July Home and Garden

July is a lush time here in West Virginia, especially this year as we've had a lot of rain. Our garden is in a series of terraces and raised beds that my husband built last spring. We have a small herb garden (thyme, lemon thyme, rosemary, sage, French tarragon, oregano, dill, parsley, cilantro, lavender and basil).

In the bottom beds we have blackberries, peas, sweet peas, and 9 strawberry plants. In the main bed we have cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, marigolds and nasturtiums. The cucumbers definately get the "Most Rabid Growers" award this year. As you can see, they are mixing with the nasturtiums and having a big ol' time.

In front of the house, we took out a dreadful, half-dead evergreen and put in a rose garden (my husband did promise me a rose garden). It will be a few years before we get the full effect. There is a nice mixture of climbing roses and standard.

Here is the table set for three for dinner, with a bouquet of hydrangeas from the front yard.

When we were married, the bouquets had hydrangeas from my mother-in-law's yard, so they are very dear flowers to me, reminding me both of our wedding day and of my mother-in-law, whom I loved very much and who died this last October of breast cancer, far too young.