The Narleeville Gardens

This year I have added a few points of interest in the yard. First added a butterfly garden next to the deck. Everything that is planted in it is something that attracts butterflies. We'll have to wait a little while to see what visitors we get! Everything was planted "bare root", as that way it roots more permanently and adapts to your specific soil situation. It will take a little longer to see everything tomaturity but it will be worth it!

I know it doesn't look like much...but in time it'll be AWESOME!

For years I've wanted to add a veggie patch, and I accomplished that goal this year with a little help from my friends! Our buddy Steve helped me build the "box" to have a slightly elevated garden bed. It's 16 feet by 8 feet big!Thanks Steve! This will help keep critters out and also enabled us to add 6 tons of soil to the bed, litteraly 6 tons! We planted tomatoes, peppers, canteloupe, squash, zuccini, jalepenos, carrots, radishes, lettuce, peas and beans...so far...I still have a little room! This pic is only a corner of the veggie patch.

I made garden markers out of Fimo clay...they're pretty cute, don'tcha think?

Another ongoing project is the "Faery Garden". This is at the very back of our yard and is being dedicated to the attraction of faeries! We have a door and windows on a tree, so they feel at home! We've even got an elf (I made him out of Fimo clay too and dressed him in clothes fashioned out of a rogue sock) in another tree. There are crystals and Fimo stars hung int he branches and we've transplanted the Spiderwort plants there since they seem to be getting too much sun in the front garden. A few bare root Hostas are in there and I just put in some Anemones, and Lungwort. A few splashes of Phlox give this shady patch some color too.

This is the faerie door and windows...I wish this site didn't limit me to 5 pics!

The side of the house has been dedicated to hebs, as we already have a very healthy Rosemary, Oregano and Peppermint patch there. I've added Thyme, Lavender, Basil, Parsley, Cilantro and Catnip (don't ask me why...I don't even have a cat!). All of these are being started from seed as all these plants get very pricey! I'll spare you a pic of the dirt patch!

I also picked up a few more rose bushes this year, I couldn't resist the blue one! These new bushes needed a home so I dug another space to put the roses. I placed them on the sunniest side of the back yard and gave them a pretty little white picket fence to protect them from the animals in the yard...the kids! The white fencing in the veggie patch pic is where the rose bushes are.

The last pic I'll add is the little shade garden we put under my bedroom window. I have a Bleeding Heart plant that is thriving there and with a few annuals and a pretty little bird house stake it is quite charming!

A Day at the Park...

On one of the first warm days I grabbed Kaleb and Aliza and hit the best park we know, Quiet Waters in Annapolis. We had a wonderful time hiking the shoreline and letting Matilda be a dog, romping in the water and tracking her ach enemies, the squirrels! At the end of our afternoon we hit "The Kid Park" and I got a few nice pics I thought I'd share...

If they got any cuter I may just explode! Aliza was having a great time "riding" Kaleb down the slide, I'm just thankful no one got hurt! Aliza loves to swing almost as much as her brother used to...here she is making silly faces for me, her newest trick is crossing her eyes, he sense of humor is awesome, she's so much fun!Kaleb felt quite triumphant atop this big climbing...well, "thing"! I love those happy eyes!

Keep on rockin' childhood you two!

The Baltimore Aquarium...2008

While my family was here over Easter, we took the kids to The Baltimore Aquarium! We took the train into Baltimore and my nephew Seth thought that was sooo cool! He's the only child that has noticed the train go by across the street from our house, everytime it does he says "Aunt Janie a choo-choo!!!" So it was a real treat for him to ride on it.

When we got there we waled through the harbour and the kids loved seeing the Chesapeak ship, which they of course imagined to be a pirate ship! They also loved playing on the cannons that are displayed throughout the harbour. From leftto right; Kaleb, Seth, Aliza and Madison...awwww!

Inside the aquarium there was so much to see! They loved watching the sting-rays and the dolphin show was a real hit! They were very interested in the amphibians too! They were dyingfor one to leap around but they were lazy frogs!This is the frog they were so enthralled with...yeah, National Geographic wants me to photograph for them, I'm too busy with my kids though! LOL!