Climbing Roses and More Patio Photos

We had a nice surprise this year with the addition of red roses to the already pink rose covered shed. Evidently, this red rose was the stock used as a graft for my Joseph's Coat rose, which died two years ago. This base rose took off last year and is now blooming very well. Oh, and a little bunny came out to have his pictured taken, too. :-) I went with a mostly red and pink theme this year for the annuals. The hanging baskets are planted with multi-colored flowers, though.
To see a tutorial on how I plant my moss lined baskets you can go to this post from last year. And to see what they look like by mid-summer, click here.
We're going to have an early taste of summer this week here in Ohio. Its supposed to be in the mid to upper 80's all week! Nice! :-)

Garden Bloomers ~ Pond and Patio

I have been busy for the past week or so with organizing and decluttering the house, neither of which lend themselves to interesting photos or blog posts. So, although we've had several days of rain, I ventured outside to share a few photos of the patio pond and garden. Dark reddish pink blooms fill our weigela bush at the entrance to the patio. Tall yellow iris had to be staked to with stand the rain and wind. A very soggy peony. And pretty yellow water iris appear to be taking over the pond.That's ok, the fish don't mind...they like swimming through the roots. :-)

And hubby got the veggies planted this weekend. Basically, we have a salsa garden...tomatoes, onions, and a variety of peppers. But we also have a couple of rhubarb plants and raspberry bushes surround the garden.
I'm also working on a canvas playhouse for my little niece. Hopefully I'll have that to share with you shortly. Have a great week everyone!

Yard and Getaway Photos

Another busy weekend around here. But I thought I would share some pictures of the patio flower baskets (click here to see how I made them) and a few from our getaway last weekend.
The flowers are doing surprisingly well for this late in the summer. Usually they start to get straggly and faded out from the summer heat, but thanks to the coolest July on record and a very comfortable start to August, they look pretty good. :-)


The peaches are almost ripe on our small tree.

And as I mentioned in the last post, hubby and I spent a couple of days at Salt Fork State Park.
Its the largest state park in Ohio and has a huge lake, a golf course, a couple marinas, a beautiful lodge with two pools, campgrounds, and cabins. Now normally, I'm a lodge girl all the way, but it was a very last minute trip and everything was booked except for one cabin. So, we took it. It was a very nice cabin right on the lake. We were even able to do some fishing. Although it was just the two of us, the cabin could have slept up to 6 people. There was a jacuzzi on the enclosed porch and a place to cook out and have a bonfire down by the lake.

Here we are in front of the lodge.

A very peaceful getaway.

Moss Lined Flower Basket ~ A Garden How-To

I was able to get my hanging baskets planted this week, so I thought I would share a gardening How-To. I love the naturalized look of moss lined flower baskets. They are so much prettier than a plastic pot and surprisingly easy to do.


What you will need:

* Wire basket (mine is an 18 inch)

* long fiber sphagnum moss

* rubber gloves

* potting soil

* small plastic garbage bag

* bucket of water (for soaking moss)

*pretty flowers and trailing plants



Step 1 - Wearing rubber gloves (and a mask if you're sensitive to dust), soak the long fiber sphagnum moss in the bucket of water. Squeeze out the excess water and begin lining your basket.
Step 2 - Once your basket is lined with about 1 - 1 1/2 inches of moss, place a small circle of plastic with holes punched in it, in the bottom of the basket. This will help retain soil and moisture. (BTW, at the end of the season, keep your plastic piece with your basket and reuse it next year. I've been using this same circle of plastic for 7 or 8 years now)
Step 3 - Fill with potting soil and press in up the sides. I use a soil with a slow release fertilizer.Step 4 - Now start putting in your plants. I start with my larger anchor plants. This year I used Chartreuse sweet potato vine and a pink and green coleus. Step 5 - Fill in with smaller plants and flowers. My baskets are in filtered sun all day, so I chose bright multi-colored impatiens. Step 6 - Hang your basket, water, and enjoy!
Some people like to trim the the moss close to basket, but I prefer the look of the little hanging pieces. :)
Enjoy the weekend, everyone and Happy gardening!

Scenes From the Garden and Patio

I finally got some work done in the yard. It has been so cool here, that I was afraid to put my annuals in before last week. And in typical Ohio fashion, it has gone from chilly low 60's to hot and humid 80's over night. LOL This year I chose red and pink as the main colors in the hanging baskets and planters. I've accented with touches of yellow (lantana) and orange (tuberous begonias and daisies) , as well.
The baskets hang on our trellis which is covered in wisteria. And in the years we've been in the house, the trees have grown considerably...So my once very sunny patio is now shaded through a good part of the day. I rely on shade-tolerant impatients and begonias for good color throughout the summer.
Our old shed is covered in pink roses this year! This is a variety called "New Dawn". It is a hearty, disease resistant, climber that seems to thrive on my neglect. LOL You can also see a little peek of the veggie garden behind the shed. I'm afraid it got planted late, too. We probably won't being seeing any ripe tomatoes until September. haha

Flowers, Garden, Tote. That about sums it up.

OK, so the Easy Weekend Project has been missing for the last 2 weeks. Chalk it up to a yard in desperate need of my attention and a friend's special request for a summer tote for her Hawiian vacation.

I will have a project to share with you next week. But for now, here are pictures of the yard and the tote.

My friend wanted a bag that was bright, cheery, and tropical made with vintage barkcloth. Looking though my stash, it was a hard decision. One tropical print is prettier than the next...but I chose this gorgeous 1940's yellow number. I paired it with a Laura Ashley stripe and cream twill. I hope she likes it!

Patio Moss

I finally managed to get some work done outside this week.

Oh, I've had the time, I just wasn't motivated. Its been a strange spring. First we had 70-80 degree temps at the beginning of April. The plants were happy...hostas poking through, cherry and crabapple trees blooming, bleeding hearts, wisteria, and lilac all just starting to open their buds. Then, the very next day, a cold snap. We're talking lows in the 20's for a week staight. :(

Hostas were mush, wisteria brown and limp. I was too depressed to even look at the bleeding heart. But this week I had to ready the patio for flower planting. During the clean-up I noticed the moss on the bricks. I mean REALLY noticed the moss. Its beautiful! I had to take its picture.

The picture above is the patio at the beginning of last summer. I love that chartreuse sweet potato vine. I hope I can find it again this year. I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as I decide on a color scheme for this years baskets.

Happy planting!