Southern Pink Azaleas in the Secret Garden

 On the right side of our house, is a sliver of yard hidden unless you walk back there. There's a wonderful assortment of azaleas, heavy on the pink varieties with some whites and reds, that starts at the street and goes to the fence leading to the back yard. A paved path starting at the edge of the house leads you to the beautiful back wrought iron gate (one of three).

 This year after our unseasonably cold winter, they bloomed more beautiful than ever. In the fall we put up this trellis at the start of the path (a new inexpensive one, as I'm always selling the vintage ones I come across) and planted some knockout roses. And this spring, we placed some hostas on the left side, where there is almost no sun, under some Camilla trees.

We lost 8 trees last year and the stump by the gate is one of the dead ones we had to have removed. The cute sign is from a downtown neighbor store Greg's!

 Tucked back here is a cherub garden statue. I found as a set of three, but only kept one. It's hard for me as a vintage seller to sometimes not keep it all. There is also a 3-piece cast iron garden seating set. This is a very old set and the heaviest one I've ever come across. I love it's patina now, but know that soon (like my front yard swing) it will need painting to keep it from being damaged by the rust. I'm seriously considering a soft pink color, although I love the white.

 Since taking this picture I've placed a concrete urn on the tree stump. It was one of two I'd bought 4 years ago when we first bought this house. The flanked our front sidewalk on low brick wall. The first year there were about 16 attempts at stealing or vandalizing them, each time leaving them in pieces. After my sweet husband pieced them back together each time, one was eventually unsalvageable. So moved the other back here. I have no understanding of people's disregard for other's property. I'll admit to having cried the first couple of times I found them in the street broken into pieces.

 It's cool in the constant shade. Anytime I'm working outside, I take my break over here in this private spot.