Friday, May 28, 2010

May Flowers

May is almost over and summer is on its way!  Here’s your tour of the garden from the month of May…

IMG_2206

Iris lily, in the most beautiful plum shade.

IMG_2280

Lovely hydrangea.  They are a bit more pink this year.  Yay!

IMG_2281

IMG_2283

IMG_2286

The pink impatiens are getting bigger!  I can’t wait for them to take over the front bed!

IMG_2279 IMG_2287

Anthony Waterer spirea, so fuzzy and pink!

IMG_2289 IMG_2290

Yellow Daylily in the backyard.

IMG_2298

And I saved the best for last… Pink Yarrow!  I love this flower! It is the most perfect shade of pink!  I will have to get some more for the mailbox bed, which has undergone a transformation this morning.  Stay tuned for an update.

That’s what’s blooming in the garden this month.  Thanks for joining me.

signature

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Mirror Makeover

The other day I was browsing Goodwill with my mom, looking for some frames for my botanical prints when what to my wandering eye should appear… a gorgeous mirror!

IMG_2095

I was literally walking (that’s how I walk) down the main aisle toward the “home decor” department and when I saw it, and I knew immediately it had to be mine.  For the $4.50 price, I couldn’t pass it up.  Especially since Mama was threatening to buy it if I didn’t! 

So, we got it home, cleaned it up and removed the mirror from the frame.  The next dilemma was deciding what color to paint it.  Hmmm…. black? white? oil rubbed bronze?

Eventually I decided it would look swell in our master bedroom with the elegant swirly floral curtains and the proper little velvet chair.  Just a little more glam for the glammest corner in the house. :)

So I decided to paint it a slate blue kind of color to coordinate with the duvet and curtains.  I was all prepared to go buy [another] can of paint (yeah that’s how I waste money) when my Mama pulls out this awesome slate blue car paint!  Whoo hoo!  It was made for flexible things like plastic, so double score… cuz my mirror ain’t as fancy as it looks—yeah, like all good things in life, it’s plastic!*

  * with the exception of chocolate which is not plastic… and it’s pretty good.

Anyway, Mama was kind enough to paint it for me with the awesome blue car paint that was leftover from my brother’s truck (or some such thing).  Thanks, John! 

Here it is all done up in blue:

IMG_2199

And this is the glammest corner in the house.  :)

IMG_2198

What do you think?  Now you need to get down to Goodwill and see what kinds of thrifty treasures are waiting for you!  And don’t forget your spray paint!

signature

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The English Garden Story

This is the story of a garden.  Not really a garden at all, but a wasteland of neglect.  A natural space devoid of human attention but full of  overgrown ivy, rotting mulch, and abundant weeds.  The story of potential. 
Our story begins in a wooded backyard with a couple of dreamers.  And a spot.  That’s all a dreamer ever really needs: a dream and a spot. 
After we decided to buy this house, I spent hours poring over the photos of our new home, dreaming of this backyard terraced garden that would be my little spot.  My "English garden” as I like to call it.  (Don’t know what resemblance it bears to anything English, but just go with it.)  Dreaming of a tranquil pond with a rocky waterfall, flowers in abundance, a little slate patio with a bistro set, and maybe a hammock for two.
Sounds like a tall order for this particular spot.  Here is the “before” picture of my little neglected garden:

IMG_6993

As in, WAY before.  Like two years ago before.  Before we moved in.  Because I’m pretty sure the first thing we my mother did as soon as we stepped off the moving truck was Operation Kill Ivy.  Well, I may be exaggerating that fact.  I’m pretty sure it was like the next day. :) 
Anyway, we declared war on the ivy and spent many back-breaking hours pulling, spraying, hacking, and cursing the dreadful green viney stuff.  As you can see it was eating the yard, almost.  Eating the trees, the fence, and the retaining wall (Maybe that’s why we didn’t know just how terrible that wall really was when we bought this place!  Note to self: Let the ivy grow back before resale.)
Once the ivy was declared under control (because it will never be truly eradicated from the property), we began Operation English Garden.  The original plan included a pond with solar pump fountain on the right where the tree now exists.  At some point I realized there was no sun for a solar pump and the leaves from the trees would clog the pond in a matter of days.  So I said goodbye to that dream.  Enter plan number two:

sarah's flower garden

While I haven’t achieved quite the flowering abundance of the above image and my boxwoods are still quite small, I am getting closer to that plan!
Here’s a rundown of the process:
We pulled up the black plastic landscape “cloth”, raked out the mulch to make it level, created a round planting bed for my little cherry tree, and marked a curved path between the entrances.

IMG_8353

Then we got some hostas, liriope, and lily of the valley.

IMG_8352
Next we added flagstones for the path and Anthony Waterer Spirea bushes.

IMG_8378

IMG_8382
Pink azaleas joined the party, plus a few boxwoods,  columbine, and daylilies.

IMG_8404
Gravel dust filled in the pathway, while more liriope grass lined the edges.  A charming birdbath and planter boxes were added to anchor the space.

IMG_8482
A few more plants, some mulch, and brick edger...

garden
Then I needed seating for my garden visitors.  This bench was on clearance at Home Goods and as soon as I saw the red tag from the parking lot, I skipped across the curb and began jumping up and down in front of it, squealing all the while. 

IMG_2119
I still need to paint it so it stands out in the brown wilderness, and maybe make some round cushions for the seat.  I love how two people can sit and enjoy different views of the garden at the same time!  That part looks like an English garden, right?  Right?!

IMG_2120
This brings us to the stairs.  See those up there?  Yeah, seriously lacking several requirements of stairs.  So, my safety conscious parents eventually got fed up with climbing the rotting steps with no handrail and declared them CONDEMNED!  And for our second wedding anniversary last weekend, they decided to build us a brand new set of stairs!
Papa came on Saturday and we began the process:

IMG_2131
IMG_2132
Notice the lovely rotted top board of the retaining wall?  Yep, we replaced it.

Demo complete.

IMG_2135
IMG_2139
IMG_2142

Bringing those retaining wall posts down to size.  With a reciprocating saw.  Powered with three extension cords plugged end to end.  Genuises, right?  Well, it was a long way from the nearest outlet!

IMG_2143
 IMG_2145

IMG_2147
IMG_2151

IMG_2152

VICTORY IS OURS!

IMG_2156

IMG_2158
Complete with a couple of new ferns on either side.

BEFORE:
 
IMG_2120

AFTER:
 
IMG_2160

That brings you up to date in the garden.  Our future plans for this spot include more mulch, (can there ever be enough mulch?) a few forsythia to fill in behind the swing, finish the brick edger on the pathway, plus more plants because you know there are never enough of those!  Here’s one last look at our progress.
 
BEFORE:
 
IMG_6993
 
AFTER:
 
IMG_2172

The English Garden.
 
signature

Friday, May 07, 2010

April Showers

Well, even though we only got a few April Showers, the tulips did not disappoint.  Here’s a look at the blooming beauties and a few shots of Spring from around the yard…

IMG_2055 IMG_2056 IMG_2057 IMG_2058 IMG_2060 IMG_2063 IMG_2116     IMG_2122

I’ll be back with more garden updates! :) Happy Friday!

signature