I cannot believe I have lived in this house for two years and this is the first time I have brought any sort of furniture outside.  My yard is a perfect little oasis and I have been missing out on it this whole time!

From where I am sitting I can see my whole yard and it is stuffed with more good things than I can count.  Right now I am looking at:

• Three rose bushes (Red, Yellow, and Pink) that remind me of the rose bushes my dad planted on the side of the house when I was a kid.
• One giant rosemary bush that I pluck stems off when I want to add a little kick to my baking
• Fennel, lots and lots of fennel with soft whispers of leaves as high as my hip
• Mint growing in crazy patterns that makes the entire yard smell wonderful after it rains or the grass is cut
• A fig tree.  I had never had a fresh-off-the-tree fig until my first winter here.  It about knocked me off my feet
• An apricot tree with fruit that should be ready to eat in about a month.  Mom suggested I make easy jam with the apricots. Good call Mom!
• An olive tree.  I cannot believe I am lucky enough to live in Italy and have an olive tree in my front yard
• A persimmon tree that is the star of my yard in the winter with its bright orange fruit (just dont eat the persimmons, they are gross)
• A bay leave tree that I steal from when I make soup
• A giant vine of bright magenta tea roses that drapes itself over the stone wall that surrounds my yard.
• And right behind me I have a wall of Jasmine that is just about to bloom.  Jasmine is one of those scents that makes me want to keep inhaling until my lungs burst.