Leda - Your scenic photos are beautiful! I haven't seen snow since I was a little girl. That was many, many, many years ago! I forget how beautiful it is until I see photos like yours. You have a nice little window set-up there!

I am glad to hear that you are reengaging with life and I hope your health is better. Life does tend to throw curve balls from time to time. I've had my share as well. There is something about gardening that brings a sense of peace and balance to the soul. Gardening is my therapy to cope with life's unexpected events and challenges. I don't know what I would do to cope without digging in the dirt.

I am sure your friends and neighbors will be more than glad to get you started in outdoor gardening again. One needs only to ask.

Did you create a wildlife habitat previously? If not, that is something you might want to consider when you start gardening in the future. I garden for butterflies and hummingbirds ... but now I've advanced further to gardening for other birds as well. The wildlife makes a garden alive, IMHO!

Becky,
You know last year I started buying the African Violets off of eBay as if I could not stop. Then I wondered what in the world had come over me. I rationalized that I would start a small business and sell them on eBay. Because of age and my mental fogs, I accidentally did not put the markers back in the correct pots. Others were marked with freezer tape but because of the humidity in the little tents I am using, the tape fell off. So I guess I am supposed to garden. I have found the houseplants and AVs very soothing and healing.

Yes when I (we) gardened we did do it for wildlife. We had a small pond with a waterfall. We had bird feeders, bird baths and flowers for birds and insect pollinators. Of course the squirrels took a big share. We even had a raccoon and skunks who visited despite being in the middle of the city.

We put goldfish and tadpoles in the pond. We ended up with a very noisy bullfrog who made us laugh. My neighbor saw him leave one year, probably going to the canal or maybe a lake that is within walking distance. We had a quiet frog too that we saw off and on. For awhile we did not see her and had assumed that she left too. When we took the pond out, we found her under the waterfall. We took her to a nearby lake. Her species is native here. The goldfish came into the aquarium in the house.

So Becky I agree with you, gardening is therapy, as are my pets!

Leda, Your AV's are just lovely I especially love the last pic. Beautiful view of your gardens as well. I too grow AV's I have about a doz of them. I don't do much propagating but have had a bit of success with the occasional broken leaf. Here are a few pics of mine. Becky so nice to talk to you again.

Holly, thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures. They are lovely!

Leda - Oh! I bet your yard was amazing before! Sounds like you had a wonderful wildlife habitat. It would be awesome if you could do that again. I love being outside and digging in the dirt. All is right with the world when I have my garden gloves on and am planting or weeding .... because it takes my mind off everything else. And the rewards of beautiful blooms, butterflies, birds, and all kinds of other wildlife is such a joy! I hope you will be motivated to jump back into outdoor gardening this Spring!

Holly - I remember you gorgeous yard and all that you and your husband have done to make it your little piece of paradise! I would LOVE to see new photos of how it is all growing and any new additions of hardscapes and plants. Your yard was inspiring to me!

Thanks so much Becky, I have had a few computer issues and am just getting many of my pictures re organized but I will post some when I get them together. We are always planning the next phase to the gardens. I have a new water feature planned for next spring and I think we may just finally get the big pergola over the bricked work area done this spring.

Earlier, I posted this video in "Garden Photos" forum about the 10 year anniversary since the Hurricane Season of 2004. I thought it would be appropriate to post it on this thread as well. That is when it all began ... my journey into gardening! The original Garden Photos thread also shows photos taken after the devastation of the two hurricanes that hit my area:
The thread "Becky's Budget Garden" in Garden Photos forum


This is how my yard/gardens look now in 2014:

Lovely Becky... yes starting over is monumental//... it looks great there... your wonderful wildlife has found a home there as well/// nice photos of them...
my favorite pictures.. aside from the fantastic flowers... hardscape item.. the the grid fence.. where the horozontal parts of the grid was planters... very modern..
I can understand your reluctance .. to have me start over... but I think I might have another garden or two left in me... and possibly another house or two///

Gordon - That "grid fence" is actually a vertical herb garden. My dh and I made it using re-purposed furniture pallets. I wrote an article on how to make this herb garden and it was approved a month or so ago. Not sure though when Dave is planning to run my article here on ATP, but others have also commented about it. It has served it's purpose well and continues to do so! Glad you like it!!! I love re-purposing items that would otherwise go to the landfill.

So you are definitely now planning to move .... To a house with ground property to create garden areas or to another city building with an accessible roof?

oh ... maybe some ground property... then make a house... would be the best... maybe near the ocean... ya got to go some time... the whole house... made for rain catching... and container growing... where ever it is ...
yes the grid work on the herb fence was nicely square... the best finished pallet I've seen from 100's congrats

WOW Becky, I just loved the video. It all looks so wonderful. What a great job you have done. So many beautiful things. Looks like it has great flow.
Gordon, I would love to see what you do with your next garden. Please post pictures when you make your transition .

Gordon - Thank you! My dh used to be a cabinet installer, so he knows how to work with wood and square and level up anything he builds! LOL! I knew he would come in handy in my garden some day! LOL! Actually he has built many of the wooden hardscape structures and I help him with installing (and I do all the painting, etc). He has also been instrumental in building and leveling up my raised beds especially with the yard being on a slope! He is a stickler for having things level. Thank goodness!

Holly - Thanks! My dh and I have added a little hardscape project pretty much every year for the past 10 years. It is all finally starting to come together. BTW - I am still hoping you will post some updated photos of your amazing garden areas and new outdoor additions!

I continue to garden for Butterflies and Hummingbirds. I now have lots of butterflies in my yard and host over-wintering Ruby-throated hummingbirds from Fall to Early Spring. I have discovered that male Monarch butterflies are territorial and will claim a location until they die. They will run off any other male Monarch butterflies. So I have two territorial males in different parts of my yard. I let Scarlet Milkweed grow wherever the seeds land and sprout. So lots of milkweed growing around my yard attracts them. The females lay their eggs on many of the plants. I am still hand-raising many of the caterpillars because I have a bad wasp problem in my yard. The prey and the predators are never-ending here. My efforts to protect the caterpillars pays off because I have lots of butterflies flying around my yard every day! Definitely my own little private paradise!

I hosted 4 male Ruby-throated hummers this past Winter. I love those little birdies! And I also have become a over-wintering spot for the Painted Buntings. There is currently an east coast banding project going on for those birds, so a bander came and caught 5 of them. There were more, but the birds got smart and wouldn't go into the traps. So only 5 are sporting colorful anklets! The bander caught and banded other birds too. It was so cool to see all these different bird species up close and personal. I was very lucky to get a bander to come to my yard! Always exciting!

I am hoping to have a bander come to my home this coming Winter to band hummers again. I had a bander come in 2011 who caught and banded 2 of the 3 hummers that were coming to my yard feeders. Those were both females. It was a really neat experience to see all these birds banded and released. I never did see the females again after that Winter. Sometimes they come back to the same location each year and sometimes they don't. The following year I had all males. I was told by a hummingbird expert that the males will often run off the females, so that may be what happened. She said my yard may have become more desirable to the males with all the plants I've added, so they move in and claim the territory because they tend to be more aggressive than the female birds.

I meant to post a couple photos of the vertical herb garden. Hopefully, Dave will run my article, on how to build one, soon. It is installed in an "L" shape. I have various herbs growing in the wall plant boxes, such as spearmint, peppermint, oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, catnip, etc. It keeps some of the more aggressive growing plants from becoming thugs in my garden beds.

Two shorter pallets facing the south:


One taller pallet facing the east:

They look really great. There is a multitude of things you can make with pallets.

Holly - I agree! Anyone reading this thread should just google "wooden pallets" and you'll be amazed at what you can build using them!

My article on how I made my vertical herb garden was published here on ATP. To learn how I made the herb garden, go to this link: http://garden.org/ideas/view/b...