Very nice, thanks for sharing.

Amazing shots!
I always find it difficult to capture birds 'cause they are so flighty.. no pun intended. ;-)
Thanks for sharing.

-Sam

How ironic is it that damn rabbit is in the pic?!

Great photos, looks even better than last year!

Stunning photos of a well thought out garden.#3 wins first prize! Doug

As always Tj your color and texture combos are superb! Photos 3 and 9 are especially WOW! pics for me. Thanks for sharing your garden with us.

Dan

Nice birds,
but your Abies procera "Glauca" look Abies lasiocarpa to me.
Clement

Enjoyed the garden tour

Very nice!

Alex

tj,

Great diversified post.

I especially like the Abies concolor 'Compacta'.

The rabbits around my place are especially destructive. They killed a 10 year old Ginkgo b. 'W.B' last winter. I now resort to feeding them 177 cal. food.

Better off to deal with the donkey then pink flamingos. It took me 10 years to get the clothes line out of my conifer garden. Persistence pays off.

Thanks for the photos..

Dave

Fantastic gardens. Love the extra photos you through in. You got some exceptional shots.
Cher

i wish you were more often inspired to post pix

ken

Some good plants there tj. Nice to see a palmatum 'Beni Hoshi' in your micro-climate. Good colors and birds, as well.

Dax

Very enjoyable. Thank you for the mix!
Richard

The birds are interesting. Saw an unusual social group of 5-6 birds the other day, flitting along the stream-bank shrubs. Finally recognized them as Cedar waxwings -- seen them before, but never here.

tj Watch that rabbit....he looks thin!
Real nice gardens and photos...Post just kept getting better and better!...well done!

Thanks for the tour. As said above, your garden is getting better and better. Good design and choice of plants.
That's a well trained rabbit that uses the sidewalk. How'd you do that?!
I have a wife too. She put a couple of pink flamingos in the garden. I named them 'Tongue' and 'Cheek'. I tried for a long time to teach them to fly. One day they apparently flew away and we haven't seen em' since. You're right Dave, persistence pays off.
Mike

Thanks for looking and the kind comments everyone.

Dan- As you are one of the premiere urban landscapers on the forum, your comments are much appreciated. I find if I move stuff often enough I eventually hit on a nice combo.

Clement- You are correct about the lasiocarpa. Why I typed procera I'll attribute to a senior moment. I corrected it.

Dave, Whaas, alley-cat- Urban fur rats have no fear of people which makes them easy targets for my .177. The one in that pic kept coming toward me...but it still lives.

Then, just this week, as I was planting a hosta one came within a foot of me (nearly nose to as I was on the ground) as if to say, "What's for dinner?".

Ken- This late spring has me and the garden behind, but I think I'm caught up now. Hey, aren't YOU on a photo sabbatical?

Dax & Beng- I'm near enough to Lake Michigan that it acts as a sort of funnel for migrating birds so that even in this urban site I get a nice variety.

Mike- LOL (Tongue and Cheek). I'm fortunate that the donkey is obscure enough to disappear into the surroundings.

tj

Wow, great lighting, no kidding. What time of day was it? What conditions? I always struggle to find the right light. These photos are exemplary!

Love the bird shots too, believe it or not that's the first oriole I have ever seen. I'm a baseball fan and I found that pretty amusing.

TJ, we have very very similar taste in plants. Hostas, maples, conifers, columbine... Love your combinations.

-Will

Beautiful pictures, Tom. Thanks for sharing them. You have an awesome garden!

Matt

Thanks Will and Matt.

Will- the pix were taken in the evening. A neighbor to the WSW of me has some huge Norway Spruces and the evening sun peeks through highlighting different subjects.

Matt- If you're ever in Milwaukee give me a shout. A tour wont take long, maybe 20 minutes, just ask whaas.

tj

Very cool!

Very pics, Tommy!
Indeed, the light was right!
I like your Pinus peuce 'Mrs. Cesarini' very much.
How old is it?

The birds, looks nice too, I didn't know before how a youngster of the red cardinal looks like...

20min, yeah right! Definitely worth the tour, the mix and use of space is incredible.

I will definitely take you up on that offer, Tom. Thanks!

Thanks Edwin, whaas & nwconifer.

Edwin- The 'Mrs Cesarini' came from Stanley in the fall of '07 as a small one gallon. It was labeled as 'Miss Cesarini', but I'm sure she's married. ;-)

Matt- You're on, and anyone else on the forum is welcome for that matter.

Sorry about that wascally wabbit! Your garden and the bird pix are wonderful! Just so you all know it isn't a girl-thing... my husband is the one that bought our pink flamingo! But then, he isn't much of a gardener. I think our spouses do that as a misguided gesture of support!

Ellen