FTC North Edge

Along the northern side of the Former Tennis Court (FTC), we have a row of gorgeous old peonies. They have huge fuschia blooms every spring (but if anyone can tell me why the foliage turns pathetically spotty every summer, please leave a comment). This year, I ripped out all of the grass around them and mulched.

They were on the outside of the old fence, but they're about 4 feet inside of the new one. (The lilacs are inside the fence now, too.)

During the hothothot week in July when Mom & Dad were visiting, I put some Stella D'Oro daylilies along the new fence, making a path between them and the peonies. They didn't bloom this year, but I know they will: Back when we were mowing the lawn ourselves (for 6 hours a week!), they marked off an empty half-circle in the turf (another of the previous owners' landscaping plans that never quite panned out). Grass grew high around them, but I'd see an occasional bloom before the deer munched it. The mowing service cuts them down every week, so I'm transplanting a bunch of them into beds.

Here's that same area as of late September. If you look closely through the sunflower stems, you'll see the wild turkeys I was stalking as they made a rare appearance inside the fence. The flapped their way out in the usual comical manner when I got too close (one flew an impressive arc to the tops of the trees across the neighbors' lane). Elizabeth was watching through the window as I ran down quickly to take the photo. She was still looking out when (a few seconds later) I sat on the couch next to her to check my camera, and she said, "One was hiding in the playhouse!" Sure enough, I looked out and another one flew over the fence to find its friends.