I love every bit of it

I'm so glad your trees made it and I love the colors of the bottles and the chairs and each and every bloom. What a lovely setting you've created. It's just beautiful and thank you for sharing it with us.

Thank you Sharon!

Really beautiful garden, Thanks so much for the tour.

What an amazing job you all have accomplished with all the obstacles you faced. You mention the rototiller wouldn't cut throught the clay soil..I wonder if a tractor that has disc on the back would be able to cut through it? Your landscaping is beautiful; love all the colors of flowers you chose so carefully. So how are the trees doing now? I didn't realize there would be clay soil in NC..I grew up over near Wilmington where the soil was black. loamy and sandy. Are you near Georgia border? I know they have the red clay I've heard. Please pat yourselves on the back for a job well done. Those landscape blocks/bricks must have cost a fortune, plus that vinyl fencing but it sure looks fantastic.
You said you contacted a professional to come out and look at the trees and he said the land didn't perk..how were you able to buy the property if the land didn't perk? Usually a lender won't loan money on land that does not pass a perk test.

Having been born and raised in North Carolina your garden photos and home remind me very much of my parents home ... Thank you for sharing your beautiful home and garden.


RobertB

Typical custom brick built home..NC Style! You don't see much of that up here unless it is in high price ranges..Isn't it strange how home styles different in different parts of the country? I wished that we had considered moving back "home" seeing this home makes me homesick but I've been gone over 50 yrs. now..but NC will always be "home." to me.

Faye, what a joy it was to walk through your garden, via the wonderful photos. So much history in it, in so few years.
Your hard work has paid off.
It makes me think of the place we had in Miss.

gorgeous!!!

Outstanding. Beautiful. Inspiring! I think you could grow almost anything there, except maybe pineapples. Your hard work has produced a masterpiece for you and others to enjoy. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Thanks for the tour. Nicely laid out and planted. The arbor over the mailbox is special.

Just a great tour. You have done a wonderful job despite all of the problems you encountered.

Pippi and Robert I, too, have been away from NC -- for over 55 years now, but it it still "home" to me. Whenever we go back, I usually begin to cry as we cross the border -- back home!.

Very nice tour of your place. I especially like the little table with the lamp on it and the two chairs. I bet you just sit back sometimes and relish in the thought that "We did this!" You can be very proud of what you have accomplished.

love all the great colors & accessories!!!

Thank you all for your kind words. As always,Sharon did an outstanding job on this article.
Pippi we had made a deposit on this acre when the perk test was done. At first we were told that we couldn't purchase it to build a home because it did not perk. The owner of the property at some previous time had the perk test done and it had passed, so he went somewhere, to someone that he knew and had the result changed. We did not know this at the time. We did discover that there were special orders for the septic lines to be deeper and one extra line had to be put in. Guess this is just another example of not what you know but who you know, and the seller of this property knew that someone. As for the trees in the front yard, they struggled for a few years and as of now we have two left that aren't looking their age. We are expecting to eventually lose those too.
Vickie, the little table with the lamp is on granite scraps that I used for curb appeal only. The Granite is slippery and was never intended to be used as a patio. I put the granite down last Summer and before that, I had just the table with the matching chairs (not the ones in the pic.) in that same location. Moved them to the parking pad to cut the grass, and next morning when I wanted to put them back in place, someone had stolen the two chairs. They were cast aluminum and I've not been able to find replacements. LOL, these chairs and table are set in concrete, and the granite is slippery! Guess what I'm wishing if the thief comes back.

Dahtzu said " You know, my yard is anything but elegant. It is me, plain old country, doing and planting anything I like."

I disagree, it may not be English Country but it "Southern Comfort" and I find that elegant.

Beautiful house, beautiful yard and awesome gardening!! You have made such a wonderful showplace, thanks for sharing. Just wish I had a little of that "Southern Comfort".

Dahtzu..I bet that lot owner "greased the hands" of who had to change that perk report too. You know in small towns everybody knows everybody or is related to everybody. I'll take a small town anytime over a big metropolis where we live. I recall a neighbor that lived 2 doors down said he had moved from NYC and had no idea who his neighbors were. I couldn't live like that.

The outcome of your hard work has definately paid off and it is beautiful. You were very wise not to make your flowerbeds too wide. When we moved here 7 yrs. ago, the flowerbeds were already established by original owner from the late 1970's and the one in front of the garage is 5 ft. wide. The 1980's scallop brick pavers outline the two front flowerbeds. That bed is too wide to maintain and manage. I have place round brick stepping stone in there but I would like to reduce it to about 3 ft. instead of 5 ft. but that would be so much work involved. Digging up plants, replanting them, digging those scalloped pavers out, as over the years they have sunk and it's going to be a big job getting them out of there and to decrease the width of the flowerbed, you're going to have to make another trench to set the scalloped pavers back in..more time sonsuming. If I don't put those pavers back, I'd have to get rid of them somehow or find storage for them which I don't have. Maybe that's a project for 2013..

Thank you all so much. Ray and I love living here and thank God each day for the many blessings we are given.

Faye, what beautiful gardens! Knowing how much extra work it was makes them even more special. You've sure done a lot in a few years. Very nice!!

Dahtzu, Wow, what gorgeous gardens, yard, and house! I can appreciate all the back-breaking work you two have put into your yard, and really hate that the poor trees didn't do well. The blood, sweat, and tears we put into our yards eventually pay off if we keep at it. All your work certainly shows in the tour photos! Thank you for allowing us a peek into your beautiful world!