Morning Glories planted in my Father-In-Laws Fireman Boot

Gardening, to me, is a nice idea. I put it right up there with only drinking one Starbucks a week, having an organized purse, always being able to find your keys, and being flexible enough to agree to meet friends somewhere at some time. I like the idea of a vegetable garden, beautiful flowers, and a yard that has that natural look that you have to work to achieve. There is only one problem: I like the results more than the effort. In my lazy defense, it isn’t exactly easy to garden around four-legged plant-trampling, root-pulling, carrot-eating furs—the kind that barks and digs in your elephant ear pots the moment your back is turned.

The front yard always looks good because we grow great grass. My lawn guy mows, edges and sweeps. I water. I love to set up the sprinklers. The flowerbeds are home to hostas, ivy that Cole insisted on planting, and two azalea bushes I was gifted for Mother’s Day that bloom magnificently in the late spring.

My teen and I take care of the back yard. This year, I decided to go ahead and plant the usual elephant ears because they grow with a minimum of effort, have bold foliage, and are hearty enough to withstand being repotted several times until they reach their full size

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The effortless theme continues with morning glories that love to take over and share beautiful blooms early in the day. My next-door neighbor grows morning glories on her side of the fence, which then creep onto my side of the fence, and this year I planted morning glories in pots that I hung on my side of the fence to co-mingle with the neighbors’ plants. *see note at bottom regarding toxicity 

Morning glories in all colors: red, purple, pink and blue

I’m a fan of yard art, so I hung Cole’s retired soccer shoes on the fence a few years ago and have added flamingos (just two!), and this year my favorite addition is my father-in-laws’ fireman boots (pictured at the top of the post), in which I planted MORE morning glories. I also added some butterfly baths to the side of the yard with the lilac bushes. The cups catch water and sparkle with dew and rain.

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Next week—or is it the week after? Let’s just say this month sometime—our adopted tree, a Deborah Norway maple, will be planted in the middle of the back yard. He is currently 18 feet tall, 800 pounds and has a three-inch tree caliper. Zug (our name for him) will be red in the spring, green in the summer and yellow in the fall. He does not shed flowers, fruit, or thorns and is very hearty. Zug will be in excellent company as he shares the yard with our magnificent pine trees. Don’t worry Odd will offer full coverage of the tree planting.

(Zug’s foster mother tagging him for us)

My yard is never going to be featured in Better Homes and Gardens (although I might send them a picture of the fireman boots), but it does makes me happy to sit on my patio drinking my little Cokes, admiring the occasional cardinal, frequent butterflies, visiting with my teen, throwing balls, patting pups, and retrieving and replanting elephant ears while enjoying the whimsy that enchants my yard.

Note:  There are a number of different kinds of Morning Glories and you can buy seeds that are not toxic to pets. Nonetheless, mine are planted high (which might not be apparent from the pictures) and I do not let them trail down.

(Also note that gardening and lawn care routines can become easy if you visit the url https://manhattantreeremoval.com/2018/06/06/affordable-tree-removal/ and contact them for unwanted tree removal and clearing plant debris)