As I write this, there is hard cold rain blowing horizontal out the windows. The pool man was here earlier to tie down the cover for winter and I was reminded by the radio a few minutes ago that this weekend marks the fourth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. Could there be a better time, then, to celebrate the wonders that God and Her angels wrought in our Cedar House gardens this summer? After all, these gardens found themselves under six feet of Atlantic Ocean when that great gale came, a salty saturation that wiped out pretty much everything, even including a 30′ lush southern magnolia that had cheerfully withstood fifteen Fire Island winters and become a community favorite in the doing, but couldn’t take the poison. It was one of three that I had given to Richard for Christmas many moons ago, and the good news is that, finally, last year, the least of the original trio put out a triumphant new shoot from the roots, so my love gift lives! And this year, the reborn tree actually bloomed. confirming, to me, at least, lines from a poem I wrote long ago, that “The dream is stronger than the night.”

Of course, gardens, like kitchens, are favorite spots for angels, so please allow me to credit my spiritual companions for much of this renaissance. They know they have my gratitude.

As with last year’s tours, I’ll start with the deck plantings and then move into the gardens around the house. Please enjoy and feel free to share. May all our storms be gentle ones in the days and months ahead.

[Editor’s note: Even I am frustrated that many of these photographs – especially the vertical ones – only show partially on my laptop screen, but if you click on any photo, it will open up in “fit your screen” mode and be easier to see.]

Decks and Such

Entry Deck

Pool Deck

The Shady Side

The Sunny Side

And there you have it. Believe it or not, this is only 10% of the photos I had, and I know I gave short shrift to the day lilies, but that is because there were so many great ones that, like last year, I’m also be doing a dedicated day lily post as a follow-up to this one.

Thanks for visiting! Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Love to all!

© 2016 by George Thomas Wilson. All rights reserved.