A DREAM COME TRUE IN THE GARDEN!

I've always dreamed of having The Secret Garden closed off with a picket fence, but I thought it would be too expensive.

So I put old metal headboards on either side of the arbor/trellis that Mr. Old Glory built for me. You can't even tell that they're there, because the Sweet Autumn Clematis has completely taken them over. It even attached itself to the tree and started climbing!

So I ripped the clematis off of the headboards, Mr. OG pulled them out of the garden, and this is what they look like, now destined for the curb. I bought picket fence panels at Menards (my favorite store) with a gift card Mr. Old Glory gave me for my birthday. Mr. OG set up horses in the garage for me to paint them on, and he even volunteered to park his car outside so I could paint. For a week! Isn't he terrific?

And then Mr. OG installed them for me, and now my gardening dream has come true! Doesn't it look SO much better? Most of those plants in front of the fence are summer bloomers, so it's going to look AWEsome real soon! I just love that you have to come on in to see what's back there. Psssst, it's a Secret Garden!

For Mother's Day, I received that gorgeous red Mandevilla vine. I had a pink one last year, and it grew to about 8' tall. This one is a giant variety. Should I be scared?

I also received a Fuchsia in a hanging basket. They always remind me of little dancing fairies when the buds are open!

The lilac color of  Dame's Rocket is looking quite pretty next to the red bike. I bought one plant several years ago at a garage sale, and I've kinda regretted it ever since. It's a biennial, and needs to reseed itself, and boy does it reseed itself!

So in order to not have a gazillion plants, I've learned to cut most of it and enjoy it in a vase.

Because of the amazing winter and spring we've had, the gardens are way ahead and I'm way behind. I've noticed some small trees that have planted themselves and need to be cut down, and there are a couple of patches of poison ivy that make me literally hyperventilate whenever I get anywhere near them. I almost weed-wacked a patch today, which would have been horrible if I'd actually wacked it. Makes me shiver just thinking about it! So be sure to come back next week to see what's blooming, and whether or not I'm still poison ivy-free!