Family Visits

Looking out James and Daniel's front door towards the garden

James and Daniel have worked very hard on both their house and garden this spring. The results have been spectacular! At the end of this last week they were able to share all their progress with Daniel's parents who arrived from St Louis on Friday.

Lunch in the front garden. Photo by James

We had our first luncheon out of doors under the wisteria arbor. Dan and Susan Hoffmann were delighted with their guest lodgings, only just finished last month. The arrangement of the houses is conducive to both group gatherings and more intimate meetings. There are any number of corners where we can share a meal, a visit, or find a quiet place. As the house comes into its own, we find how much we appreciate it.

View of the front yard with many new plants added to the border where we removed a juniper last year

I have personally been relishing the garden this spring. Daniel and James have planted numerous new plants in front to expand and fill out the borders. I look forward to what effect that might have in a year or two.

The fish pond garden is completely overgrown in a charming way, although a heron came and gobbled up all the fish, leaving the pond a bit forlorn. Emily, when she was here last, did a lot of weeding, but the lush nature of the ground covers and other plantings still gives this corner the sense of a tiny jungle.

Pond garden corner

The iris moment has more or less passed and the beautiful flowering cherry tree by the front gate has turned into a purple shower of leaves. Here too Daniel and James have tucked in new bedding plants.

View from our bedroom window

The garden out back, which we constructed from the ground up two years ago is now in its full glory. We followed what we call the Marta Cormier (our expert gardening friend) approach to planting this patch...throw a bunch of things in and see what survives. As a recent visitor remarked "it looks like pretty much everything survived."

https://youtube.com/shorts/0vCZjI5i8K8

The back garden

I have a nicer video up on my Instagram account but I didn't want to repeat myself to my readers who follow me there.

Daniel and James took Dan and Susan for a tour of our area today. It is looking its best at the moment.

Beautiful view over fields with Noyers in the distance. Photo by James

There are lots of other activities planned for the coming week. It is a great pleasure for all of us to have such lovely visitors.

The Hoffmann family, walk in the countryside. Photo by James

Perhaps the best for last, I have a video to share so that you can see what else Daniel has been up to with his time and their dog.

https://youtube.com/shorts/9UoxWBlYFkc

Video by James