Shots of the Estate!

Could your tree be a Hawthorne Tree (Crataegus rivularis) or Flowering Crabapple?

I've just asked Mrs James now, and she says it's a Crabapple. The birds are already attacking the berries on it, and there's more of them (berries) than there's been for the last couple of years!

It's going to look lovely with the splashes of colour around when the Spring bulbs come through :-)

you do make me laugh merfyn,, mrs james, i bet she isnt that bad lol,, you sound like a very happy couple doing things together,, thanx for the tour of the james estate, very neat and tidy :o))

Did you do the patio Merfyn it looks very nice is the edging shaped it does not look all straight?

Looks more like a bird cherry tree to me the leaves are very cherry shaped and not at all apple shaped to my mind, and theyre the smallest crab apples I've ever seen break one open Merf if its got one large (for the fruit size ) pip its a cherry even crabs have more than one pip I think!
Hows it goin mate?
Nice little pot you have there bulbs will look nice round the bottom of it!

Next put refrigerator box cardboard over 50% of the lawn, and pile a foot or two of the neighbors' leaves on top (mine are so considerate and bag them for me right on the curb). Come spring, the grass should be dead and you can get a sod cutter to peal it off and compost upside down. THEN the fun begins!

Sandra: Mrs James is wonderful - we just love making each other laugh! Sometimes she calls me 'Petal' (which she did in the pub in front of my mates - how embarrassing!) and I call her 'Flower', and then we call each other Mr and Mrs James. At a posh party one day I introduced her as 'my bird' - that went down well...!!!

Drc: I think if you look at the first pics I put on the site of my back garden it gives you a better idea of how the pation is shaped. It comes out straight from the north fence and then curves in a half-bowl shape around the rotary washing line just before it reaches the south fence. It's all edged with old bricks. My mate (a brick-layer) laid it, and I was his 'beautiful assistant'!

Indy: I'm just dandy thanks. How's you and yours? I'll investigate the red berries in a mo, and then let you know what i discover inside!

Orgratis: I'm not sure where you're coming from here Orgratis! We won't be touching the either the front or the back lawns. Dear Mrs James would have a small bout of hysteria if a started playing about with the lawns! But it seems like a good idea though!

I'm ok thanks Merf and last spoken to they were fine too, thanks !

lol merfyn, its lovely you are both so happy, laughing is so good for you, me and baz always pulling eachothers leg`s, :o)

In many parts of the US, we have gotten conscious about the monetary and environment costs of a green lawn: having to pay for water, pesticides & fertilizers (w/ downstream impacts & health issues), petrol for mowers, etc. So I joke that lawns are good pasture for cows and sheep, but not having either, I'd rather use the land for flowers and food, habitat for birds & folk. An edible lawn of medicinal groundcovers is an option: see Healerwitch blog, Lawn Investigations.

Sandra: If laughter be the food of love then I'd have a hernia now!

Orgratis: I only watered the lawn when it was first laid a few years ago. Since then I haven't given it a drop. It's a variety called Rye Sports Turf, which is extremely hardy. We get our fair share of rain down here anyway. I'm all for the environment - I volunteer on a local nature reserve for a start, but I also like the lawn to be a lawn. Mrs James and I both work long hours, so low maintenance is quite a priority for us. I don't suppose you get much rain over there - do you?

Agree with you Merfyn lawns in the UK can get very dry and then recover when we have decent rain and use much less than of anything compared to plants

Good to know about the Rye Sports turf: thanks. Medford gets half the rainfall than most of Oregon: only about 15 in/ yr (one reason we chose to live here). I think our last very light rain was 5 Aug; prior good rain June 12 & 13. So summer we have to water a lot, & my lease requires I keep the lawn green. I begrudge every drop as then I have to mow! Most things I plant are quite drought tolerant. But I'll find a croquet set and come over to enjoy your nice estate lawn!

That would be fun! I play golf sometimes, so I guess I could adapt to Croquet! lol