Last week just got away from me in terms of trying to find some quality time to blog, so I will try to be better this week.
Today I happily spent most of the day outside in my yard, weeding and getting some plants in. This is the side of my garage that faces my backyard. Usually I put a window box on that shelf, but this year opted to put my birdhouse collection here. Last year we had a new lawn put in and the constant watering from the sprinkler really took a toll on the paint. I think this will have to be repainted at some point soon.
This Dogwood tree is in the front yard. I should have taken a picture of it earlier when it was in bloom! To the right is a beautiful Wisteria, which was also in bloom when the Dogwood was. The Dogwood does not bloom again, but the Wisteria does continue to bloom off and on throughout the Summer. I separated some of the variegated Hostas and put more behind the tree to fill in. There used to be a post and beam fence there, but it was removed last year, so now I need to fill in the bare spots.
I’ve had this front yard going for about 15 years now. Almost everything comes up on it’s own each year, but I do fill in with a few plants. This year I added some basil, tomatoes, a curry plant, Gerberea Daisies, and a few Nasturtiums. A few weeks ago, my brother, who owns this two family home with me, and lives upstairs, called a landscape service to fertilize our back lawn and mulch the beds back there. They came when no one was home and ripped up all of my soaker hoses that I had running throughout this front garden and a side bed! They then mulched everything in sight! I was livid when I came home from work to find my soaker hoses in a heap in the driveway and all my beds mulched before I could even get my plants in! I still could not bring myself to reconnect the hoses and snake them all around today. I know it will take me several house to do. 🙁 I’ll give it a try next weekend. I just wanted to get all my plants in today. When I was watering everything with the garden hose, a neighbor who I have given several of my plants to, came by and asked me what happened to my soaker hose system. When I told her my sad story, she offered to come and help me re-install it! I love my neighborhood. 😉 Also, see that unpainted basement window frame? I have 6 of them to paint. (That’s on next weekend’s list too!)
Last Summer my brother had to have his dog, Jake, put to sleep. He was a great dog, a miniature Schnauzer, who was 14 years old. This little stone has his name on it, and there is a picture of him in the frame. While Jake is not actually buried here, my brother wanted a small memorial to him on our property. I overheard 2 young boys talking, who were looking at the stone and picture the other day. One was telling the other that the dog died and the owner buried it right here in their yard!
