Snippets of My Backyard Garden

I can't remember where I found this old ladder but knew at the time I might need it for my garden.

My pretend sunflower garden.

My favorite rose.

Everything is blooming early this year because of the mild spring we've had. The weather has been perfect for gardening.  Hopefully, the summer won't be as hot as last year. I lost a lot of flowers to the heat.

How does your garden grow?

Christine

Rocky's Antics

There's nothing like a sunny morning to get my juices running. Gotta take a morning snooze first though.

Rowdy

Garden Bottle Tree

This past winter I lost my hibiscus tree to the cold. I was just sick about it because I had been so careful. I decided to turn what was left of it into a garden bottle tree.  I have seen these trees in garden magazines for years and thought they were cute.  I left the tree in it's pot and bought some colored bottles at Hobby Lobby at half price to put on it.  I then planted some impatients around it and whalla...a whimsical outdoor centerpiece for the deck. 

The pictures above are other garden deco I've added to the deck.  I've enjoyed birds so much and thought these were just what I needed to give the deck some personality.  I am almost finished with my butterfly garden and will show pics later in the week.  Have any of you been working out in the garden this spring? 

Christine

Hunger Games

Yes I'm guilty! I weakened and actually read the series, Hunger Games, that everyone is talking about. I had seen the books at the book store for several months but knew nothing about them except they were written for tweens.  My daughter-in-law started reading the books and told me I ought to read them. I still wasn't very interested but since she already had the books I decided to try them.

The plot is horrific. Kids killing kids. It doesn't matter that it is good versus evil, it's still kids killing kids while involved in a game.  What was the author thinking?  What was I thinking?  I should have stopped reading after the first book, but I had to find out how it all ends. I was disappointed, to say the least.

Now there is a movie out about the first book in the series. It's getting mixed reviews from different movie goers.  I can tell you right now that no matter the reviews I will not be tempted to see it myself.  It just isn't my cup of tea.  Maybe it's my age or maybe, it's just common sense. 

One thing I do know, the author is laughing all the way to the bank.

Christine

Not a Master Gardner

I am not a master gardner by any means, but from experience I've learned how to finally get a bed full of big beautiful flowers.  In Oklahoma we need to plant heat tolerant flowers and begonias and impatients are my favorites beccause they are so easy to care for. 

Tip one is to turn over soil in flowerbed and mulch with compost. 

Tip two is to dig a hole big enough to hold a six pack of flowers and add Osmocote (plant food) to the bottom of the hole.

Tip three is to add the whole six pack of flowers to the hole and cover and water.

Tip four is to use your garden spade to measure the distance between each planting. 

By planting a six pack in each hole you will end up with huge clusters of flowers and it will take just a few weeks to fill in the bed.  Yes, this procedure is a little more costly but well worth it. 

Speaking of costly, I have noticed a jump in prices this spring in bedding plants. Seems like I spend more each season on annuals even though I use the same amount of plants each year.  So, what else is new????

Have fun.
Christine

Spring or Summer

The temperatures in Oklahoma have been in the high 70's and low 80's and all things green are blooming. This is unheard of in March. I've known us to get snow as late as mid March and the temperatures don't get this warm until May. I can't tell if we are in the spring of the year or the beginning of summer. Does this mean we will be looking forward to another hot summer?  I hope not. 

Our azaleas are in full bloom and the Japanese Maple is all leafed out. This has gotten my gardening juices flowing and I've been doing some yardwork this week. I've already made a trip to Lowe's gardening center and invested in some Boston ferns. At $7.50 a pop I bought eight!  I put them in the front entryway which gets a lot of shade.

As soon as the begonias come in to our local garden centers, I'll be planting those. I don't think I have to worry about a late frost this year. 

How is the weather in your neck of the woods?  Are you doing any yardwork?

Christine

Kitchen Makeover

As most of you know I've been working on a kitchen makeover. Stripping wallpaper, sanding, texturing the walls, more sanding, and finally, painting, has been my job focus for the last month.  The makeover is 95% complete. At a later date we will add a new kitchen sink and faucet.  I have to do this in stages as money is available. 

                     Our kitchen and dinning area have gone from this,

                                                           to this,

to this,

                                                        and this,

and this.  The paint color is Valspar Filoli Honey.

I found this copper pot at a local antique market and added the floral arrangement to it.  The boy and girl with ducks was china painted by my mother many years ago. 

          I covered our dinning room chairs in a beautiful red and gold fabric.  I've decited when I tire of this fabric I can always recover.  I think this is the fourth covering on these chairs.  LOL

I still need to paint around my kitchen window, but my body says to relax a while before going forward.  In a few days I will tackle that job. All in all, I'm very pleased with the results.  If you have noticed I've written the word I throughout this post.  It is because I have done all this makeover myself!

One thing is for certain...I won't be doing any more makeovers for a long time. This one about did me in.  This chick isn't as young as she use to be.


Cluck, cluck.
Christine