Wednesday, April 5, 2017

A Garden Full Of Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge! As I mentioned yesterday, I'm traveling next week so no Hodgepodge on April 12th. The Hodgepodge will return the following week, April 19th. Thanks for understanding!
1. April is Lawn and Garden Month. On a scale of 1-10 what's the current state of your lawn and/or garden. (10=a showpiece, 1=send in the professionals). Tell us about any lawn or garden plans you have for this month.

That depends on who you ask around here. Hubs wants the whole grand plan completed pronto, with every pine needle in it's proper place, and until that happens he will not rate us a 10. I am comfortable with landscaping as a work in progress, because we intend to stay put for a while and I like to live in a place before I go all in with plantings. I'll give us a 6. We still need color, more flowering shrubs, some trees near the property line where our neighbor will build and probably more pine straw. Definitely more pine straw. Always more pine straw. 

My plan is to get started on the patio pots after Easter. Hubs will be minding the home fires while I'm away so it's also possible I'll come home to a freshly mulched back yard-ha! 

2. "Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there."~Thomas Fuller  What does this quote mean to you?


Someone shared this quote with me when I lived in England, and it's one of my favorites. We had an amazing garden in our UK house, thanks to the owner and his very green thumb. 



We spent a lot of time in that garden as a family, and I spent a lot of time out there on my own too. 



Do you know the old hymn called In the Garden? Well this was mine. 



I dreamed a lot of dreams here, set goals here, made plans, prayed, evaluated decisions made and opportunities that came our way here, and in the process I learned so much about myself and about God's plan for my life. 


Yes the flowers grew...fish and trees and teenage girls too. 



But most of all, I grew. 


And I think that's the meaning at the heart of this quote, and why I love it so. 


3. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about God?

Oh how He loves you and me. 

Holy. 
Everlasting. 
My Rock, my Redeemer, my Refuge.

4. If we were chatting in person, how would I know if you were nervous?

I would very likely talk incessantly. 

5. Do you like the color yellow? Would I find any in your home or wardrobe? Daffodils, tulips, roses, sunflowers, day lily, black eyed susan...which yellow bloom on this list is your favorite?

I love the color yellow, but more in nature than in my house. I don't have any big swaths of yellow in my home, and I dont' think I wear a whole lot of yellow either. But give me sunshine in a bright blue cloudless sky, a field of daffodils, a bouquet of yellow roses, a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade, and I'm a happy camper. 



Tough call on which yellow bloom is my favorite, but of the flowers listed I'm going with the daffodil. Nothing says spring like a field full of daffs! 

6. Flip flops or bare feet?

I love bare feet, but try to make myself wear flip flops in the yard. Copperheads and all that jazz...

7. Tell us about any Easter plans, celebrations, or traditions you'll carry out this month.

I'm taking a fun little spring break trip next week with my teacher daughter2 and we don't get back to South Carolina until late Saturday night. I still give my girls (and son-in-law) baskets, but right now I'm struggling with how jet lag will impact my need to have that traditional Easter meal at home? Still working on a plan, and hubs says lets have dinner out, but I'm not ready to say yes just yet. If I can swing it, I'd prefer to eat here. 

Regardless, we'll attend church, sing all my favorite songs declaring He's Alive! and will feel grateful for the gift of the cross. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I absolutely love this song by Natalie Grant, perfect to share here as we head into Easter week...

"Look what mercy's overcome, death has lost and love has won..."



Happy Easter! 




SaveSave

31 comments:

  1. Well, your photos are gorgeous and what a dream to have lived in that home in England with that beautiful garden. I guess I missed the point of the quote! You're so right. Pine straw must be a mulch?
    Have a lovely trip with your daughter and a blessed Easter, no matter what you do for dinner. It's the service and singing those wonderful songs. I posted a song today too. We are off to the hospital in a couple of hours.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Joyce...such a fun hodgepodge! What a gorgeous home and garden that you enjoyed in England...love that old hymn too. I love what you shared about what you learned from that quote too. I had to laugh about question #4...I guess we would have to just slap each other...lol! Thank for hosting and have a fabulous spring break and Easter!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The garden and yard where you lived in the UK is amazing! Hope you have a wonderful trip with your daughter!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a wonderful Hodgepodge this week, Joyce! I so enjoyed reading about your English garden and all that grew there -- including you. Such a blessing to read all that the quote meant to you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's funny how I can't seem to keep up with dates since I quit teaching to stay at home with Baby M. I keep having to look at the calendar to see when, exactly, Easter is this year. It would be easier if all the holidays fell on the same date every year as Christmas does. Maybe I'm just getting old. :) Such a beautiful garden you had in England! I'd love my yard to look nice and to have a small flower garden in the back but I don't have anything resembling a green thumb. Have a wonderful trip, a fun time with your girls, and safe travels there and back!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Boy would I LOVE to come home to find the mulching DONE!!!!!
    Love your English garden, what a lovely place to ponder!
    Redeemer, perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Joyce... that home in England was breathtaking! And those gardens. Have a great time with your daughter and travel safe.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a beautiful garden! I love daffodils, too. The first flower that I remember ever picking (that wasn't a dandelion) was a daffodil and, boy, did I get in trouble for it. It was in a neighbor's yard. I was a little girl and thought it was so pretty, I just had to have it, and I plucked it. Mama made me go apologize to the very nice lady who didn't fuss at me for it. This lady also had hydrangeas at her front porch. I didn't like them back then, but I have grown to appreciate them. They are beautiful in their own way. :)

    Have a beautiful visit with your daughter and a blessed week!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you for the Hodgepodge, Joyce. Have a wonderful time away with your daughter. I know I do a lot of complaining about winter, but I've always been able to lie in the yard and look at the sky without worrying about copperheads. I guess winter is the price we pay. LOL Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Loved your answer to the second question. You were truly blessed by your English garden. Thank you for the Hosge Podge. Even when I don't participate, I read a lot of posts dedicated to it and enjoy them. Happy traveling and visiting...✈️

    ReplyDelete
  11. In The Garden is in my top 5 favorite hymns. Your garden in England was amazing (probably still is!). I would have spent hours and hours there too. What a blessing for you all. Thanks for this week's HP, Joyce. Enjoyed it, as always!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for writing these questions each week! I didn't write this in my answer but when I read yours, I really that I, too, talk way too much when I'm nervous . . .OR . . .I could possibly become an introvert! I'm normally an extrovert!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your garden in the UK is absolutely gorgeous. No wonder you spent so much time there. But they pictures you've shown of where you are now are so beautiful too. Being on the lake must be wonderful. I think I'd be out on your porch or dock all the time, just enjoying God's beautiful creation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh my, what a beautiful garden you had in England! It looks like a little piece of heaven on earth to me.
    I hope you and your daughter have a wonderful 'get away' together, and I wish you and your family a blessed and happy Easter. Do yourself a favor, this year, and eat out this Easter :)
    Thanks again, for all you do :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Such beautiful pictures. What a gorgeous place to have lived. I KNEW there was more to that quote, lol. Enjoy every little minute with your daughter. And wouldn't that be nice to come home to the mulching done?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh, I liked all your answers. That estate from the UK was beautiful - I can see why you grew there! Your views are very similar to mine. Thanks for sharing this one.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Have a wonderful trip with your daughter - and please, give yourself a break and find a fun restaurant to go to on Easter - that's what I had to give up last year when we were out of our last home and not in our new one yet, our Easter was very disjointed and unnerving and friends took us in. Humbled. And it's ok. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I so much want to be in London in that yard! Enjoy your Spring Break getaway, sounds like fun. I know I have a problem with possibly going out to eat on Easter, it just doesn't seem right. We might be doing a breakfast out with Adam, Gabby and her family. Maybe later Mark and I will do a small prime rib for ourselves. I love that you still give out baskets.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh boy...that quote went right over my head but I sure appreciate what it means to you and your history in that garden in England. Beautiful. Ha! My answer is the same as yours for #4. Have a fun break with your daughter. We are scooping up our daughter to take her with us for another visit with our new granddaughter. Auntie Katie will get to meet her for the first time. Woohoo. Blessings...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow, those gardens that you were privy to, my goodness, my husband would have purely died. Know you and those girls are in for such a great time next week. I so well remember when I went and helped our daughter with all that baby stuff. Such sweet, sweet memories! We'll look forward to your return!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh man.... I miss that garden so bad. Loved seeing all these old photos again. Wish my "garden" looked 1/10th as pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  22. That garden at your home in the UK...oh my gosh! I don't know that I would have been able to get anything else done with that tempting me every day!

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a lovely garden that obviously holds so many wonderful memories and associations. Special places where we have met with God tend to remain special places forever. Thank you for sharing that place for you with us. Hoping your time with Daughter2 is everything you both need and want it to be.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Homesick looking at our pictures. Love that place.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Lovely photos. I miss gardening. It was one of hobbies. I can't wait till we can get are own house and I can do it again. Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  26. If copperheads are a concern, flip flops are not the answer. They love ankles. A good ankle-covering boot is the best defense against those creepy things. The babies are almost white. They have the most venom. Always look before you reach or sit.

    Our nephew has been bitten three times by copperheads. He now has the nickname "Snake Bait".

    ReplyDelete
  27. Beautiful Hodgepodge this week, Joyce. Your garden pictures from England are stunning. I can't imagine how wonderful it would be to wake up to such beauty day after day.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I've lived in my home for 45 years and the garden is always a work in progress. Plant, grow, prune, die, replant.....

    @msdeniseh553
    Denise at My Life in Retirement Euromast Tower, Rotterdam

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi Joyce,
    Thank you for sharing your memories in the English garden. I enjoyed what you wrote.

    Enjoy your week with your Daughter2! Looking forward to hearing all about it. :-)

    Thank you for asking me how my Master Gardener Class is going, it is going well. Keeping me busy, I am learning a lot and making new friends.
    Happy Easter,
    Carla

    ReplyDelete
  30. I'm enjoying your Hodgepodge posts. You give us interesting prompts to consider.

    What a lovely post... beautiful photos.

    Wishing you a wonderful weekend...
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete