Make Do & Mend Monday

This Make Do & Mend project turned out not quite the way it was intended when I finally started it, but I like it very much.

It all began out with this old high chair that I picked up at a garage sale three or four summers ago. I thought I would cut a hole in the seat for a flowerpot, and put the chair out in the garden. It was wobbly and dirty, so I put it in the garage until I took the time to deal with it.

So, that was a few years ago. That much time in my garage did it no favors as it got wobblier and dirtier. In the Spring I asked Greg if he’d power wash it to get the grime off. I was thinking I would glue it back together, paint it, and bring it inside to use for a certain little boy to use at the kitchen counter.

Power washing did the trick of getting off all the grime and the finish, but it also pretty much shredded the wood in many places. I sanded some, but the more I sanded, the more wobbly joints and disconnected places I found. The chair was rough and still kind of wobbly, and it became clear that it would be safer for my grandkids if the chair stayed outside and housed a flower pot instead.

A few coats of paint later, and here it is:

For now it is sitting on the porch by the front door. I like it there, but am not sure that’s where it will stay. The flowers are planted in an old enamel bowl that just barely fits the seat. They’ll fill out in the next couple of weeks and look a bit more lush. I’m afraid I tested their limits in the tiny pots from the store before I planted them, but they’re bouncing back nicely.

This sweet iron dragonfly is keeping watch. He’s heavy enough, he just sits on the arm of the chair without having to be fastened. I’d like to add a little something across the back of the chair, but haven’t quite figured that out yet. Something I can change with the seasons. I’ll let you know.

 

As always, if you want to see a few more Make Do & Mend projects, you can click this link or the button to go to Heidi’s blog where she has a list of participants on the right-hand side of her posts.

If you post a Make Do & Mend project, we’d all love to see it – leave me a link in your comment.

 

 

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

 

Tammy

Gettin’ the Mojo Back

True confession time: I’ve been a slug. Spending too much time on the computer (have you heard of Pinterest?!), or watching TV, not sleeping well, being exhausted by running after the baby and overwhelmed by everything that I need/want to do around here. Oh, and the clouds and rain and gloom have sucked the energy out of every day.

Fact is, I don’t have Bradley here as often now and there is plenty of time to get things done. I’ve had a couple of nights of good sleep, the weather is beautiful, and the flowers are blooming in my garden. (Don’t you love the photo above? It’s my clematis that is growing on the back deck. It has never bloomed this early before, nor with such big flowers. That one is bigger than my hand.)

I have an online friend whose motto is “If you do stuff, stuff gets done.”

It is time for me to get busy.

There are a few projects in the works and I cannot wait to show you what I did last weekend! I’ll post it on Saturday, but will give you a hint – it involved power tools. And I did not lose a digit!

Off to work…

 

Peony Season

In looking at past posts about the garden, there has been little mention of the peonies, one of my favorites. I’ve always loved their sweet smell and big, fat flowers. Mom always said the peonies should bloom by Memorial Day weekend. Some years that’s true, but I have had times when it was a week or more into June before we had flowers.

They always get beaten up by the wind, every year. They’re situated on the West side of our property, and not sheltered one bit. Doesn’t matter, they still give a show, every year.

These are especially meaningful to me because we dug them out of my mom’s yard the summer after she passed away.  They need to be divided, so we’ll dig them up this year and spread the love around to other parts of the yard. :o)

My Neighbor’s Blooms

My next door neighbor has a very beautiful flower garden in the back part of their property. A week ago Saturday, as I was going blind at the sewing machine, she tapped on the back door and invited me out to the garden for a bouquet of iris. I needed a break and what better place to spend it than in the flowers?

There must be a dozen+ varieties of iris blooming back there right now, different colors, but all of them ruffly and smelling like grape pop. She cut me an armload and I was able to make three vases full for our enjoyment in the house.

For several days, the house smelled florally and grapey whenever we walked by the flowers and stirred the air around them.

Thanks Donna, for being so kind and sharing your beautiful blooms!

Winter Therapy

The days have been gray – foggy, wet, cold, and depressing. Winter is a long way from being over.  In an effort to lift my spirits I picked up some clearance tulips at the store the other day.

Yes, those are snowflake decorations hanging on the baker’s rack, and I think they’re very pretty, but the tulips made me smile. They’re a little touch of Springtime, a glimmer of hope that this insane winter will one day go away.

Garden Tour - short and sweet

I've mentioned a touch of Autumn in the morning air, and the garden is sure showing it. The summer flower show is at a close and it's time for the mums. Last winter took just about all of what I had, but a couple plants survived and are starting to bud. We'll take a look at those in a week or two.

Today I want to show a couple of sweet blossoms that are still going strong and keep me smiling. The first is this gorgeous red hibiscus. I've been trying to keep a red hibiscus plant alive for a few years, and we finally have success! I imagine it was all the rain we had early in the year, but keeping the mower away from them probably helped, too. I wish these flowers lasted longer than a day, but I've been deadheading them, so there have been quite a few blooms. The plants are still short and fairly compact, but in the next couple of years, I plan for them to be tall and spread out. Next we have the dependable morning glory. There are purple and pink and they are growing everywhere in the backyard this year. These are "volunteer" vines. I planted the seeds several years ago, and just leave the dried vines and flowers on the lattice until Spring. They reseed every year. I usually don't get blooms until mid-August, but this year they started mid-July. Again, thanks to the rain, I'm sure. While I wouldn't call these my favorite flowers, I want to get a small vine of bright pink morning glories tattooed on my back, to go with the hummingbird. Yes, I'm serious. No, no plans for it. Yet. And yes, there is a hummingbird there already. :o)

Lastly, there is this guy. He's one of thousands. Okay, not thousands, but lots. He's going to be a mini-pumpkin when he grows up. Isn't he pretty? There are dozens of tiny pumpkins all over the garden. And climbing the rototiller. And trying to get into the grass. I can't wait to harvest them for my Fall decorating. Do you know how many $$ I will save this year by not having to buy dozens of mini-pumpkins? Yea!

There is lots and lots of gardening to be done yet, to prep the yard for winter. These cool mornings lend themselves well to puttering around out there, and that's the plan for this coming week. Oh, and getting out the Fall stuff. Because tomorrow is September. Hooray!

Take a Deep Whiff

Go ahead. Lean in and see if you can smell these beauties. I wouldn't be surprised if you could. They are so fragrant I can smell them when I walk out the back door. They're beautiful, too. And huge. I would guess that the flower is a good 8" or more across.

The last of my Asiatic lilies to bloom - and the best of them all.

The timing was perfect when they bloomed last weekend after the news of Debbie's cancer and the concerns with Leslie's pregnancy. I needed some comfort and these soothed me. Kind of an omen that all will be well.

Let's visit the garden

Today has been emotionally draining and I'm ready to take some respite in the garden. The weather is hot and muggy, though, more conducive to sweating and mosquito bites than meditation and emotional rest.
Instead, I'll share some photos I took over the weekend before all the company came.

I'll look at them and remember that I am extremely blessed and what will be, will be.


This poor girl has seen brighter pink days. I didn't get a shot of the pink lilies before they faded. She's still pretty, though.
These guys were planted by the birds. I always leave some of the sprouted birdseeds to grow into a sunflower "forest" near the birdfeeders.

One of the first perennials I planted back here was this bee balm. The blossoms look a little raggedy to me, but the bees and butterflies love it and it smells gooood.

Dark-eyed Susan is looking a little wilty. It was HOT the day I snapped her, but she's a trooper and keeps on smilin'. :o) These are all "volunteer", too. I just let them go to seed and watch for them the next summer so I know where not to mow.

Oh! And looky here! They think they can hide, but I will find them. And roast them. And make them into delicious soup. Soon, my pretties. Ripen quickly!

There are some mutant zucchini also and I'm afraid to go look at them again. I must've planted the "big" variety because there are no tender slender guys. They're all BIG. Long. Fat. I'm going to make them into lasagna. Using those little Roma guys for the sauce.

Okay, thanks, I feel a little better. I always do when I'm out there.

A Garden Tour

Welcome to my back yard! Today I'm joining in the Summer Garden Tour 2008, hosted by Tracey from Notes from a Cottage Industry. I've looked forward to sharing some of my favorite spots with you. (Click on the link to visit other gardens as well.)

I live in a rural village in Southeast Nebraska. My back yard is something of a haven, hidden from the street, where the birds feed and bathe and sing, squirrels bury black walnuts and climb the shepherds hooks to steal sunflower seeds meant for the birds, bunnies hop around and feast on the clover, and bumblebees hum as they drink from the flower blooms. There is no better time of the day than when I can just sit out there and watch and listen.

What I'm showing you today is but a glimpse. Never am I caught up with the weeding or deadheading or even planting for that matter, but I don't stress about it. I just do what I can each day and appreciate that I've been allowed to nurture this little corner of Creation. Let's get started:

This engraved rock was a gift from my brother Randy and his wife Leslie. The stone is from Kansas and is extremely heavy. It currently sits in front of the lily bed - I think it's staying there. :o)

A wider view of where the rock sits. The old metal lawn chairs were garage sale finds that Jessi painted yellow. Behind them is the cherry tree and the weigela bush. Both bloomed profusely this year. Between the chairs you can see the asiatic lilies. They'll be blooming in the next few weeks.
The weigela bush a couple of weeks ago. This photo was taken on the North side and shows the blooms. The bees love this!





Behind the lilies is a metal trellis of sorts. My son Nick made this in High School when he had a short unit on welding in shop class. It wasn't quite what I'd ordered, but the shop teacher was a dweeb and wouldn't purchase supplies, so Nick had to use what was there. I love how it's all rusty and old-looking. It helps guide the hose around the lilies when Greg is not being very careful...




These hanging baskets just make me smile! They're filled with pink geraniums, pink zinnias, purple ageratum, and a little white flower that I don't remember the name of. Filling baskets and pots like these are a challenge for me to figure out what will look good together and if I'm putting too many or too few plants in them. I think this year it came out good!

This photo was taken on Tuesday afternoon in the full sun, but by late afternoon this bench will be shaded and cozy. I love to stretch out and watch the wildlife while enjoying the flowers. The pillow is a tropical print from Goodwill. Behind the bench is a trellis where I planted a clematis. It's still very tiny, but will be lovely in a couple of years. On the far right of the bench is an old metal bucket planted with a neglected geranium I got on clearance - it is just now greening up again and I hope for blooms in the near future. On the far left of the bench is my nail ball (yes Michael, it's still here!) :o) I glued 16-penny nails to a bowling ball for a unique piece of garden art.

This photo was taken last week of the birdfeeding/bathing area, when the peonies were still pretty. In front of the peonies I have purple salvia. Under the feeders I'm letting sunflowers grow. There will be a little "forest" of them later this summer. To the left of the birdbath there is beebalm - it'll bloom in a few weeks.

The white delphiniums bloomed this week. I love how delicate they are. Today I added two purple ones nearby.

A little garden angel - she was a Christmas gift. She's snuggled up into the silver bells.

This is my potting bench. My DH designed and built it for me about four or five years ago as a Christmas gift. We recently moved it out of the garage so I will be able to use it more easily. You can see there are still several things sitting on it that need to be planted. In front of the bench is an old galvanized metal watering can filled with red petunias.

On the bottom shelf is an old chicken waterer - there are plans for that...

This last photo is of my favorite project so far this summer, my tipsy pots. I first saw these online a couple of years ago and just filed the idea away as a "someday" project. This spring I found the perfect metal pole to stack the pots on, dug the large pots out of the garage, and got busy. It is planted with red petunias, pink wave petunias, and blue and white lobelia. The top plant is a pink version of the white flowers in the hanging baskets. I put them near the driveway where the sidewalk to the backyard begins and have had many positive comments from people who see them when they drive by. The neighbors love them - one more thing in my garden that makes me smile!

This concludes my Summer Garden Tour 2008 - so far. I have so much more I want to show you as the summer progresses and I get more projects completed. Please come back often and check out the changes in this backyard haven on the Great Plains!

Blooms burst forth!

This was the magnolia tree on Sunday afternoon...

This is the magnolia tree today (Wednesday):

After the flowers fade, it will be thick with dark green leaves.

I love this tree - it was a birthday gift many years ago, and has grown from being a stick, to a tree almost as tall as the house. Those flowers mean Spring is really here. Yea!

The flowers

For the past few years, Greg has sent me a sweet floral arrangement for Valentine's Day. Delivery was bungled a bit yesterday by the florist, but I did finally get my flowers at the theater after I got to work. Customers commented on what a sweet husband I must have. Of course I agreed. :o)