Tybeans Nature Includes Secret Gardens

The people of Tybee Island, Georgia, are unique, quirky, funky, off-beat and artistic.  The old timers are laid back and friendly.  The newcomers enjoy the don't-worry, and don't-fret attitude of the old timers.

All are the same, from the single mother transplant, to the rich couple move-ins, you can't tell 'em apart.  They all just want the slower pace of life and to enjoy an every day SWIM!

They love their puns, and clever signs.  They love their homes and their secret gardens, too.  

The beach colors, lime and peach, light blue and pink, burnt orange and cream, white wash every house and cottage and stilted home.

Their gardens are secret.  I didn't flly realize this the first two visits to Tybee.  This time it finally dawned on me that this aspect of Tybee is as much a characteristic as any of the other things.

Secret, tended gardens are a definite standard.  I tried to take photographs, but they never really do a garden's distancing and its privacy justice.  

And sometimes we would be going too fast on our golf cart for me to sway the driver into stopping.

Get that last sentence?  It was Tybean clever, "Going too fast on our golf cart."

Some gardens, like the one at St. Michael's Catholic Church,  traditionally display a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus, behind lush vegetaion.

Others can be a delight that tease kids to enter and play, like the one with a red tricycle and a Radio Flyer wagon filled with planted flowers.  A black and white striped lighthouse beckons on!

                                

Then there's the one I almost missed.  It was secluded behind a black wrought iron filigree fence.  

When I stepped closer, and peered through with one eye pinched shut, I could make out the background.  It was a wooden slatted privacy fence with green shrubbery along the bottom and greenery growing across the top.  In the far back it looked like a Japanese tree shading a patio set.  Dark red brick lined a glassy blue pool with an ornate copper swan spewing water.   Oh, so very elegant, and private with a smidgeon of pride.

And that says it all.  Though Tybeans aren't after fame and notable financial success, they are friendly, and they will proudly show off their gardens -- just a little.