Showing posts with label hydrangeas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hydrangeas. Show all posts

Saturday, April 30, 2016

My Yard


Very recently I was asked if there was a post on my yard or garden. I guess I haven't done a post just on that, I just never thought it would interest anyone.  I hope to remedy that today though.   We live surrounded by woods.  The neighborhood is built around a lake here and it's a very woodsy feeling to the whole neighborhood.

This is the front of our house.  To the right is the driveway and the carport.  The wooden fence on the left of our house is where my mister and our daughter like to plant their garden, well they garden on the backside of it.   We have some shrubs planted on the front side now but you can't see them in this photo.  As you see there are lots of trees and with azaleas planted under them.

IMG_2149





This is a glance back at the azaleas blooming in the front yard this Spring.

IMG_6882





IMG_5784





And on the back side of the wooden fence (in our backyard) were the beginnings of last year's garden.  It hasn't grown enough this year to have anything to show yet.  Do you remember my daughter's herb garden?
IMG_5378





The mister and my daughter are the gardeners.  I am the lucky recipient.

IMG_1824





IMG_1823




Jacques is still lizard hunting.  He thinks they all live high up on the posts because he saw one there once.
IMG_6280





The gardenias were blooming before we had the garden going good then.  They are starting to bloom now as well so I guess we are on schedule.  You can just make out the beginnings of the banana tree towards the fence.  That's hydrangea bushes as well up close to the camera.
gardenia bush




Later this summer, the banana tree will be big and a show off!

IMG_2874





IMG_2872






1829





I love bringing the zinnias inside.

pic27





A glimpse of our backyard shows we are surrounded by trees.  This is the view from the back porch.  We had a lot of wind and rain shortly before this was taken and the rose of Sharon was leaning.  It's very tall, which is hard to tell in this photo with those trees surrounding it, but it's probably ten feet tall.  Blue hydrangeas next to the back porch.
IMG_0145






This is right off the porch to the left slightly.  Cannas and banana tree coming up with transplanted hydrangeas in the background.
IMG_5393






The transplanted hydrangeas were turning different shades last year, it will be interesting to see how they do this year.  They started out as a mixture of blue and pink plants.
IMG_9390





IMG_9382






IMG_4129





IMG_7193





To the right of the back porch is the well, housed in a little building my mister built.  The wisteria grows like crazy here.  The white storage building beyond is where I have crepe myrtles that never bloom.
IMG_7366





IMG_7223





The Japanese Magnolia gave us our first look at Spring.

IMG_4075




Irises
IMG_8253





This is looking into the backyard from the porch.  The Japanese Magnolia tree lives over there as well as the large azalea bush.   The irises were taken out early as we had a hail storm.
IMG_8241





It was really scary!
IMG_8340





Standing in the center of the yard right off the porch looking toward the driveway.  Lattice panels were placed for privacy and work well with the shrubbery.
IMG_6799





Continuing on, you are now turned toward the house looking into the backyard and can see the well house to the right, just barely through the crepe myrtle.  You are next to the driveway.  There is an oleander planted next to the well.  They are scattered across the yard.  Whew!  Have I made any sense with this tour?
pic20




Another back porch photo.  You can see a glimpse of the kitchen through the open french doors.  I blog right inside to the left on my desk.  This is super convenient for me when I am doing tablescapes.  I just grab a handful of plates and head out to the porch to get it started.
IMG_3089




This is where you will find me!  That chair, at the computer, is my perch for blogging.  Many tablecloths stored in this old armoire along with various things for blogging, like candlesticks and candleholders, candles, pitchers, etc.
IMG_5249





I can't give you a proper tour without sharing the lake and of course that includes the geese.
IMG_0359






2013-10-28_08-44-03_774 (2)




Jan










Wednesday, October 7, 2015

A Bit Rusty

A Bit Rusty ~ But not in the way you think.  No, not any decorating today.  I am in the kitchen baking and I just don't do it enough to be good at it anymore. I am constantly rereading the menu ~  no ~  ingredients list.  See what I mean!  I was whipping up two pumpkin bread loaves and I had two bowls set up on the counter to be mixed with the blender.

 Well,....I forgot I had a large tablespoon in one and it had disappeared into the batter.  I turn the blender on and it hits that spoon and the spoon becomes Air Born!  I kid you not, that spoon traveled from the island to over to my granddog Jacques and hit him on the stomach.  I am letting out a whoop and the other dogs, Layla and Sonny wake up to see what all the noise is about.  Layla sees Jacques has the spoon and gets jealous and it becomes a competition of who can lick it up the fastest.  Poor Sonny didn't get any and has been staring at me with his big brown eyes wanting just a little taste.




So what are you up to today?


Jan

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Bringing In More Blue

Hey ! I hope you are doing good.   It’s July and steamy!  This is the time of year I really get to craving blue.  Blue looks cool to the eye, makes you think about oceans, pools and water.  We are surrounded by trees here around the house, virtually everywhere you look outside are trees.  We even  have woods beside us.



So with the heat and all the green, I needed more blue around me.  See the little blue pillow went in the center of the sofa.  There is also a blue pitcher on the trunk.


I didn’t paint the living room blue but I have before.  Many times I tried to find the right color of blue!   I finally realized that wasn’t what I needed to do.  The white quilts on the sofas really helps cool things down.  The arms show on each side of the sofas but that’s okay with me, I gotta have a little red!






I flipped the runner over to it’s floral side with the blue gray background.  More blue!


 
And that all ties in with the rugs.  Going outside…..
 
 
We finished painting the porches.  I love the blue toile this time of year.  I have to warn you that you probably will be seeing a lot of blue until fall arrives.
 
 
Sweet tea and hydrangeas with zinnias.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rustic and Refined
A Stroll Thru Life

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Water Or Not?


Hello!  I think we will stay in for a bit today.  I tried to take a few photos outside but my glasses kept steaming up and so did the lens on my camera.  It feels very humid to me.  I won’t talk about my hair today. However I did get it cut and now I have to blonde it up a bit more since the gray ~ no ~ I mean brown hair is peeping through, in case you wanted to know. Ha!  I cut some hydrangeas today and brought them in.





The coke glass looks pretty with them too.  It’s short but the green of the glass with the green in the flowers are very pretty.  My daughter took all the mason jars and I like to try different looks.






 
Now that hydrangeas are starting to turn I have to decide how I will dry them.   From what I have read you are supposed to wait until fall to cut your hydrangea blooms or wait until they are turning fallish colors.  Fallish colors on this bush is the green and pink.  Also you are supposed to put some water in the container and let it evaporate for them to retain their colors better.  Or you can put them in a container with no water for them to dry.   How do you do yours?
 
 
 
 
 
Shells from many trips to the beach.
 
 
 
I decided to let them dry on my mantel.  Last year I had them scattered about and they can take up a lot of room.  They are already pretty and why hide them when they are drying?  These were my mother’s glasses.
 
 
 

Flour canister part of a set my mother bought my grandmother many many years ago.  I use it a lot.  It shows how smart I am, Flour and I put flowers in it, see!!



Turning green and pink.
 
 
 
 

Jan
 
 

 
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/category/todays-thrifty-treasures-party/