trains were running; the tracks were wet and the trains stored during our previous visit.

I took a few more pictures along the way to the Treehouse…we had only seen the outside on our Golf Cart Tour and seeing the inside and the area around the structure was our priority for our ‘on foot’ experience of the garden.

The view from inside the treehouse is full of vegetation and structures – I loved the tree patio and the high bridge. Both my daughter and I tried the pinecone seat; it was reasonably comfortable. It could move from side to side and I wondered if there could be a home version if it that could be used like I use my Swopper chair at my computer table.

There are nooks and crannies in the rocks and vegetation around the treehouse. There was a path lined with young trees and boulders, an Ebony Jewelwing on a fern, quartz veins in rocks, and sculpture…a cave…so many things to hold the interest of children (and adults).

I took a few more pictures of fairy houses as we walked past.

It was the perfect time of year to see mayapples forming under their leaf umbrella.

At one of the paved path intersections there was a cluster of flowers in the pavement.

The Japanese Garden on foot is quite different than staying on the paved areas as the Golf Cart does. We went down stone steps and meandered over stones to cross some water features – saw a Ouachita Map Turtle, a bamboo fence (we learned the previous days that the fences are made from bamboo from the gardens!), and another perspective of the Full Moon bridge.

The oak leave hydrangea and Asian hydrangeas were blooming profusely.

I used my phone for some macro views of the Asian hydrangea flowers.

As we headed back to our car we stopped at the Anthony Chapel….another of the wonderful architectural features of the garden.

I am already thinking about going again to Garvan - earlier in the spring when they have a lot of tulips or in the fall when the leaves will be flying….or maybe in late November or December to see their holiday lights.