Porch garden

The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous. Cool, sunny, blue-sky days are followed by crisp, clear, starry nights. You couldn't ask for anything better. Being outdoors all day has been a joy and the best part of all this time off at home.

The yard has never looked better.  Everything is neat and trimmed, weeded and mown. The porch has been thoroughly cleaned. I even mopped it with Fabuloso (of course I thought of Mary!) and the tile floor smelled nice afterward and feels good on bare feet. All of our houseplants have gone out there to spend the next few months, and I added two beautiful hanging baskets of Boston ferns, purchased at the small open air farmer's market where I go to buy fresh vegetables. The porch is definitely my happy place these days.

The fig tree that I started from my friend Carol's cuttings last summer.

 I may plant it in the yard this fall. 

The orchids seem happy outside.

Handsome Georgie enjoys the porch!

Ginger thought I was holding a morsel of food. (I wasn't.)

The little ornamental pomegranate given to me by a friend. 

If you look closely, you can see tiny little fruit buds popping up all over it.

Speaking of pomegranates, I had one that I grew from a small seedling in a large pot for years

 prior to moving here. A year ago, I planted it in the ground beside the porch. It's shot up to about 7 feet tall, and it also has fruit (or are they flower?) buds for the first time. 

We've had this ficus for longer than we've been married. It was largely neglected for years when the little sparrow Chip lived in it, but it's always managed to hang on. We're hoping to grow it out some on the porch this summer. It will go back in our den late in the fall.