Thought I had better get back to making bouquets before the summer is over. The August garden is waning, especially from the heat and lack of rain, but there are a few beauties still going strong. I started this bouquet with just zinnias since they needed picking. Grown from a pack of seeds, a good majority of the zinnias ended up being magenta, and they … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
Last summer I cleared an area at the far back of my yard to start an echinacea garden. This is what it looked like at the end of the summer, promising, but bare. Fast forward after one year’s growth and it is a lush garden full of color. I’m not one to mix my oranges with my pinks, but I just love the riot of … Continue reading echinacea garden – 2nd summer
In mid-March, I cast seeds for Poppies, Love-in-a-mist, and Larkspur on the hard frozen ground of one of my raised beds. Evidently these seeds need the freezing and thawing of late winter to germinate. They did not disappoint. If you missed them, the poppies can be seen here in a post I did on them a few weeks ago. Now, the Love-in-a-mist and Larkspur have caught up … Continue reading easy sow annuals
My one goal for today was to make a bouquet and get it posted online. Not a difficult job for any other time, but I was just released from the hospital following surgery for an acute appendicitis. I needed something to feel normal in my life today, even if it is not. Pictures are average, and the flowers of the Oakleaf Hydrangea appear that they … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
This week’s bouquet was fashioned around some shrub roses that are blooming in my yard. Though roses never seem to do well for me, these sweet roses never fail to produce sweet clusters of blooms off and on all summer. I no longer know their name, as they were a long-ago, end of the season purchase from the grocery store at only $3 a bush. … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
Once again, my good friend Jan, who gave me those lovely green birds, also gifted me with this vintage galvanized tub. Since I already had one that I had bought at a flea market, I decided to drill holes in the bottom of this one and turn it into a planter. I wanted to pot it up with something that would survive the winter and … Continue reading container planting
This week’s bouquet is, of course, peonies. What else is more magnificent at this time of year than peonies? I have a love/dislike relationship with peonies. What I mean is, what’s not to love? They are the essence of beauty. But, on the other hand, I have little patience with flowers that cannot hold themselves upright, even with support. And, I think the other biggest … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
I was looking to find a few larger pots for my yard and deck, and I didn’t want to pay top dollar for them. I was hoping to find something made from a composite material so it would be lighter, and so that I could leave it outside year round without worry of damage from freezing and thawing weather. It also didn’t matter so much … Continue reading painting pots
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
Simple is this week’s bouquet. Simple, sweet, and so easy. These are simply cuttings from a hanging basket with a single begonia plant in it. This is an area I created behind the fence in my back garden with a wrought iron table and chair, where I like to sit when I need a garden break. It’s quiet, peaceful, and most importantly shady. This basket … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
