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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Outdoor Wednesday -- The Stone Wall Behind That Old House

Welcome to Wednesday -- we are going outdoors, behind That Old House, where we'll take a look at our old stone wall, and what is (growing) on it.

At the end of this post, find links for more Outdoor Wednesday and What's On Your Wall posts! Or just click on the blog party titles, right here!

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Our yard is sloped, and there's a long, old stone wall that keeps part of it from sliding down and burying the house. There's lots on this wall, besides a couple of sets of steps -- lichen, chipmunks who peek out from between loose stones, masses of overly enthusiastic ivy, and ground-cover myrtle -- look closely, below:


See the myrtle, or vinca, growing next to the very light-colored stone?
(That's the corner of my mini-van in the upper left of the picture, on the driveway.
It's quite excited at being in the blog, and can't wait to lord it over Howard's Jeep.)

Please excuse the landscape disarray.
It's cleanup time here at That Old House.

Along the wall ... some lovely spring bulbs and perennials, including

Bleeding Heart or Dicentra:


Tulips:




Bleeding Heart and Tulips:




And my favorite goofy looking spring blooming plant --
Fritillaria

Howard thinks I make up these names, but it's really called Fritillaria.

Also called Crown Imperial. Odd looking crown.
If I were Queen, I'd ask for a do-over on the crown design.

(Some of our fading Hyacinths and the crazy rampant ivy, above.)


My favorite "plant" is our unruly grapevine, which is so heavy
that it has weighed down the steel cable that used to hold it up.

Now our grapevine just sort of sags between the support posts:

Pachysandra keeps the grapevine's feet warm.
Or cool, depending on the season!


The grapevine buds really burst out the past few days, with our unseasonably hot weather.
See those baby leaves? Those lumpy things in their centers will be grape clusters,
and my Dad will impatiently wait through the summer, till they are sweet enough for him to pluck right off the vine and eat.

He is worse than the birds.

Then our neighbor Ellen will come and pick all the remaining grapes,
and make the world's absolute most delicious grape jam, and give us a jar.

Which my Dad will also eat.
Being 89 has its privileges.


Enjoy your Wednesday! Our heat wave is over, but we're going to get some much-needed showers to water our buds and blossoms. Can't complain! -- Cass
Susan at A Southern Daydreamer hosts Outdoor Wednesday -- and she's got some gorgeous pictures of Southern spring flowers on her blog today -- and they bear a remarkable resemblance to Northern spring flowers! Visit Susan and the other Outdoor Wednesday participants here! Don't miss it!
Barb at Grits and Glamour (don't you love the name of that blog?) is our hostess for What's On Your Wall Wednesday, and I sure hope she doesn't mind my using my outdoor wall for this post. For a peek at -- well -- what's on people's walls, click here.

47 comments:

  1. Gorgeous flowers, Cass......I would love to walk thru your yard and see it all..

    Suzanne

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  2. Oh how I love great old stone walls! The flowers are really pretty. The very first fritillaria I ever saw was in Oxford England and then I spotted one on a walk in the Santa Monica Mountains in California. Love it...Happy O.W. to you...

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  3. HI Cass! Oh, I just love your old wall and all the little flowers helping it out! The tulips are gorgeous!
    Be a sweetie and how are your little fuzzy faces doing? Love those little cuties,
    Shelia ;)

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  4. never seen fritillaria before....very cool :)

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  5. Hi Cass,
    I adore tulips and what a wonderful backdrop for them - a stone wall-perfection! Love your pics! Sonia/Miss Bloomers

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  6. That stone wall has a lot of stories to tell, I'd bet. It makes a beautiful background for your flowers..such pretty pix...thanks for taking us on a tour...

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  7. A wall is a wall is a wall. I am so happy you posted this beautiful wall. I have stone wall envy. LOL

    The flower pics are pure eye candy.

    Thanks so much for joining in this week's WOYWW.

    Blessings, Barb

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  8. Stone walls certainly add character to your garden. Lovely post.
    Joyce M

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  9. what a gorgeous house you have. i just looked at all the slides!!! so beautiful.

    you are SO right about the furniture in GG - the HBO pictures no way are what it looked like. a Swedish sofa!!! that living room !! no way at all.

    thanks for the comment - much appreciated.
    Joni

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  10. Cass,
    You really have some wonderful posts! The stone wall and all the beautiful flowers! Just Gorgeous! Cindy

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  11. Very lovely!!! I've never seen or heard of that frit-something one. I LOVE it, like jagged yellow bells.

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  12. The yellow tulip is gorgeous, and that other yellow flower is a new one to me.

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  13. Cass, thank you for taking the time to comment on my Southern Lagniappe blog. I'm so glad it led me to your Old House.

    I love the old stone wall with its flowers and tangled vines, and I enjoyed the story about your grape-eating dad ... that's so cute.

    I love old houses and saw lots of older posts I want to come back and read, so I'll see you again soon.

    Sincerely,

    Janie

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  14. The pictures are lovely. I love stone walls and espcially the contrast with beautiful flowers gorin against them. Isn't is just amazing watching everything come to bloom in springtime. I could take pictures ALL DAY LONG....

    Smiles, Nancy

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  15. Hi Cass! It's been hot here too. Finally cooled back to normal and it's been pouring down rain which we desperately needed.

    Your stone wall is the perfect backdrop for those perennials. It's just gorgeous. I like to know the real names of plants. Sometimes they are so odd it's easier to remember than the common names.

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  16. It looks great, Cass. And reminds me that I need to get my grapevine planted.

    Love the wall - it reminds me of many I sat on in England waiting for a bus.

    Your outside is just as pretty as the inside!

    Lisa

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  17. Hi Cass,
    Your stone wall and gorgeous flowers are just charming. Looks like you have lots of color and blooms. Spring is finally here! Enjoy! Amy :)

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  18. Your flowers are very pretty. Great old wall!

    Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.

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  19. Love the wall and the bleeding hearts. Funny thing is that we at our house all love bleeding hearts but as of yet have none. Gotta change that, I think.

    Your blog is new to me so I will have to come back and read more. I love old houses and the process of making them special again.

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  20. The wall is wonderful -- you just don't see them with that kind of character any more.

    I enjoyed the tour of your florals -- especially that fritter thang -- very unusual!

    Scribbler

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  21. I love the white bleeding heart. Mine disappeared a long time ago. I look forward to watching your garden grow this year.

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  22. Good morning Cass :)

    It looks like we share some of the same flowers. I think I need some Fritillarias, just so I can impress people by knowing that name LOL Your dad cracks me up!

    Have a great day today, it looks like more rain for all of us.

    rue

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  23. Luv the yellow flowers, the bleeding heart and that stone wall. Wonder why they're called bleeding heart?
    -marie

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  24. Great outdoor pics and Happy Wednesday! Cass you have some lovely flowers and I love the tulips the best!

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  25. I've always loved stonewalls... and the flowers around them. I see it a lot around here in Southern New England.

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  26. Thanks for the tour of your lovely flowers. I would love to have the grapevine (and the resulting grape jam)!

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  27. The stone wall and accompanying flowers are just lovely. I'd love to take a walk through your garden.

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  28. Loved your post about your stone wall. I am also enjoying seeing others' spring bulbs blooming. Living where I do my tulips and daffodils have been spent about a month now.

    Cass, I just placed a post on my blog about my Cavalier. Thought you might be interested.

    Carolyn, N FL

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  29. Don't you just love spring when color starts bursting forth? I think it's my favorite time of year.

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  30. Thank you for stopping over to visit me. I love your old stone wall!!!! And this must have been the week for bleeding heart! Susan our hostess, myself & you all had photos of bleeding heart in our posts. You are lucky to be able to grow it. It is too hot in my yard for this fragile beauty. Happy OW.

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  31. Cass, Thanks for visiting my blog and putting a comment on there.

    I did see your post about your Cavalier's which inspired me to do my post today about Miss Scarlet. I thought you might like to see her and yours are adorable. There is no way to describe a Cavalier as you know.

    Thank you so much for the info about Cavalier rescue. I will look into that. I do want another one BUT I acquired a beagle a few months ago and he is a handful. I may have to put that on hold for a while but he is pretty special too.

    Carolyn, N FL

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  32. loved your garden tour...especially those white bleeding hearts.
    you have a wonderful style of writing...very witty!
    makes me smile.
    have a great day.

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  33. The flowers are beautiful, the stone wall gorgeous!!

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  34. Hi Cass, I love to see stone walls there is something majestic about them, you flowers add so much to it too. Thank you for sharing and thank you for coming by my place for a visit and for leaving such a sweet comment.
    Sue

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  35. Oh, Cass, you're too funny! I wanted you to know I'm using the creamer in my tablescape tomorrow that I won in your giveaway! I just love it!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia :0

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  36. I just love your photos and your old stone wall! And I'm late but your bathroom looks awesome and all 3 of your pets are so cute! lol

    Thanks for visiting me too!

    Did I mention that I think you live in my dream house? :) I just love old homes!

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  37. I love the stone walls and the flowers - such a classic garden look! Beautifully done! Linda

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  38. Love the flowers & the old stone wall. Your tulips are my favorite!!!

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  39. What a very beautiful Stone wall,the flowers are all so gorgeous. I have always wondered about growing crown imperials.
    now I see how truly lovely they are.Thank you so much for the magical tour today.
    Blessings to you.

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  40. What a great wall! I enjoyed the tour :) The flowers are pretty and the grape jam sounds pretty good.

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  41. I love your brick wall and all the flowers planted near it.

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  42. Your stone wall and your flowers are so charming! Your gardens just look so inviting. laurie

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  43. Hi Cass...

    Just read the note that you left on my Wall of Plates post...so happy that you came by!

    My friend, I just love that old stone wall...it reminds me of the rock walls that they build in Ireland!!! It's charming!!! Hmmm...I have never heard of...or seen a Fritillaria plant! It's so interesting with it's blooms growing downward! But it's a beautiful color of yellow! Thanks for sharing that...I learned something today!!!

    Warmest wishes,
    Chari

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  44. Living in New England I have a love of old stone walls. On thing I really was happy about my house when I bought it in 1991, was that it has stacked stone retaining walls across the front of the property.

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  45. I just love that old stone wall with all the beautiful spring flowers. Just lovely. I've never seen the fritillaria before, what a fun flower! Happy OW! Kathy

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  46. I love all the stone use in Jersey..Daughter lives in a stone house from 1750 and it's fabulous...And I fondly remember picking grapes from my sister-in-laws grandmother's yard in Clark and making grape jam from it...I brought it in to Home Ec class in high school and the teacher was very impressed...

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  47. Sorry I am late getting around to visit... I hope you had a Happy Outdoor Wednesday....and that you will participate again soon! Thanks for sharing your photos.~ Susan

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Thank you for visiting That Old House; it's always exciting to find new comments -- they are treasured! Because of increasing spam, I have reluctantly eliminated "Anonymous" commenting. Legitimate anonymous commenters, please forgive me! You might try using "Open ID" instead. Blogger's spam software worked for a good long time, but, sadly, no longer.