Weekend Round-Up

Hellloooooo!!!!

Happy Tuesday or Monday or Tuesday?

Anyway it feels like Monday but thank goodness it is Tuesday. :) I hope that you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed your three day weekend.

We had a great weekend!

We went to a town near Chicago to go to a graduation party for one of our friends daughters, got to visit for a while with friends we haven't seen in about a year and then drove home Sunday in this..

It RAINED like you wouldn't believe!!!

There were tornado warnings to the south of where we were and what was a four hour trip turned into about 6.

I knew we should have stopped at IKEA to wait it out! :)

Monday was GORGEOUS here!!

It was finally sunny and about 90 so we decided to plant, well all except hubby who took a shift on patrol to make sure all the vacationers were behaving.

So the kids and I cleaned up the yard and planted a few things in the garden as well as my window boxes.

My hydrangea will bloom soon.

This is how the back garden looks right now with everything up.

View of it from the deck.

Here is our deck and a view of the my garden.

I planted some tall grasses that will hopefully hide underneath the deck.

Window boxes are filled with white impatiens, potato vine, some spikey things and one other filler plant that I can't remember what it is called. :)

I also put out my chairs to hid some of the ucky that is going on in the front that I showed you here.

(thank you Anne and Laurie for your amazing suggestion,s by the way, for my front. One day I will make those happen)

Here is my deck, one my favorite place to hang out during the summer months and enjoy the gardens, the wildlife and listening to the boats on Lake Michigan on a calm Sunday morning.

The chaise is from Pottery Barn that I purchased a couple years ago. The table and chairs from Walmart and the plastic chairs and umbrella from Lowe's last year.

And that would be Baja wondering she can't come out and play. Luckily her head fits through the slats. :)

With all the rain that we have had everything is very green and looks pretty good right now.

The yard and garden are coming along, still need LOTS of work, but for now this will do. It is peaceful, it is green and it was made by us. :)

I hope that you have a wonderful week!

Until next time!

HUGS!!!

Keeping It Real

Sooo as it is SLOWLY warming up here in the northern Midwest, I am turning my attention to our yard and garden.

However, as I walked around our house I began to feel a sinking feeling that this yard and house are helpless and hopeless.

Please, take my hand and I will guide you on a tour of the wonders of a home where two people have NO idea how to landscape.

This is our garage door. It has new guts but the shell is still the original that was built with the house about 20 some years ago..

You can see where I attempted to cover the bare spots, hence the two shades of gray.

Come closer....

There is no paint that will cover this.

This door is OLD and broken and chipping, and not the good chipping, the wood is actually peeling from whatever it is that is trying to hold it together.

But wait! Come closer...

See that crack?

Wanna hear a funny story?

Sure you do.....

I made that crack!!

How you ask?

Well, I actually tried to back out of the garage while the door was closed!!!

Yup, while it was closed.

Imagine my surprise when I stopped suddenly!

Wanna hear what else I have backed into?

Sure you do!

A Garden Weasel - remember those, I think I punctured the tire.

A grill - don't ask, I think it was planted there on purpose.

My friend's car - totaled the front end, I am still blaming my 6 year old at the time.

A couple trash cans, some bushes that scratched the car

AND

of course the garage!

Hey, at least I am consistent!! :)

OK, let's continue..

In the front of the house you see that I am making the best of my Christmas window boxes.

Sad, I know.

You can walk up the pathway past the boxes right up to our...

kitchen window!!

Be careful not to roll your ankle on the rocks on the way to front door.

We added on about 5 years ago and have yet to fix the front.

Our front porch needs help.....alot of help.

If you are able to sit on the front porch you look out in our front yard or dirt hole.

Believe it or not I planted grass seed last year in the bare spots.....not really sure where it went.

Ok, lets take a stroll to the backyard.

Please be careful on the railroad ties because they are all rotted out and will give way at any time.

When we moved in there was greenery that covered the bottom under our tree.

Not really sure where that went either.

Same thing on this side of the "stairs".......just gone!!!

We did have a Rose of Sharon in the spot next to the water spout but we had to take that out because it was planted so close to the house that it blocked the dryer vent. We tried just trimming it but it was just not in a good spot.

That is also the sad state of my garden. I was able to get out yesterday and work on it so it looks a little better.

I am completely and utterly stumped when it comes to landscaping. I have a dead thumb and cannot keep anything alive. Our yard has slowly begun to wash away and the trees make it hard to grow grass.

SO, this year I am just cleaning up the garden a bit, maybe plant a couple new things, but I am going to turn my attention to pots and hanging baskets.

If I can't make it pretty, maybe I can cover it up!!

Thank you for coming on this tour with me, hopefully soon I will be able to show you a few pretty things outside as the buds are beginning to come out.

Have a great day!

If I Only Had a Green Thumb!

When we are on vacation there is always one place that is a must stop to shop, Wildflowers. It is such a beautiful shop not only for their great little garden and lake living inspired gifts but for the amazing garden and landscaping.

I love the lawnmower on the roof! Classic!

I would love a small fence like this iron one that was, of course, painted white and left to naturally weather.

I am not sure what these are called but they reminded me of lily pads and would look great in my garden!

Ferns are my favorite!! They are so simple and elegant and I am always in love with the way that the mix the ferns in with other plants with various shades of green.

They have so many garden ornaments. This blue gazing ball caught my eye..probably because I love the color blue!

As you make your way towards the back of the garden they have this beautiful pond and waterfall. It is so peaceful to listen to the water surrounded by all this greenery.

They also had these hydrangea hybrid flowers. They almost looked like a cross between Queen Ann's lace and hydrangeas. They were so feminine.

The fence made from branches would also look great in my garden. What a clever idea!

If I only had a green thumb, or even a light green thumb, this is the garden that I would choose. The ferns along with various shade loving plants and these beautiful hydrangea hybrids would be ideal for me. So simple, yet so beautiful!

* This post has been edited to link up with Fishtail Cottage Flora Thursdays

Green Thumb??

There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments. quote / saying by Janet Kilburn Phillips

I have always wanted a beautiful garden with paths and walkways throughout that open up into a little area to sit and read or just relax, and big lush flowers and plants with sculptures that peak around greenery. However, I am pretty sure the color of my thumb is NOT green!! As I strolled around my yard this weekend I was surprised by a few of my flowers that seemed to be flourishing! Others, well, not so much. The ideas in my head are always much more grand than they turn out to be, but for now I will have to live with what I am able to do.

I usually can't go wrong with Astilbe, and they seem to do really well in my shade garden.

I actually purchased my hydrangea bush from Springhill Nursery. It didn't do so well the first couple of years but for some reason this year it really took off! I was so excited because I was waiting to cut some flowers and put them inside and I think that this is the first year I will be able to do that!

The blooms are so beautiful in the soft pink and creams!

My lilies seem to do well anywhere I plant them. I even pulled some out a couple years ago and put them in our woods and they found root and bloomed!

My master gardener!

My fish that seems to stand the test of the elements. He literally swam last year when our area flooded and so did my garden!

I got my cat fisherman up north and I love him!! He sways in the breeze looking for fish!

My flower boxes have always seemed to flourish. I love these planters because they are the self-watering, I fill them up once a week and they slowly release water from the bottom!

However, not sure what is going on this year, my true gardening colors are coming out with this planter!

And of course the pathway that I have always wanted..........doesn't really go anywhere special unless you consider the dog area a dream!

For now, I enjoy sitting on my deck and looking art my garden while ideas around in my head as to what I could do, watching my birds and squirrels wonder from the bird feeder to their homes. One thing that I am quickly learning though is that gardens are definitely a work in progress!

Linking up to Fishtail Cottage

Cottage Flora Thursdays