Home and Gardening With Liz

Mid July Gardens Front and Back

2017-07-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite garden areas- especially in the morning.

Astrantia (Great Masterwort) Star of Fire.

On the backside of the fairy garden is a large Annabelle Hydrangea which has started to bloom. It will go from the light lime green color to white. Late in the fall, I cut it back pretty short and every spring it develops new growth and blooms again.

The mopheads are so large they would fill a dinner plate nicely!

Across the driveway on the turnaround area is my "forgotten garden" as I like to call it. I used to have a nice array of asiatic lilies but voles ate the bulbs and these tall bright orange lilies are the only thing left.

This is the other side of the "forgotten garden". I call it that because it's well hidden by a large blue spruce and the lilacs that I lined up to make a green wall for privacy. It's easy for forget it's there! This spring I dug and moved plants around that looked very disorganized. erennials tend to move a little and not come up exactly where they started. At this point the cone flowers are starting to bloom as well as the daylilies.

This is a "scratch and sniff" picture! These cones smell so nice! It's called Secret Affair from the Secret series.

This plant on the left is called Helenium (sneezeweed) not ready to bloom yet, the yellow flowers are a Heliopsis plant called Tuscan Sun. When I started this garden bed I tried to find plants I didn't already have as well as varieties I wasn't familiar with.

I saw these variegated sedum one year and bought two. I've never seen them again so I'm glad I found them. I should split them up and create more of them.

This is the prettiest shade of a melon-orange colored lily. They are doing pretty well considering this is in a part sun garden bed.

Across the driveway is the island we built to create privacy and noise barrier from the road that's so close to our house.

The butterfly weed plant is in full bloom. So far I haven't seen butterflies on it but I'm not out there looking all the time either! I have seen a fair amount of butterflies out back this year which makes me happy.

These are a short version of Campanula (bell flowers). I've always enjoyed their flower shape and there are a lot of varieties of them. After I took this picture I dug them and moved them out front of the bed because they are really short. I have no idea why I planted them behind taller plants.

The Coreopsis is starting to bloom- they make a nice showing once they get started.

Out back by the deck in my "pink" garden.

I do love this striking color!

Queen Elizabeth, Grandiflora Rose (late stage becomes delicate pale in color).

A sprinkling of pink.... lilies, roses, cosmos and celosia

Mid July Gardens Front and Back

I will be joining:

Everyday Living for

Gardens Galore No.3

Thank you Pam for the feature of my Fantasy Fairy Garden

Watering and Fertilizing

2017-07-06T17:04:00.000-04:00

I have my garden sprinkler running before the sun is on the plants out back (it's down the path on a green tripod) I feel the plants get a better watering when I do it this way vs. me trying to hand do it all. I let the sprinkler go for at least an hour so it saturates the soil nicely.

I'm excited about this product this year. This is a liquid fertilizer by Espoma and all you do is turn the bottle over, let it empty one dose or two depending on the size of your watering can and add water. 2 doses is recommended for a one gallon watering can. No fussing with scoops or measuring.

I took a snapshot of their video showing how to use is. You don't even squeeze- it falls out in a pre-selected amount once you turn it over. I couldn't find it locally so I ordered it on Amazon.

(I am not compensated- just sharing my favorite fertilizer brands)

Their granular fertilizer is great. If you only wanted to buy one product I would buy this one. I fertilize my perennials with it.

If you have hollys, hydrangeas, rhodendrons or camellias that are acid loving plants this is a great fertilizer too. This one won't adjust the color to go blue like the one below will though.

I use this one on my Endless Summer hydrangeas to richen up the color and for the chance to turn the flowers more blue. I seem to get a light purple and pink most of the time. We have a very alkaline soil so it takes a bit of work to keep mine from being all pink!

This is great for the perennials that flower. All of these products stay with the plant a lot longer than the liquid versions to so you don't have to fertilize repeatedly.

I give my one and only rose a good dose of this and keep it well watered. Roses love water! Keeping plants healthy with some kind of fertilizing helps them resist disease and they produce a lot more plant and flower. I also put in a slow release fertilizer in the soil when I plant my annuals but annuals love love love to be fertilized.

If you hate being bothered fertilizing- at least add this to your soil or any other brand you can find. I know the potting sole often comes with fertilizer but it's really not enough to last the summer and this is a good alternative.

A few people have asked me about how I get my hostas to do so well. I've been incredibly lucky with them even as far as slugs go (that's what usually eats holes in them). After reading up on it- it turns out slugs don't like alkaline soil which is what I have. If you have a more acidic solid you are likely to have a lot more problems with slugs. I have been adding hardwood mulch to my beds for many years and it has broken down and created a rich organic soil which they love.

I found this article by another blogger (Kevin Lee Jacobs-A Garden For the House-A Garden For the House) that you can read "How to keep slugs and snails away".

Per his advice (inexpensive way to deal with this problem) is to get a bag of lime and make circles around the plants. The slugs won't cross it. (I copied this picture from the article I mentioned above) You can even put it around tomatoes and other veges. that you might be struggling with. After I showed Dan this article he remembered his dad doing this on the farm with their vegetable garden many years ago. Some people go out in the evening and hand picked the slugs off but that could be difficult especially when you have as many hostas as I do. The best way to deal with them is to prevent them from getting on the plants in the first place.

Well it was sunny but now it's darkened outside since we're about to get rained on! Wouldn't you know I just watered my flowers!

Whatever brand you choose make sure you fertilize your annuals with something- it really does make a difference! Remember how fantastic they look when you bring them home- they didn't get that way with just water!

Happy fertilizing and watering!

Happy 4th!

2017-07-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

I'm proud of our flag and country- God Bless America!

There's a lot of symbolism with this holiday and I enjoy it.

I re-did the centerpiece for the kitchen table using the same elements from the tablescape the other day.

I've got flags poked in various planters.

Some barbecuing, relaxing and seeing some fireworks this evening is what we have planned!

Wishing You All A Very Happy 4th Of July as we celebrate Our Independence Day!

The Patio and Fountain

2017-07-02T16:28:00.003-04:00

I snapped a few photos of the patio area. The planter with the metal orb is just about to burst with pink double impatiens. It's being stubborn! That table is a gas fire pit. We got what they called a conversation height table.

This is how it looked a month ago.

I call this my hosta hill. It's loaded with numerous hostas- some are the giant varieties. I planted red impatiens all around the hill and the fountain area.

The plants you see filling in around the hostas are called Pachysandra or Japanese Spurge along with some Sweet Wooodruff which blooms a tiny white flower in the spring.

Astrantia (Great Masterwort) Star of Fire

This is a great shade loving plant. The flowers continue to get larger and bloom for a good while.

This is our garden fountain area. Dan and I did all this by ourselves in 2009. We added this walk up area with the fountain starting in May and it took us until July 1 to finish. The rest of the patio was created in 1999. The kids were still in school and helped us put it together. We originally had a pre-formed pond in this area. There is a post I created in 2010 showing the beginnings you can see that "here"

The big lanterns are new this year from Home Depot. It's nice in the evenings when the pathway lights are on.

So I took a walk out back to do some watering and discovered I had been raided by a deer! See the chomped off leftovers! Grrrr... in all the years I've had this garden back here I haven't had a problem with deer.

So I've hung some little bags with a repellent to hopefully stop them from thinking this is their garden!

We went to a local feed store and got advice from them about what to do.

This is a picture I snapped one morning a few weeks back. That's a young buck enjoying my hostas that are planted around a tree. I literally ran outside to shoo him away! I hoped that was enough to deter him from revisiting- ha ha!

We also bought a fertilizer called milorganite that they recommended because it's stinky and it aids in turning them away. We made a ring around the tree (the black stuff) and the back of the hostas by the fountain.

I got this cherub a few years ago and used him as a centerpiece in a different planter. We were at the same garden center where I found it and they still had a few planters that were part of the set so I decided to get it. They are deliberately finished to look old. I filled the ring around him with lantana which the butterflies love. I also put two bricks below the cherub to make sure he wouldn't sink and be stable.

I bought this black tulip shaped planter last March when we were down at my Mom's. I recently found this large caladium- I was looking for some contrast against the green shrubs. I haven't had good luck with caladiums so I hope I do better this year!

The hostas have filled out nicely.

The spiraeas (this is Little Princess) are blooming around the yard too- they're a super easy to care for and tolerant shrub. The bees love them too.

My first rose of the season. This is a Grandiflora rose called Queen Elizabeth. I selected it after reading about how hardy it is. It doesn't offer a great scent but it's reliable. With our harsh winters I've struggled to keep roses going so I'm happy to have found one that can survive here!

The asiatic lilies are blooming now too. These are newer ones I found at the garden center. In the past few years voles have been eating them and so I decided to plant some more.

This planter has gone crazy and is blooming nicely.

These flowers seem to glow!

This what it looked like just after I planted it.

A couple of evening shots....

I am joining Dishing It & Digging It

I hope you are enjoying a great weekend and the pre-4th of July celebrations going on everywhere!

via GIPHY

Around The House for the 4th

2017-06-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

I like to set the formal dining table up for holidays with decorative elements.

I enjoy flipping through this book and viewing the pictures of the many ways the flag is used.

I like to switch the pages that are open so that something new is viewable each day.

Firecracker Uncle Sam is new. He goes with Lady Liberty on the other side of the vase which came out the year before. The big sparkler star ball is also from Pier 1 (last year). I staged some patriotic deco in the two glass cylinder vases that I've used so many times.

I used my patriotic scatter pieces in the bottom of the two vases. I re-did these vases three times until I was satisfied! Some of the patriotic pieces came from Kohl's. I haven't even been there to see what they have this year!

These two figurines are by Bethany Lowe and are my absolute favorite! This pictures shows the true color of the large vase.

I love their faces and outfits.

The big vase came from Ethan Allen several years ago. I don't know why I never tried it on this table before but I will leave it here after the holiday and see what else I can do with it. Sorry about the quality of these pictures- I boosted the color in the picture but the background became a bit burnt out.

I set up my deep windowsill in the kitchen with a few patriotic pieces too.

Uncle Sam in his car is parading about town! He came from Pier 1 In 2014.

I stuffed some flowers from my stash in the white vase.

This was early in the day before the rain rolled in.

After staring at it a bit more I rearranged the window elements.

I spotted this premade burlap bow on the Pier 1 site (available online only) and decided I'd have to have it. I have a clear commmand hook that stays on the door for my basket and decided to just reuse it, otherwise I would have hung it a tad bit higher.

And lastly a picture I bring out each year is hung on the stairway wall and highly visible from the kitchen and kitchen dining area.

Wishing you a Happy 4th!

Let's Celebrate our Independence Day!

2017-06-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light….What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming….Who's broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous light….O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming….And the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air….Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there….

Time for some Independence Day Celebration!

The coffee mugs were found at T.J. Maxx as well as the crystal glassware- both by Ralph Lauren. This year Pier 1 has these melamine flag plates that looked so close to the mugs I decided to get some.

I created the display with a flat styrofoam piece cut in a circle- then split it in half and carved out a half circle on each side so it would fit close to the center. I used a toothpick on each side pushed in the middle horizontally and then squeezed them together and that worked great. Then I staged the flags and pinwheels on it and stuffed the shredded paper around it (firmly applying it to stay in shape) and then gave it a trim.

This two tier tray can be just decorative like with the stars below or…

filled with desserts...

The blue (never used) cotton rug with white stars was from Hobby Lobby last year and I displayed it on my dining table as seen "here"! I have a new design on the dining table this year that I need to take pictures of.

Strawberry flavored cupcakes with cream cheese frosting- yum!

You may have noticed off to the side I set up a little display on the plant stand with some glittery sparklers and a tin bucket style candle holder.

The big sparklers are from Michael's this year and the little ones I put together last year with a red ribbon.

Old Glory, the flag of the United States

Long may she wave….

Wishing you a Happy Independence Day

God Bless America

Small Backyard Makeover

2017-06-26T11:09:00.000-04:00

We made a trip to our daughter's on Saturday and helped her whip her small backyard into shape.

The previous owner had let the backyard get badly out of control so we came down armed with a weed whip and various other garden tools.

This first picture is how it looked before we started. She had been waiting for us to come down since early May but we kept getting sidetracked with our own things at home and the weather. After assessing it I told my husband to go after it with the weed whip!

He went around everything 3 times and we raked away the debris onto a tarp. There were 5 hydrangeas hidden amongst all that. After some fertilizing and keeping them well watered I'm sure they'll all look much better- especially next year.

This is a small city lot and the previous owner had set the yard up nicely but rented it for a while so it wasn't maintained. No worries- we whipped it into shape again!

On the opposite side we did the same. There are shrub roses on the right side that I shaped up- and then I went after this lilac topiary and shaped it back up too.

There were three hostas hidden too that are not visible and she can enjoy them better in the future.

We made a trip to Lowes and got 25 bags of cypress mulch. Our old van was loaded!

I made Dan takes breaks- he'll work himself to collapsing if I don't watch him! Chelsea was doing her Princess Leia impression with Dan's ear muffs! It was actually a perfect day for us- low 70's with a slight breeze.

Before any mulch went down we covered the bulk of the area with landscape fabric so all that nasty stuff won't come back up. She doesn't have time to be a full time gardener so she wants it simple.

Dan and I helped her get to this point and on Sunday she finished the other side.

This is a panoramic (makes it look bowed in the center but it's not) she took on Sunday after she used up all the mulch. There is a wood deck that splits the two sides of the backyard. She still needs a few more bags to fully finish it but I'm sure you agree it all looks much better now!

I am joining:

Metamorphosis Monday

Everyday Living for
Gardens Galore #2

Fantasy Fairy Garden 2017

2017-06-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Fantasy Fairy Garden. My fairies are gardeners but are always glad to have visitors!

I'll let the pictures walk you through it.

Path's are sprinkled with crushed seashell for the fairies- they glisten from all the fairy dust!

Dining under the gazebo or out on the patio you are welcome either place to join!

It's just for fun- be happy!

A mixture of real plants, some faux and stones to create a magical landscape. It's always fun to see the plants fill out and the iris plants are like their forest.

This year they have their own greenhouse!

Chipmunks, squirrels and birds wander throughout so I added a clear non-toxic glue on top of the crushed sea shell stones to hold them together. A whole new approach this year!

Left side…

Center…

Right side…

This is where they live on my short retaining wall near the patio and garden area.

I hope you enjoyed this visit to my Fantasy Fairy Garden!

Each year I do things a little different and if you would like to look back you're invited to check out the past 3 year's versions:

2014 Pathway Fairy Garden

2015 Cottage Fairy Garden

2016 Fairy Garden

I am joining:

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson for

Share Your Cup

Everyday Living for

Gardens Galore No. 2

I was featured at Gardens Galore No.3 "here"

Ahoy!

2017-06-21T11:15:00.002-04:00

Ahoy he calls out to the ship that is coming in!

It's time for a quick lunch while the ship is restocked for their next voyage!

I decided to start using my red white and blue linens and tableware.

I mentioned in my previous post about the lighthouse that I have been collecting nautical things for some time. I went down to the lower level guest room and borrowed a few pieces for today's tablescape.

I love to mix patterns and textures and paisley is great with so many things. I used an oversized tea towel as an overlay. The red woven charges came from Pier 1 at lest 5 yrs. ago, stripe dishes from One King's Lane, and the nautical knot dishes from Pottery Barn.

The napkin rings are from Sur La Table and the napkins are by TAG

I love how this tea towel is accented with stripes and sailing ships!

I used this in a previous tablescapes which is one of my favorites you can see "here" called Seashells Stripes and Sailboats

I like a simple centerpiece I can remove if needed. The galvanized copper edged star tray came from a local store. I researched the star after I purchased it but fondly found them available in sets of 5 graduated pieces if you ordered on line. I was glad I found it being sold individually.

Time to dine!

Happy first day of summer!

Clay Pot Lighthouse

2017-06-19T12:36:00.000-04:00

I've had an infatuation with lighthouses for years. I've collected decorative items featuring lighthouses and nautical things for some time now. When I first saw the idea for a clay pot lighthouse back in March I knew I had to make it so I saved some links on my Pinterest Board called "Clay Pot Lighthouses" for inspiration.

Here's my tutorial...

These are only two examples that I saved on Pinterest but the small stone trim gave me inspiration.

First it was glued together (using a 100% silicone caulk) For reference the bottom tray is 14.5 wide. After spraying the purple on I used painters tape to cover the purple and then the white was painted on. I cut a paper bag and wrapped the body and taped it to the bottom pot area and then the black paint was sprayed on the tray. The doors and windows I used came from these little sets I found at a store with fairy garden accessories. The example of the (square) window is the only one I could find to show you because I didn't take a before picture, but anyway I unscrewed the window and used the backside as my front because there were holes on the front side. The door was kept as is but I built around it with stones to make it appear larger.

I sat outside one day and played with stones and glued them on with the same silicone caulk.

It was laid on the side and supported with towels so I could glue the windows and stones on around the windows. The silicone is a little slippery at first so you have to wait a bit for it to set up. Eventually I added more stones to the door area (it's addictive to play with them) and then went around the edge of the tray with a bunch more.

The top tray area ended up getting more detailed than when I first imagined it all but I'm so happy and grateful for my hubby's help on it.

He used a 3/16th" brass rod cut into 2" pieces, a 1/4” chrome ball bearing that he glued on with epoxy and a very tiny screw set (that he saved from an old electronics project) Using a carbide tip drill he drilled several holes around the perimeter for the chain fence.

I found a chain in the jewelry area at Michael's that I felt had the right look. After setting the little posts and figuring out the length of chain to use he screwed it together - then it was spray painted with a gold color and then a clear coat. The clear color dulled the gold a bit but I liked it and felt it was the best look.

I hunted around to various places and finally found this large round stepping stone to set the lighthouse on. I didn't want it to be directly on the ground so the paint wouldn't start to erode and it would be splashed with dirt all the time. The big stone just before it was already there but I did have to dig some plants, relocate them and removed a large pink quartz accent stone to create the setting for the lighthouse.

This will keep it elevated and cleaner.

Did I mention that this lighthouse is maintained by my fairies? Yup! That's one of the reasons I chose the purple and white colors instead of the usual red, black, white etc. My fairy garden is just around the corner- I will show that soon!

I love how the top came out and at night it's real cute!

You can't see them but there are a few extra holes for drainage in the tray.

What's nice is there are batteries that can be changed out in the light fixture so it's not a thruway if it starts to die off which used to happen to the solar path lighting. We found the pathway light at a big box store.

The ground sedum is very forgiving. I just dug a bunch out of the way and then reseated it and it took right off growing again.

There's about $40 into this but you can do it less costly than the path I took. I am not good at painting things like the doors and windows so when I saw the ready made window and door pieces it knew it was right for me!

I hope you like my Clay Pot Lighthouse!

Joining:
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I was featured at Garden's Galore Party #3

Metamorphosis Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday

Amaze Me Monday
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I was featured at Share Your Cup
"Here"

Inspired by Flowers

2017-06-18T11:37:00.000-04:00

I collected a couple of flowers from my gardens. The peonies have been blooming through this past week and there are still some iris in bloom.

The white peonies are the most fragrant and intoxicating. As I wandered towards the garden to cut some I was greeted with their gorgeous scent.

The iris have been holding up pretty well during all the wind and rain we've had lately but this one was bent over so I snipped it and brought it indoors.

I was inspired to create this little vignette with a cherry scented candle, a goose figurine and of course the flowers.

Last Friday I cleaned around the house and took apart the plate rack and decided it was time for a summer look.

Continuing with my flower inspiration I brought out these Pier 1 floral dishes that I purchased during one of their sales and I adore them. The colors and the flower pattern are perfect for summer!

I decided to keep the green cabbage leaf dishes on the plate rack and I love how they look with these dishes behind them.

A Jim Shore bird house I found at Lowe's several years ago. I treasure it and it will never really be used outdoors for the birds!

Our area is all about the cherries. Every so often I find a cookbook with cherry recipes and this is one. A lot of our local stores sell things like this since cherries are a big draw up here. They have the National Cherry Festival every year around the 4th of July for a week. Tons of visitors arrive!

One of the few MacKenzie Childs pieces I have.

I can't be positive if I bought this lamb at Hobby Lobby or another store. I stuck a potted faux cabbage in it just for extra cuteness!

I also got the salad plates and brought out two of my fleur de-lis mugs to go with the setting.

Inspired by flowers!

I'm changing my blog name to "Home and Gardening With Liz". My 2nd blog which was dedicated to my love of gardening is being combined with this one. Linda (Life and Linda) is handling the transfer of my old posts and I am so grateful she's there for me!

Joining:
Dishing It & Digging It

Heavenly Peonies

2017-06-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

I love the scent of peonies and I think they are a beautiful flower too!

I don't have tags from them but after doing research they are considered heirloom peonies.

This was one of the first peonies to bloom and then they started opening fast! We had some really strong thunderstorms with lots of wind so I'm grateful it didn't ruin them. They are bent over a bit more now but at least they're not broken.

I did put a metal cage for peonies out in the spring and made sure the plant grew up the center to help support it and I like how it worked! This picture was taken May 2nd- it's amazing how much growth has occurred since then!

I have three colors in this bed. The darker pink color needs to be moved but I am very impressed with how well it's doing this year. The big blue spruce is crowding it a lot but somehow it still manages to bloom. Peonies don't like to be moved but it will have a bit more leg room off to the side of the white ones.

The white is the most fragrant and I like how the Cranesbill (perennial geraniums) always are blooming at the same time.

This is an easy plant to take care of. It spreads a bit but it's not hard to control it. Great border plant.

The perennial purple salvia is always a reliable plant and I love the color. There will be Shasta daisies and lilies blooming soon too.

I think these are heavenly!

Have a great weekend!

Father's Day Inside or Out?

2017-06-15T16:21:00.000-04:00

We have been getting a lot of rain and the prediction through Father's Day is on and off so I decided I'd be prepared to dine or dine out!

I combined dishes, an ice bucket, a beer stein (which has a set of flatware tucked in it), two wine/tea glasses, vinyl placemats and napkins with anchors in this large metal tub. If the weather cooperates I can just lift this and head outside to set the table.

I filled the bottom with paper bags to help everything sit higher and then covered it with a striped runner to disguise the paper.

I don't have any hunting or fishing scene dishes so I went for a picnic like nautical table for Father's Day.

This is a cute beer crate with bottle opener I found at T.J. Maxx a couple of months ago. I can grab this and take it outside too (of course we'll chill the drinks first!).

I added some mustard, ketchup, relish, pickles and salsa to the two tier tray (Walmart). I have some bowls in back that can be used for the condiments and a glass sugar bowl on top with small serving forks and spoons.

A little nautical flair…

I gave these Waterford pilsner glasses to Dan a while ago and we always forget to use them so I pulled them out for the table in case we eat inside! I layered the same vinyl placemats with a square wicker mat, then a galvanized charger and the nautical dishes. I put some tea and Angry Orchard drinks in the beer crate since there's only going to be a few of us and not everyone wants beer.

I pulled the chairs out to make it look inviting…come on and have a seat! Our daughter is making him a blueberry pie which is will be thrilled with and we'll grill some dogs and steaks. I will make either a pasta salad or potato salad and of course the usual baked beans.

It has been overcast all day so I had a hard time taking pictures. The sun came out mid-afternoon.

Come rain or shine I'll be ready for Father's Day dining!

I'm joining:

Between Naps On The Porch

for

Tablescape Thursday

Planters in Bloom

2017-06-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

I do a lot of flower planting in planters. My logic is they don't get weeds!

I'm starting on the deck. I potted this planter using two perennials- an iris plant and a heuchera (coral bells) along with a mix of yellow and orange flowers.

This planter is still coming along- the petunias are just starting to spread and should look very pretty once it's really filled out.

This is a "King Tut" grass with some sweet potato vine. It will get a lot taller and wider as time goes by. They need to be kept moist.

I got this obelisk stand 20 years ago. It's had some gazing balls and various different plants staged on it over the years but for some time it was in the storage not being used. I pulled it out last year and it got a fresh paint job and now it's a feature piece. I found the glass orb hanging piece at a garden center and it ended up working well to suspend from the top.

Several of my planters got a paint job this spring. I went with white after having mostly black and it's nice for a change. These look like heavy iron planters but they're a lightweight composite material.

I put white wax begonias in a circle around this purple fountain grass. It's the first time I've ever made up this combo so we'll see how it goes!

I love all the different types of salvia and verbena choices there are these days. There is also a double flowering white bacopa that's on the other side. I like how this looks old fashioned. I plant things that hummingbirds and butterflies like!

Here is a view of the planters I have along this deck railing area. I can view this from our kitchen dining area and my mind is always plotting up new ideas from there!

I spoke about this trellis last week and how it was pulled out of storage and put back in circulation.

I have lots and lots of hostas which do very well for me.

I enjoy garden art- whimsical things. This little pig spins in the wind!

I'm fond of pigs with wings

This is a garden art pole my husband gave me at Christmas which is a triangular bed between the house and back patio area. Each side of the art pole has different words and art work.

These hostas are still filling in. I have a lot of shade so they grow well for me.

This is another garden art piece- it teeter totters and swings around in the wind. There's a hummingbird on one end and a crystal ball at the other. I enjoy watching it!

I'll wrap this up here and will return with more garden posts soon!

Thank you for visiting and I look forward to everyone else's posts!

I am joining

Pam @ Everyday Living for her first link-up party

Tickled With My Trellis

2017-06-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

Can you see my trellis?

No?

How about here?

Let's try a closeup- still not good! The woodland background just eats it up....

Okay I decided to try another location and now it shows up much better with the garage behind it. Yay!

This whole project got started when Dan reminded me I had the trellis stored in the barn. He brought it out to show me and I became inspired to turn it into something whimsical. I remembered seeing some metal garden pieces in the MacKenzie Childs catalog that gave some inspiration.

I lucked out on a weekend shopping venture and found two wind chimes with a cast bells and mini watering cans and I knew that they were just what I wanted. I had Dan take them apart and create a new hanger for each piece. The trellis got a new paint job and the wind chime pieces were painted to match. It's actually all black but the sun seems to be causing it to look bronze.

I've owned the trellis for over 15 years but it had pretty much been forgotten about in the storage barn. I'm tickled we brought it back out and I am getting a chance to use it again!
Re-purposing- yeah baby yeah!

Morning's Light Dining

2017-06-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

Here we are the 1st of June already! I'm so excited because I love to garden see all my gardens come to life, plant flowers and listen to the birds serenading me.

With that in mind these dishes were chosen with their flowers and birds motif.

I chose to use this two tier tray for a centerpiece gathering together elements for dining.

The coffee mugs are arranged to be easily accessed and I added a salt and pepper shaker set (which I won from blogger Michele @ The Nest at Finch Rest last year).

On top is an antique sugar bowl and a dark blue rooster creamer along with a bouquet of lavender in a tiny bottle.

Dark objects like this can be hard to capture- I ended up using my iPhone to get this shot.

I layered a dark blue placemat and then the seashell edged charger to add some definition.

I would love to do this outside but we're at the end of the pollen season and the oak trees have been dropping off their tassels or catkins and you can literally be coated in a few minutes with them!

It's going to be a wonderful day here- high of 70 and no rain!

Joining
Tablescape Thursday
Dishing It & Digging It

Late Spring Bits and Pieces In the Garden

2017-05-30T17:40:00.000-04:00

It's becoming more beautiful each day and feeling more and more like summer.

The trees have been shedding their seeds and pollen and it's been very messy! The giant Sum and Substance hosta is huge and the Empress Wu to the rear is getting larger each year. Something (likely a deer) chewed off part of it so it would have been even larger. The hostas are still filling out so they'll be getting larger yet.

I went with red this year as my predominant color. I just got the border planted around the fountain area. It's going to look great once the plants start to fill in more. I also chose a lot of other colors for my planters. I wanted to be surrounded with a lot of color.

This is a path area to the rest of the back yard and it was being overtaken by the Sweet Woodruff plant. This morning I removed a bunch of it to open the path back up. The Sweet Woodruff has a hairy root system that sends off runners but it's not real hard to remove. The roots are not real deep and pull away easily enough. I like how it fills in and softens things.

Further out back a big ash tree fell and got hung up on some maple trees. It's at least 50 ft. tall and now we have to decide on whether and how to remove it.

By the deck I planted a Sarah Bernhardt Peony (which I don't think is going to bloom this year), two Pink Columbine plants and further down some Cleome. I call this my pink garden area! The Dutch Iris are coming on strong so it won't be long before they're blooming.

I bought some Variegated Sweet Iris and planted two of them out front on the island. I think they compliment the blue spruce tree and the hostas. There are two milkweed plants that jumped in by the daylilies. I'll leave them since we are all trying to be more conscious about the Monarch Butterfly's needs (although I may regret it in my garden).

Orange Marmalade Hosta- has been slow for me but this year it looks really good. I credit the easier winter that we had for most everything looking good this year.

I found some peony cages and the Peonies are doing quite well with them. The third one you can barely see is to the left and almost eaten by the Blue Spruce. I keep saying the spruce is done getting wider, but each year it continues to widen out! I really have to move that peony this fall. They all have flower heads so it won't be long before I can enjoy them!

The columbines are blooming now. The big blue spruce is moving in on them too! Dan suggested we may have to open up the bed again and move the plants. I would love to do it although it's a huge task. We shall see!

I had Dan remove two Yew shrubs from the front area of the house. I have been changing this area up for a few years. I have some older Arborvitae (cedars) I want to yank out too that are around the corner.

We put in a Minnesota Snowflake Mocorange. It's not supposed to get larger than 5 to 8 ft. tall and the same for width. It has buds all over it so I can't wait to smell it. We're looking at hiring some strong young men to clean out all the lava we put in there 20+ years ago.

A couple of quick shots of the fairy garden. It's in slow motion so I won't show it all yet. Still waiting for the tulip plants to die back a bit so I can shear off the plants and finish the fairy garden.

See the little purple viola to the left. It came back from last year and I relocated it back there. I just love their sweet little faces!

These are some Pansiolas I put in. It's a new crossbred pansy and viola that are supposed to be more heat tolerant, don't need dead heading and should bloom all summer. We shall see! A lot of my annual plants quit blooming because of the stretched out cool spring weather we have had but they should be blooming soon!

A quick picture of the back area. Things are steadily filling out. The lilac topiary is about to flower too- can't wait since this one smells divine! As soon as my other annuals start flowering better I'll show you my planters.

Thank you as always for your visits!

This and That This Week #15

2017-05-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

I recently discovered this enthusiastic gardener who along with her husband create videos showing her ideas for planters, and many other subjects. This one caught my attention so I decided to give this design a try. Here is the link to the video where I got my inspiration Garden Answer- April 25, 2017. I don't normally copy ideas but what really made this intriguing to me is the perennial Sweet Iris plant she used in it. As I've learned she often uses a perennial in her annual planters which is totally a new idea for me!

My planter is white so that's a big difference but I found an assortment of the same plants she used and put it together very similarly. Unfortunately all my flowers aren't blooming at the moment but soon enough it will look more and more like hers. She has a ton of videos on Facebook and YouTube . I noted one of the videos has been viewed over 1,800,000 times!

I have a very large white rooster I found at Cracker Barrel about 6 years ago. I've been asked numerous times where to get it but of course there are no more of them. I was at Hobby Lobby the other day and look what I found! It's really close to the same look although it is smaller. I even copied the store label in case it would help anyone that wants to find it.

This is a link to a post where I talked about finding another white rooster which also shows a picture of mine. Click "here"

I've just begun to fill my planters with annuals. I have a bunch more to go. This is what keeps me happy and busy during the summer.

This big terracotta planter from Mexico was gifted to me by my hubby for Mother's Day. I spotted it at a garden center and fell in love with it. It's pretty large and I stuffed it with a bunch of annuals. Can't wait to see it as it starts to fill out more. I'll be update things like this on my garden blog.

We are just now starting to get heavy pollen here and the trees are dropping their debris everywhere so my deck is messy!

While on a trip up to Petoskey we stopped at Monarch again and I spotted a huge glass cloche on display. I was again inspired when I saw this zinnia plant inside of theirs. I have a big cloche too and decided it was time to create a new look for it. Extremely simple but I like it!

I updated it by adding these wooden beads.

So that's my This and That This Week!

Counting Flowers On The Wall...or rather the Table

2017-05-16T08:48:00.000-04:00

Last week I created a tablescape using these beautiful roses I purchased and put in a pretty glass vase.

The day after my post I received a special delivery from our Son, Daughter in-law and Grandson of this mixed arrangment with gorgeous roses in a hand painted vase as a Mother's Day gift.

Two days later our daughter came home to visit for Mother's Day and she brought this bouquet of roses in beautiful shades of peach! She placed them in my crystal vase which created a very elegant look.

Now I was perplexed as to what I was going to do with all the arrangements!

I decided to transfer the red roses into this ceramic vase and placed it on the wood top by the stairs and kitchen area. The roses took on a whole new look in this vase!

Sunday morning I was prepping the table as our daughter made breakfast. I chose these placemats to play up the colors in the arrangements. If you read my tablescape post I had shared the Creme brûlée French toast but those plans got nixed, and we decided on blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and sea-salt bacon!

I used a syrup I found at T.J. Maxx which consists of Vermont Maple Syrup, infused with caramel and sea-salt and it was delightful on the pancakes.

I staged the table with both floral arrangements.

After breakfast I decided that son's arrangement would stay in the kitchen.

I moved daughter's arrangement to the mantel which graced it beautifully.

I've been blessed with some gorgeous tulips now for the past two weeks.

Spring has come on in full force and I'm loving each minute of it!

My gardens are coming alive and I do occasional posts on my other blog Sit With Me In My Garden

Have a great week!

For Mom With Love

2017-05-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day Brunch

I'll start with these beautiful roses- love the two tone coloring. I selected them because they have the same vibrant red color that is found in the floral part of the placemats used with today's tablescape.

Next I am showing the two sides of the butterfly placemats that I decided to use.

I wanted this to be cheerful and Mom loves blue so I made sure there was plenty of blue on the table!

I used a semi-transparent white glass dish to elevate the dinner and salad plates.

Mom has always liked a casual country look in the kitchen so that was what I wanted to create. I'll start with some cut up pieces of strawberries and melons chunks. Then we can have the Creme' Brulee French Toast (recipe below) that I've made a few times. I'll add some bacon (mom loves) and sausages. Orange juice and coffee (we love coffee).

I like the look of both sides of the placemats and part way through creating this tablescape I decided to switch to two of each showing.

A pair of birds dropped in to see if there are any leftover crumbs!

This vase is hand blown and I love the ruffled edge.

The narrow neck of the vase helps keep flowers standing tall. I used the baby's breath that came with the roses as a filler along the ruffled edge.

I like to put the napkins in the drinking glass because of how it adds some drama and draws your eyes up.

Can you see how the tealights are glowing through the glass at the bottom of the vase! I didn't really need tealights for this table but I like the special affects they add!

Well- that's a wrap!

For Mom With Love

Thank you for joining me and I am

Wishing You All a Happy Mother's Day

I'll be joining:
Tablescape Thursday

Today's players:

Blue dishes- Devon Cottage by Johnson Brothers

White salad plate- no brand label- only says Made in Portugal- from One King's Lane

White semi-opaque glass dishes found at T.J. Maxx 2 years ago

Flatware called Baroque found at Neiman Marcus several years ago- discontinued

Placemats from Kohl's

Stemware- Napoleonic Bee Wine Glass by LaRochere

Glass Vase from One King's Lane several years ago

Tablecloth- Tommy Hillfiger found at Home Goods a while back

Printable version from my Google recipe page: Creme Brulee French Toast

Note:This is a rich sweet recipe- you don't need additional syrup since it forms a sugary layer at the bottom when it bakes. Don't underbake otherwise it can be mushy. Use a bakery style loaf of bread not a standard bread loaf.

Crème Brûlée French Toast

Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
an 8- to 9-inch round loaf country-style bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking dish. Cut six 1-inch thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350° F. and bring bread to room temperature.

Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve hot French toast immediately.

Originally found here and can be printed from this link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Creme-Brulee-French-Toast-15213#ixzz17gKmZrGS

Traditional As It Gets Entryway Vignette

2017-05-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

I decided a while back that traditional home decorating was what appealed to me the most. I do like many other decorating styles but I always gravitated towards traditional.

On one of my visits to Petoskey I stopped in at my favorite place called Monarch Garden and Floral Design. I fell in love with the little white planter and then started picking out flowers for it. There is a designer there that I asked to assemble the arrangement for me and he accommodated me on the spot. I wanted something very summery and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

I love the fleur de-lis design so that was an immediate draw to the pretty little white planter.

This was going to go out on the coffee table but I decided to give it a try here.

This is how it has looked since last year when I first got the chest. I used a series of three white candlesticks and a metal planter with a faux green plant. I do like the look so you never know when and if I'll switch back!

This is the current look.

This traditional woman's bust was purchased on-line from One King's Lane. It has a very rough texture and was more intended for the outdoors but It landed in my office and now I've borrowed it for this vignette.

Here are a couple of inks to my office if you'd like to see it "here" and "here". I converted a small bedroom into a home office. There has been a few changes after these pictures were taken but essentially it's the same.

I also borrowed the little birds from my office and it pulled this vignette together nicely.

I haven't been using this candlestick lately and it made me feel guilty because it was a bit pricier than I'm used to paying for decorative items (made by Theodore Alexander). After the Easter deco was removed I decided to see if I would like it here on the chest.

When I found it on one of our visits to Pennsylvania I was enamored with the hand carved design.

I wasn't going to display the little floral planter until summer but I decided to enjoy it sooner than later! I also had stopped using the big oval wood tray so this gave me another opportunity to bring a deco item back into play!

I hope you like my Traditional As It Gets Entryway Vignette!

Joining:
Inspire Me Tuesday

Tulip Time!

2017-05-09T08:47:00.000-04:00

It seems like it took forever but the tulips are finally in full bloom!

We dressed the beds with cedar mulch last weekend so everything looks real tidy!

I'm quite fond of this one which is called "Design Impression"

This is how it was described: Deep green foliage with narrow lime-yellow margins. Large flower of radiant rose and muted golden flushes.

A quick view including the fairy garden area. The newly painted fence shows up much better now.

This is the picture of the tulips below from the Breck's catalog I ordered from. The red is spot on but the purple is more of a fuchsia and the soft pink is marginally close. Either way I like these tulips and how sturdy they are.

These are a Darwin hybrid tulip

Loving my little "tulip time"

Spring Fairy Garden

2017-05-03T17:50:00.000-04:00

The faires have come out to start working in the gardens. The "Tulip Forest" is blooming and now the fairies are checking out what needs to be done.

The bird bath needs a little sprucing up!

Come on through the gate and take a tour!

We'll sprinkle some fairy dust on you to shrink you to size!

She's always climbing up on things to see what's going on!

Taking a break viewing the scenery!

This one's wondering how big the iris will get!

The fence got a new paint job and now it shows up better.

The gazebo also got a new paint job. I want lots of colorful things in the fairy garden this year. A new table and chair set are residing on an upside down clay tray. I glued them down so the critters won't be messing them up!

Last year I split up some iris and planted them in the fairy garden area along with tulips. Now I have to figure out how to make it all work! The challlenge of it all will be the fun part. The first dining table set I got for the fairy garden is sitting to the right also needs a paint job too rusted for me!

Some of my tulips by the granite bird bath were eaten below the ground. I read up on it and it could be chipmunks or voles. Not happy about it but it's nature and there's just so much I can control!

I'm just so darn happy it's spring and time to plant flowers and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Cool Spring Tablescape

2017-05-03T11:52:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited to be able to cut some of my own flowers! The daffodils are in full bloom and there are a bunch of tulips not far behind.

This single tulip stem was ready to open so it's the only tulip I cut- it started opening within 10 minutes of bringing it indoors. You'll notice the changes in it as we go along in this post.

This is a double white and yellow narcissus (all narcissus fall under the name daffodil) it has a little more opening to do yet.

A very soft and delicate white and yellow daffodil. I do love the traditional yellow daffodils and would like to plant some of those this fall.

I added these scented candle votives for the smell and little bird accents!

Though not as cool as the other colors I had to have a punch of color!

Another Ralph Lauren tablecloth found at T.J.Maxx called Veranda

I chose the clear glass stemware and the glass pedestal to elevate the flowers and to keep the tone cool.

Notice the tulip has opened quite a bit now!

I thought for sure I was going to be bringing in some purple tulips so I decided to use this Lenox purple salad plate. Those purple tulips weren't ready but with the busy pattern of the tablecloth I liked how the solid purple grounded the look and continued with the cool color palette.

The tulip is fully open now!

Fresh cut!

Thank you for joining me for this Cool Spring Tablescape!

Joining:
Between Naps on the Porch
for Tablescape Thursday

Dishing It & Digging It

Mini-Tablescape and Plate Rack

2017-04-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning I put together a quick tablescape for an "Impromptu Morning Dessert" and you are welcome to take a look at it "here". I mixed some new tid-bit plates from Pottery Barn with my Polish Pottery that worked out nicely.

I was in the basement I saw my decorative wooden terrarium that I got at least 6 years ago at Kohl's. It's not a real terrarium since there's no glass in it- it was just an accent piece shown with flameless candles or plants.

I invested in several small artificial plants to go in it and I added my faux moss to the bottom that I used at Easter.

I was going to get rid of it but decided to give it another chance so it ended up here on the small table.

I found these bisque ceramic candle holders at one of my little favorite shops in Petoskey. I decided they color and texture worked well with the terrarium.

I felt like a punch of green was needed so the Pier 1 cabbage plates went up on the plate rack. This has become a fun decorating spot for me!

I couldn't make my mind up for the bottom shelf of the plate rack but finally decided to put an assortment of creamy white pitchers for it.

A couple of months ago I found this blue/white cookie jar at T.J. Maxx and decided I had to have it. I goes with the other pieces from that same Ralph Lauren Mandarin line that I have.

I have one candle holder from the same group and I can't remember if I showed this porcelain sphere I ordered from Pottery Barn a few months back. The cobalt stemware was a clearance purchase at Pier 1 some time ago.

Pretty much the same here- with the exception of the Dutch Wooden Shoe ornament I found at Bronner's Christmas store on our way back home after my birthday in March.

Here in Michigan we have a neat little city called Holland that is dedicated to celebrating Tulips! They have a festival and 25,000 tulips are planted throughout the area including Windmill Island where you can actually go inside an authentic 250 year old dutch windmill. Anyway I had to have the ornament for nostalgic reasons!

I think I mentioned this a while back too- I found the crate at T.J. Maxx. I was looking for something different to add to the bottom of the etagere. I started adding a few things I had around the house. I had thoughts of putting wine bottles in it but they really should be stored on their side.

This area is frequently used. Notice my Christmas Cactus is blooming again! This is the 4th time since December. I guess it likes where it is!

I turned it around to view the flowers better. I love flowers- what can I say!

I joined Ron at The Uptown Acorn yesterday for his (link) "What Makes Me Happy" series.

I'd love it if you haven't visited yet and could leave a comment!

Looking forward to a great weekend and I hope yours will be too!

Joining:

Tablescape Thursday

Dishing It & Digging It