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.