Garden Serenity

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As we move into the "heavy lifting" part of the gardening year, it's important to keep our eye on the prize.  Each of us has our own idea of what the prize is.  For me it's a serene and calming place to sit - at any time of the day - and read, think, be.

Now, I'm well aware that this beautiful place doesn't just appear!  Maybe you're lucky enough to have lots of help, but around my house the planning, the supervision, and most of the work is done by yours truly.  So I like to motivate myself by keeping a picture in my mind of how great it's going to be.

You're probably familiar with Pinterest and Houzz by now, right?  Oh my goodness, I could waste, er, invest hours looking through the photos and ideas on these sites.

Don't you love the photo above?  It's from an article on Houzz about the beauty of enclosed gardens, indoors and out.

Do you remember this feature from one of the gardens in last year's Through Our Garden Gates tour?  This is a space that runs along the side of this MG's back yard.  They built an additional fence about 10 feet away from the boundary fence and created this lovely and restful walkway.  Such a great idea!

And let's not forget our garden views.  If you can't create an enclosed garden in your yard, create a comfortable place in your home, maybe a porch or by a window with a garden view, to sit and enjoy the fruits of your hard labor.  Like this:

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Or this:

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I'm starting to think about my own small deck and garden and how I can up the serenity factor this year.  Memphis is soooo hot and the bugs are soooo annoying that we limit our outdoor time after about mid-June.  How do you cope with Memphis heat/bugs?  I need help.