Friday, June 5, 2015

Not My Garden


(If you missed my sky post which was posted on the same day, you can  see it here.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of my favourite things to do is to take photos of flowers in someone's garden as I walk around doing my errands. 

Mostly I photograph flowers planted by guerrilla gardeners; that is gardeners who plant in public spaces. 
Today's flowers were taken with my phone.

The flowers in this post were planted by a retired Asian man who simply loves gardening.  I often see him out planting and tending to his many flowers.  He is planting in spaces around his condominium building that do not belong to him. I don't know if he has asked for permission or if he just decided to beautify the space and didn't bother seeking approval.

Over the past two years the garden has really mushroomed and is getting quite gorgeous.. 

His flowers seem to grow like weeds compared to mine.  I've notice the soil in the space is very dark and rich compared to what I have in my small patio garden.  Every year I add bags and bags of manure and soil hoping to make the soil nice and rich. It has improved a bit but still has a ways to go.  It is a lot of work to carry the bags of manure and soil required every year for the small garden otherwise I might do a big job of it and get it all over and done with but I have to do it bit by bit.












Do you like to garden dear reader? 
How is your garden growing this year?


Please don't be shy to leave a comment. I love to hear from my readers and always try to return the favour.
 Enjoy your weekend!

27 comments:

Chris said...

So many lovely pictures of beautiful flowers! It's nice to see gardens popping up in unexpected and unusual areas. I think it makes us a little happier when we see them. Good soil sure can take a long time to build up. We have carted tonnes of manure and compost in our yard over the years. It's a lot of work but we enjoy it. We are both doing a lot in our garden this year, mostly weeding!

Joyful said...

I agree Chris. Nothing makes me happier than to see beautiful flowers spread all over the place. Even one poking up through concrete spaces will make me smile. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who is taking so long to build up the soil. I'll keep plugging. When I first moved in the soil was like sand. It is much better in spots now but still a ways to go!

Nancy Chan said...

I hope the Asian man will be able to continue growing and tending to the public garden. All these flower pictures are so gorgeous! I love to garden but its a lot of hard work. But the reward is worth it all.

Diane said...

Beautiful photos of a lovely garden. Hope all is well, have a good weekend. Diane

Joanne Noragon said...

I even recognized some of the flowers. We have a couple of guerrilla garden plots in town. I don't know who started and maintains them.

Mereknits said...

Those flowers are just gorgeous.
Hugs,
Meredith

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

Wonderful flowers and a wonderful story of the retired Asian man that makes more beautiful the environment. If there were more people like him, the world could be so much more pleasant. And fortunately you are there recording and sharing the beauty!
I'm gardening in the subarctic climate; summer has just arrived and we are very happy...
Have a blessed Sunday!

Jo said...

Oh Penny, your images are stunningly beautiful. I applaud your neighbor's green thumb. Since being home, I've recreated my compost heap behind the garages. (The gardeners neglected it and Rina wasn't "into" compost until I returned) Now my compost heap is black and rich; Jacob (my Wednesday man) will add a layer around each shrubs' roots next week to help protect them in the cold weather. Blessings. Jo xx

Annie Jeffries said...

Takes my breath away, especially the blue/pink photo.

Joyful said...

Hi Jo, I envy your ability to have a big garbage heap (and a yard). I don't have that here. Have a wonderful weekend. xx

Joyful said...

I hope so too Nancy because he has a wonderful "green thumb" :-)

Joyful said...

I totally agree that people who make our environment beautiful make the world a much more pleasant place to be. Happy gardening!

Al said...

Very pretty flowers. And I love your skywatch photos in the previous post!

John's Island said...

Hi Joyful, Your pictures are great. I do admire folks who work so hard to have a nice garden and that is especially true of this gentleman who plants the flowers around his building even though he doesn't own the space. Those are the kind of neighbors I love! You have mentioned that you like to take pictures of flowers while you are out on walks and you know that I do the same. One thing I never seem to tire of is getting a nice picture flower that I can enjoy over and over again. On my computer I made an album of nothing but flowers I have photographed on walks. I like to open that album and then set it into a slide show feature. Then, I will just sit back in my chair and watch them scroll along. I recommend it as a stress reducer! :-) Thanks for another neat post!

My Garden Diaries said...

Loving these blooms! Each and every one of them! There is nothing more beautiful than slowing down and digging in the dirt.....Thank you for sharing this lovely inspiration! Wishing you an outstanding week ahead! Nicole xoxo

Pietro Brosio said...

Very pretty sequence of flower images, Joyful!
About your question on my balcony post, I took all the photos in the town of Turin.
Have a pleasant day!
Pietro

Kalpana said...

I loved all the photos of flowers and the introduction to the term guerrilla gardener :)
Yes - I love to garden but my garden is now a balcony. I lost my garden to my divorce.

Unknown said...

Thanks for this beautiful post and all the gorgeous pictures.I love to garden also and try to enjoy it every day.
Have a wonderful week.
Caroline

Joy said...

There is an old couple who lives in my neighborhood where the man was really a gardener and it looked their garden looks like a paradise to me. But the man died and sad to say that their garden now is just full of weeds because his wife is old and weak and couldn't tend the garden. A relative visit her once in a while to cut the grass.
i really miss their beautiful flowers:)

Indah Nuria Savitri said...

love the colors and its beautiful shapes...Flowers always ease my mind :)...Cheers...

Linda W. said...

What beautiful flowers! I enjoyed your photos. Thanks for stopping by my blog! :)

Bethany Carson said...

The flowers are gorgeous--and obviously flourishing under his watchful care! My folks and I grow a vegetable garden every year, and I have my own flower garden. My flowers are flourishing, but so are the weeds! I have maybe a third of it weeded, but definitely need to get to work!

Linda said...

Hello! The comment you left on my Monday blog post is there....you just need to look up, there were many comments. I saw your comment, read it and published/approved it. :)

Cynthia said...

Beautiful photos of a lovely garden, and what a wonderful, dear man to place them in public space for all to enjoy.

New Jersey Memories said...

What wonderful flowers! I love the variety and the different colors.

Debbie said...

i love to garden, both flowers and veggies. your images are really beautiful, it's such a colorful group!!!!

Green Thumb said...

Love the Petunias! Just planted them in my garden!

A Few Days in March ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers. I hope Spring is treating you well so far. It's been roller coaster weather where I live with mostly ...