Just gorgeous! Very, very inspirational. Thanks for sharing your lovely photos.

I have one question for you; where on earth do you mow? I just saw lush growth of plants and wonderful paths.

I love it all, the architectural bits, different gates, chairs, etc. What a cozy place you have. I bet it keeps you busy trying to keep all that lushness in control.

Thanks for the tour.

Beautiful,i love all the places where you can stop and sit for a spell.Good Job!!
Kathi

gldno ~ I mow a little lawn out by the sidewalk/driveway, all along the driveway and a little bit in the back where we park.

It does keep me busy, especially after all the rain we've been having lately. There are vines, etc. that need trimming, weeds need pulling. It's just so miserably hot and humid that I can't do much except in the mornings. This is just the beginning of the summer too. UGH!

Kathi ~ Thank you. It is nice having different places to sit. You never know when you'll need to rest for even a minute.

Thanks for looking and glad you enjoyed the tour.

FlowerLady

Wow! I could spend days just exploring every nook and cranny of your wonderful gardens! Thank you for sharing your photographs. It's wonderful to see what can be attained in 25 or so years.

What an amazing array of plants and places in your garden. I love all of it but especially the fountain . It is all just so charming. c

Your garden is amazing. I love all the little nooks and crannies and all the garden art.

I like that everything is so lush and green. It rained in town today while I was there, but not a drop out here.

Lots of fun places to sit and dream and plan; lots of already completed areas, what a garden! Thanks for the tour.

Nell

Rainey, I loved the garden tour, you have so many charming areas, a garden to wander about, sit and dream in. You really have created a little paradise, I can feel the tranquilly you must feel when in your garden.
Annette

All those LUSH, GREEN, GORGEOUS, COOL looking secret gardens are just wonderfully inviting!

I don't know why you made all those disclaimers...your garden looks great.

Cameron

It's all so lush and tropical and verdant. I love all the wrought iron, but am seriously coveting that giant concrete frog, where ever did you get that? I must have one!

Thanks for posting, you have an intriguing place with lots to look at.

You have a lot more land than I realized, Flower. I love the various garden rooms. That is my ultimate hope for my yard. I'm glad you pointed out that it takes a lot of years of planning and work!

Lorna

I don't know how I missed this until now. I love the feeling of privacy and seclusion you've created. If I had a garden like yours, I would never want to leave home.

Mary

Good morning everyone and thank you for your kind, encouraging comments about my tropical/cottage gardens.

They are a continuing work in progress. I sometimes feel 'green' with the envy monster from looking at all the beautiful, colorful, flower filled gardens that you have and forget to really look at the beauty that my own gardens have. In all the lushness that you all have mentioned are tucked in orchids, bromeliads, roses, begonias, sedums, herbs, salvias, all kinds of flowering shrubs, aloe, and more. Those are the pictures I usually post. I wanted to show the overall picture so you could get a handle on our little haven from the crazy world that we live in. It is always a joy to pull into our driveway and be back home.

kaileanm ~ Thank you. The gardens are inspirational to me too.

bamateacha ~ Thanks ~ There are lots of nooks and crannies that's for sure. It is a treat to go out in the mornings to see what's going on. I could spend days weeding and trimming. Down here we do not get a break from gardening, it's a 365 day a year hobby.

Caroline ~ Thank you ~ Charming is what I hope to create since we live in a 50's cottage.

Michelle ~ Thanks ~ We've been collectors of garden art for years. Some we've bought and others we've found.

Nell ~ Thank you ~ Hope you get some rain up there. It looks like we could get more today. None yesterday except for a few sprinkles. I've got to hand water a few things in pots this morning. Some completed areas, some need work and that's part of the joy of gardening.

Annette ~ Thank you ~ When I just wander and sit with no set goals, I do feel the tranquility and am thankful. I just soak it up. Sometimes we just see all that needs to be done, or think about all the projects we'd like to see done, and forget to just sit back and BE. Relax and let the gardens surround us with their healing, energy flowing vibes.

Cameron ~ Thank you. The disclaimers are because of all the beautiful, color filled gardens with space and vistas that some of you all have. I have rooms and hallways.

GG ~ Thanks ~ It looks the way it does right now because of all the rain that we've been getting lately. What you don't see with the concrete frog, is one leg is broken, so that there's concrete missing and his foot is attached by the iron reinforcements. We are pretty sure we found him dumped as we've found lots of stuff! One day, I'll have to go around and take pictures of all of our found goodies, they are quite a few. Most other stuff was bought at yard sales, flea markets, thrift stores and once in awhile from an antique shop. Found is the best.

Lorna ~ Thank you ~ We have 1/4 of an acre. It is an L shaped piece of property. We did have 1/3 of an acre until the county came through to widen the two lane road out front making it 5 lanes with traffic roaring past. It has taken many years to get it to look like it does today that's for sure.

Mary ~ Thank you. We wanted the privacy and seclusion since we moved in here. We did have a nice woodsy front until the county came through with their road widening project. The woods came down and I had to start over, it was kind of depressing. When you drive down the street you can quickly pass us by if you don't know where we are. We've had people come here recently, strangers, that have said it's really cool and secret. Exactly the way we want it. It is hard to leave home and is only done when necessary. I love pulling into the driveway from the autobahn out front. It's tranquil, cooler, filled with oxygen, color and scents. Home sweet home, humble though it is. Our haven.

It was a treat sharing a bit of our tropical/cottage garden life with you. You have all inspired me to keep on with what I've been doing and I appreciate that. Your words did my heart good.

FlowerLady

FlowerLady,

I love it! I love it! I love it!
Green is my favourite color!
Love the lush tropical and your garden art.
All I can say is what has already been said, but I whole heartedly agree.

Lovely home and gardens. (and I love the lights on your screened-in porch...looks like home. I like them on hot summer nights...to just turn on the tiny star-like lights and sit out and enjoy the night air.)

~ Annie

flowerlady, thank you for posting the beautiful shots of your garden. It is so serene feeling. Hard to imagine a 5 lane road just the other side of your fence! I can see that you must feel a great relief on reaching your "haven" when returning from the outside world of hustle and bustle.

Achieving what you have would be impossible for us, as we live on a corner, double lot. I envy your seclusion. I really enjoyed seeing the "big" picture of your gardens, and know that it has been a labor of love. Definitely nothing to disclaim!
Marylu

A popular magazine has in its archives a Florida garden where the plantings reach all the way to the street, and I always think of your place. One line particularly reminded me:
"She refers to her screened porch as a rain room--a place to sit and enjoy the soul-soothing sounds of a tropical shower."

Remember when you showed the pics of the white Datura opening, several weeks back? Two similar blossoms opened in a little bed off my carport last night, such glorious fragrance.

I didn't make photos, so I'll just link to yours, LOL.

Nell

Here is a link that might be useful: Flower Lady's White Datura

I love your garden! Thank you for showing us a vision of such peace and tranquility - it is truly what gardening is all about!

I so hear you about the 365/days thing - never a break from weeding, cleanup and pruning! But it's all worth it, isn't it?

Not only did I love all the plants you have, the various textures and colors of the leaves but the other elements were so wonderfully integrated with the whole design. I especially loved the tree trunck chair and the wrought iron gate.

Thanks for the tour.

SweetAnnie ~ Thank you. Glad you like our lush tropical look. We just got more rain last night and that will make things grow more into a jungle. ~ I enjoy the lights also, but some of them don't work now, so I haven't been using them. We found them curb side shopping a year or two ago. They were nice while they lasted. : -)

Marylu ~ We do enjoy our seclusion from the world 'outside'. The traffic can be horrible at certain times of the day. It was much nicer when this was a little two lane road, with cow pastures around, but not anymore. Scenes like that are fast disappearing with all the land-grabbing developers buying up property left and right. We do have double paned windows and that makes a difference. I think I will not make 'disclaimers' anymore. Thanks to everyone's kind words and encouragement.

Nell ~ It is nice sitting in our screened porch in the evenings when it's cooler. It keeps the 'skeeters' away. Wow, I'd like some of this other FL gardener's "soul-soothing sounds of tropical showers". It seems like most our rain is with thunderstorms. ~ The datura sure does have a wonderful sweet scent. I've got seed pods exploding all over as I forget to pick them and dry them in paper bags.

jkom ~ Thank you, I always enjoy seeing your color packed gardens. Do you have any pictures of your back gardens now? Gardening 365 days a year can get 'old', especially the 'older' one gets. :-)

a2zmom ~ Thanks ~ Things grow, we acquire the artistic elements along the way and then just plop them where we think they look good. Of course, sometimes we have to move them around, but hopefully not too many times.

Ok ~ This morning I hope to get out before it gets too hot and do some more work. It's a bit cooler since we had a nice rain from a passing T-storm last night.

Thanks again everyone for your encouraging words.

FlowerLady

Love your gardens! Wow, so lush...that's what I'm after - but I got a very lloooooongg way to go before it looks that good. Thanks for sharing! Estelle

FlowerLady - so gorgeous!! I love the lushness that Florida gardens get. I have a friend in central Florida with a lovely garden, also with found items. I am envious, but then come October, I am happy for a break - lol.

Nancy.

Beautiful, Flower Lady!

The first word that came to mind was intimate. Your garden is very intimate and romantic. You've added so many beautiful touchs such as the seating, and, of course, your plants/flowers are just gorgeous.

You really have created a lush paradise!

Marilyn

Hi everyone ~ hot and humid here. Even going out early it is miserable now.

Estelle ~ Thank you. Just keep working a little bit at a time and before you know it you will have an overgrown paradise. We've had so much rain lately it is hard to keep up with everything.

Nancy ~ Thanks. Yes, FL has lush gardens especially after a lot of rain. I would look forward to a break come October along with chilly weather, but that doesn't happen here. Bummer! Things just keep on growing 365 days a year, and if we're lucky we'll have 5 days of chilly weather. We always wish for more. : -)

Marilyn ~ Thank you. Intimate and romantic are nice words that make me feel I must be on the right track. Still lots of work and projects to do. For all gardeners, our work is ongoing, our gardens every growing and changing.

Thanks again everyone for visiting and your kind and encouraging words.

FlowerLady