The Echinacea garden is coming along. It’s been a long process. The area is at the very back of my yard and was totally covered with honeysuckle trees that I cut down during the summer. Slowly, I’ve been filling it in with new plants. Even though they are written down somewhere, I can’t tell you the names of all these varieties. But in the end, … Continue reading echinacea garden
As the garden winds down, every week I think this will be my last bouquet. We haven’t had a frost yet, and the trees are still unseasonably green, but the temps have turned noticeably colder, which seems to have intensified the color in these flowers. In truth, this bouquet looks more like spring than fall. The roses look lovelier now than in the heat of … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
This week’s bouquet is made from a few cuttings of this and that. It started when I was dead heading and cutting back these zinnias that were laying on the ground. Next, I added a few coleus growing from a pot on the deck . . . . . . and a few lantana. An afterthought addition was a few pokeweed branches with their purple … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
I did some dead heading in the zinnia garden last evening. It is hard to watch the precious blooms losing color and going to seed. They are looking tired and worn, falling over from wind and rain. The leaves have lost some color, looking very faded, and covered with a powdery mildew. Although smaller, they are still loaded with new buds, and dead heading will … Continue reading holding tight to summer
Lakeside is a Methodist run Chautauqua on the shores of Lake Erie. There is no place quite like Lakeside, Ohio. It is like stepping back in time to a more simple and quiet lifestyle. Many of the homes and cottages are Victorian style and are over 100 years old. In the summer months, porch living is a way of life here. Many interiors also harken … Continue reading a lakeside weekend
I swear, nothing gets more simple than this week’s bouquet. It required no time, no thought, and no effort. And that’s really quite a good thing, because that is all I had the energy for. I found this gathering of leaves while walking the dog this afternoon, and they were stunning against the green, wet grass. It’s been a couple dreary, wet days, which … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
This was my first find at Springfield, or maybe I should say my first purchase. It’s not difficult to find things there you love, but need and price usually factor into whether it becomes a purchase or not. Now I can’t say I needed this item and looking back, it was more than I should have paid. But this lady’s husband made this tray from … Continue reading springfield finds
I was weeding in the garden the other day around this chicken statue that is covered with catmint, and I couldn’t help but think back on days, not that long ago, when I had chickens that roamed in this garden. They were each unique, ornery, and so entertaining. But underneath this pile of rocks that the statue sits on, is buried my dearly beloved cat, … Continue reading remembering old and new pets
This week’s bouquet is a very large one, made from Heliopsis and Golden Rod, what many consider a common weed. I was pruning the privot hedge at the time, so I threw in a few of the cuttings to add a third texture. I dug up the heliopsis from a corn field across the street from my parent’s home many years ago. It was invading … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
I bought this little metal stand years ago at my neighbor’s yard sale for $3. It came with votive cups for candles, but I have used it over the years with a variety of items. In the summer, I’ve put little peat pots in it with faux succulents, and at Christmas time, it holds Christmas ornaments very nicely. It even holds cupcakes perfectly for entertaining. … Continue reading fall on the porch
