Our Garden

[Oldfriend]

I remember when I was stuck in China and someone, I believe it was Bobby, posted some pics of his home. I was a train wreck in China and seeing those pics brought me to tears. Big time.

 

Well, time has passed and wounds have pretty much healed, and now I want to sort of payback some of the folks who made our journey possible. And for anyone in the dreamin' stage.

 

 

http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b580/slw268/IMG_0401_zpscf9f4d9c.jpg

 

 

One of several small gardens with (of course) Chinese veggies.

 

http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b580/slw268/IMG_0402_zpsa907bf46.jpg

 

 

Our deck with yet another veggie garden - sugar peas, lettuce, tomatoes, and God knows what else.

 

 

http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b580/slw268/IMG_0403_zpsac54838d.jpg

 

 

This was one of our perennial gardens until Baba got his hands on it before things started growing. He, ahem, decided to yank the "weeds" and plant even more unknown veggies!

Some perennials survived.

 

Well, wahtdayaknow! Ying just called from New York to check on her gardens!

Gotta go water!

More to come!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[warpedbored]

I like it! It seems many Chinese wives enjoy gardening. My wife,.a life long urban dweller of Nanning took to it like a duck to water. She really enjoys taking care of her "babies".

[tsap seui]

Great photos Steve. You guys have done a really nice job with the gardens.If Wenyan hadn't have left for Chinartucky when she did I would be out back digging and planting, especially after she saw you and Ying's gardens. I really like your woodwork too. I need to follow your example and build a grape arbor for these grape vines on our backyard that have been left unattended many years and now grow up into the trees...looking like kudzu in the summer...lol Make it easier for waa waa to pick grapes and make some more homemade wine...as well as for the deer to eat on their nocturnal journey.

 

We loved the work and look of your backyard and home.

 

tsap seui

[Mick]

We have a garden every year as well, plus one around our deck like you have. Last year, Li made the mistake of planting gourds that grew on vines. They climbed up our deck, over the rail and onto the deck itself. What's worse, there were these little bees that loved the flowers. We finally had to uproot them as they literally were taking over the deck. I felt like I was in that old 50s horror flick "The Day of the Triffids." At first, we just tried to keep cutting them back, but they were worse than kudzu. They just kept on comin'. We did have lots of gourds though. I ate so much of the stuff I thought I was gonna turn into a gourd.

[tsap seui]

We have a garden every year as well, plus one around our deck like you have. Last year, Li made the mistake of planting gourds that grew on vines. They climbed up our deck, over the rail and onto the deck itself. What's worse, there were these little bees that loved the flowers. We finally had to uproot them as they literally were taking over the deck. I felt like I was in that old 50s horror flick "The Day of the Triffids." At first, we just tried to keep cutting them back, but they were worse than kudzu. They just kept on comin'. We did have lots of gourds though. I ate so much of the stuff I thought I was gonna turn into a gourd.

Not "The Day of the Triffids" !!!!! My Gawd man, that movie was scarier than "The Attack of The Tomatoes". I couldn't sleep for weeks!!!!!!!!!!

 

I love those old B movie, or maybe they were C movie horror movies. Fengqi and I were just laughing about Godzilla, and Mothra. The black and white ones where you can see the production guys moving the props around. Frank Zappa did a song called "Cheapness" and used the Godzilla movie as an example of cheapness.

 

tsap seui

[warpedbored]

Great photos Steve. You guys have done a really nice job with the gardens.If Wenyan hadn't have left for Chinartucky when she did I would be out back digging and planting, especially after she saw you and Ying's gardens. I really like your woodwork too. I need to follow your example and build a grape arbor for these grape vines on our backyard that have been left unattended many years and now grow up into the trees...looking like kudzu in the summer...lol Make it easier for waa waa to pick grapes and make some more homemade wine...as well as for the deer to eat on their nocturnal journey.

 

We loved the work and look of your backyard and home.

 

tsap seui

I just finished a grape arbor for Bing,

http://oi41.tinypic.com/waqejc.jpg

[Oldfriend]

We have a garden every year as well, plus one around our deck like you have. Last year, Li made the mistake of planting gourds that grew on vines. They climbed up our deck, over the rail and onto the deck itself. What's worse, there were these little bees that loved the flowers. We finally had to uproot them as they literally were taking over the deck. I felt like I was in that old 50s horror flick "The Day of the Triffids." At first, we just tried to keep cutting them back, but they were worse than kudzu. They just kept on comin'. We did have lots of gourds though. I ate so much of the stuff I thought I was gonna turn into a gourd.

Went through the same thing Mick. Something to climb on? Calls for squash!

[Oldfriend]

 

Great photos Steve. You guys have done a really nice job with the gardens.If Wenyan hadn't have left for Chinartucky when she did I would be out back digging and planting, especially after she saw you and Ying's gardens. I really like your woodwork too. I need to follow your example and build a grape arbor for these grape vines on our backyard that have been left unattended many years and now grow up into the trees...looking like kudzu in the summer...lol Make it easier for waa waa to pick grapes and make some more homemade wine...as well as for the deer to eat on their nocturnal journey.

 

We loved the work and look of your backyard and home.

 

tsap seui

I just finished a grape arbor for Bing,

http://oi41.tinypic.com/waqejc.jpg

 

Again, separated at birth!

Here's ours.

http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b580/slw268/IMG_0409_zps7ae499a2.jpg

 

http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b580/slw268/IMG_0405_zps8d6b1fda.jpg

 

 

Still building it.

Building, always building.

Working on your Luthier shop too, by the way.

[warpedbored]

Very nice Steve. Yours looks better than mine.

[Oldfriend]

Very nice Steve. Yours looks better than mine.

It's bigger too!

[Oldfriend]

This is the side entrance way. It all connects together. Eventually ($$$$$) there will be more lattice, a sitting area, my grill, fire pit, water feature, more plants, electric, running water, sound system, you know the frugal basic stuff every squash trellis needs.

http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b580/slw268/IMG_0407_zps4acf6d98.jpg

[Mick]

Wow, Steve! That really looks nice. You have done a great job putting everything together. It looks like you have a nice balance of sun and shade. Alas, although we have quite a bit of space (about an acre), there is virtually no shade to be had. Our sub-development is only about seven years old now and used to be a cow pasture.

[tsap seui]

Steve's place is great. He has done some darn nice looking work there and Ying has the plants popping up all over. Got themselves a beautiful home and they are making the backyard into a lush garden.

 

Carl, I like your grape arbor too. I've cleaned up around the small line of trees we have out back at the edge of our property but with Wenyan gone for the entire summer and one last apartment to redo I'm most likely not gonna have the time or energy....or boss at home...to put up an arbor this year. We'll just do like last year and put up ladders to pick the grapes when we and the deer get all the lower ones....lol There's always next summer and then there won't be anymore construction going on at Winnie's apartments....let's see, she likes gazebos and I can see me adding another bathroom in a hallway leading into a gazebo styled room, the grape arbor, a roof over our back deck and later enclosing it...oh the list goes on, and we may luck into a flip house along the road. Always something to make retirement interesting and keep the girl out of opening up a massage parlor...LOL My mind runneth over.

 

Great stuff guys. I can't say enough nice things about Steve and Yings place. When Wenyan gets back I'll take her camera, learn how to post photos, and have to post some of our own. She's got some great bird and mountain photos from our place and we've got some really funny shots of us.

[warpedbored]

Best Bing not see yours Steve. I'll never get out of the yard and have time for building guitars.

[Randy W]

Good work there, guys - both of you. I admire that kind of work in a back yard.