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June 25, 2012

Summer's push..plus a walk through a garden center...

We've been working to get our yard projects done and feeling the affect of Summer's push!
Summer came in with a bang, we hit 94 degrees on June 20th.   Fortunately it dropped back into the 70's so we started to push ourselves to get our biggest job done before another heat wave came (which looks to be this week)!

We live by a county road that gets a fair amount of traffic.  We had two spruce trees flanking the end of the driveway and I decided to incorporate one into an island.  I used to have 5 blue oat plants until a few weeks ago.  I took four of them away and put them in a new area by the turnaround of our driveway with some shrubs that we just planted.

Dan weed-whipped the edge of the island with the whip sideways to re-establish the border and to knock down the plant life to the roots.  We saw a lot of black mulch used when we were visiting our son in Pennsylvania so we decided to give it a try.
As you can see the Stella d'Oro lilies are blooming .  Mine are a more yellow/orange tone but there are some that are more lemon yellow in color that are available too.  These bloom for an extended period of time.  They say they will bloom again in the early fall.  Mine have bloomed in the past but with just a few flowers.

I cleaned this end up.  I had some rocks piled along the curve that I removed and there are two Spireas planted at the end that I had to trim up quite a bit.  They were flopped over on the lawn quite a bit and growing into the Limelight hydrangea a little too much.

To the other side of the driveway we created a whole new bed that I'm liking a lot. Up until this point it was grassed and difficult to keep looking nice.  I'm trying to not trim the bottom of the spruce trees because I like the boughs laying low.  It's made it difficult to mow so I hope this will make things easier.

I took all of the pictures with my iPhone.  It's handy to have in my pocket and doesn't do too bad of a job.  These Alliums are still blooming.  The tulips I showed a while back had all died back so I removed all of the old plant.  Now that I see the Alliums I realized it would have bee nicer if I had planted them with other plants that would have offered some filler around them, and to hide their leaves (which aren't too exciting to look at). They would also look good with a rock garden and sedum- don't you agree!
I have three lilacs planted at the corner which I did on purpose so they would create a wall as they mature. We've also added some maple trees so many years down the road there will be even more privacy and shade.
(There is a new fire station that was put up kiddie-corner to us that I'm still unhappy about- so I'm building a natural wall to help with privacy)
A scene I shot from my living room window.  It's a real nice building but they also house ambulances so we have departures throughout the day with sirens going. 
Let's just say my backyard is my sanctuary and I am grateful we have it to enjoy.

 I took a big chance and dug my lilies that are in full bloom and moved them over here by the driveway.
I took care to dig a generous area around them so when I lifted them they stayed together.  I wanted to make this move before the landscape mulch was put down.  So far they look just fine and it's been 3 days.  I'm keeping 
them well watered.  I also added a new plant for me called Crocosmia- Lucifer.  I've seen them blooming before and always thought they were so interesting... so when I ran across them I had to buy a couple.

Dan also dug a trench around this whole area that we hope will create enough of barrier to keep the grass from moving into the area.  We filled it with the mulch and are hoping for the best!

Time out for me!
Last Friday I visited a locally owned garden center
called Pine Hill Nursery. I'm very lucky in that I have 
at least 6 garden centers not too far from me that I
can visit.  What I like most about them is all the variety
they offer and the support from their staff.  They know 
the plants and can answer questions which admittedly 
the large box stores cannot do.  

At the entrance they have a roses along a stone wall they built to create a framework to their garden center.

Out back is where all their flowers and plants are and I tell you it's a field day for a gardener!  There were lots of varieties of Cone Flowers, Coreopsis, Daisies and so much more

I did buy some of these. It's called Spigelia, Indian Pink
 In the shade garden area
Lots of hostas! I've bought my 
fair share from here.

Lots of Hydrangeas
These are from the series called
Forever and Ever

I wish I had more room to add more
hydrangeas.

Isn't this a neat planter!

My favorite piece.  I hope to acquire this!
I left a big hint to hubby!


I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for
Metamorphosis Monday
How's your summer going?


June 21, 2012

Simple Things Mean A Lot To Me!

It's the simple things that mean a lot to me!


Seeing flowers come to bloom and catching a glimpse of my little girl statue....


Seeing the beauty of a rose up close.....


Finding a flower on the Sweet Potato Vine that I didn't even know produced flowers!


Looking at this cute fairy sitting in a pottery piece....


Admiring the flower of the Allium....



Little glimpses of my fairy garden....



Putting these pictures together in a cluster I never imagined....
The larger picture was a gift from my son several years ago.  It's from Charleston, S.C....it's called the White Points Garden gazebo and is used for weddings quite frequently these days! I guess it's right in the historic district.  I'll have to get there one of these days and see it in person!
The two pictures above are of some lavender fields set in a very French scene that I've had for a while.  I've been moving things around and these came together quite by accident!  The frames ended up working together nicely and both pictures have the lavender color in them!  

I'm sure you agree, it's the simple things that can turn out to mean the most!

I'm joining
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for
Table Top Tuesday 
Jann at Have A Cup of Mrs. Olson for
and Kathy at A Delightsome Life for

June 20, 2012

Whimsical Cottage Gardening......

Welcome to my 2nd tour of yet another wonderful garden!
Barbara's gardens are located near Hendersonville in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

She loves English style Cottage Gardens
with fairytale whimsy.

Let's take the tour!

Her Garden Lady is here to greet you...
won't you join us!
Look closely at the details...her 
face is made with a shovel painted pink... 
She's a very creative person!

A sense of whimsy and enchantment are felt throughout her gardens...

She calls this her Bee Shed where she stores her bee yard equipment...She's created a theme around Winnie the Pooh- hence the bell and"Mr. Sanders" sign over the door!

 Notice the chair that has been "potted"!
Let's peek in! 
 Pooh Bear and bee related items...
How fun!


 These are her beehives that have to be protected by an electric fence because of the bears!  Yes the bears!! 

Lots of cottage flowers casually flow together 
Jolly Bee Cranesbill, Happy Returns Lily, native Sunflowers and Ferns


These are a "rustled rambler" Rose.  She was able to get some starters from a group of very old roses nearby that a neighbor had planted long before she was born.

 Foxgloves popping up along with peonies, and Lemon Lilies

What a great shot...so storybook like!
 I went to BeFunky.com 
and used the "cartoonizer" feature 
to give it a more illustrated look...

 Things along the way...
 An old hot wheels bike with a 
reclaimed metal basket planted with flowers!

Her touch of whimsy shows up in many places! 
An old tree stump that serves as one of her Fairy Gardens

 This is an old iron child's crib she 
turned into another fairy garden... 
Her creative use of re-purposed items is inspiring!
See the adorable thimble and the old silver spoon! 

The Tool Shed
Her Endless Summer Hydrangeas looking marvelous! She has the highly acidic soil that gives her the advantage of that wonderful blue coloring so desired in the hydrangeas!
 
 A brief glimpse inside the tool shed...
The basics for gardening!

Crickhollow Cottage
This little cottage is the cutest thing! Notice all the details with the scalloped edge, shutters, fencing and the trellis! 

Lets take a peek inside!
 
 This is a potting bench made from
 an old galvanized baking center 
with a butcher block top salvaged
from a local school.
 Notice too the hand painted floor! 

She has the Queen Elizabeth Grandiflora rose like I do! 
Looks like some Little Princess Spirea too!

Holidays






            Halloween













Ding dong the witch is dead...
  Crickhollow also serves as Santa's workshop at Christmas time!  This was a couple of winter's ago when they actually got snow!
Santa's clothes needed freshening up too!
 One of my favorite shots...Foxgloves are truly an enchanting plant! Have you ever watched a bee go up inside one of their flowers!  Love it!
 
 Caladiums, Polka Dot Plant and Iresene (or Bloodleaf)

  What a pretty walkway by the house!
There sure is a lot of work and love that have gone into all of this!  This kind of gardening and yard elements take time 
to develop, but that's part of the fun!

Well, I'm afraid the tour is over
but please
 Say Hello to Barbara!
  What a beautiful setting!

Isn't this a fun place!
I hope you enjoyed this peek into Barbara's gardens! 

It's fun to see some of the creative things people can do with their yards.  Just painting a tool shed can bring new life to your yard!  
I have a shed I'd love to adopt to put my garden bench and supplies in like hers!  I've even seen some with a little chandelier in them that I thought were adorable!  We all have a little nook we can create in...even if it's only a flower pot one can turn it into a bit of fun with some whimsy!  I've seen some adorable fairy gardens in very tiny places!

I love hearing your comments and I'm sure Barbara will too!

Please join me at the following parties
that I will be joining:

 Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson 

Fishtail Cottage for the

Delightsome Life


ABOUT ME



Welcome to Home and Gardening With Liz. I have combined my previous blogs “Infuse With Liz” and “Sit With Me In My Garden” into this new blog. I love interior decorating and gardening. I enjoy redefining interior spaces by moving things around and reusing decorative items already found in the home. I also enjoy creating tablescapes and an occasional crafting project. I'm so pleased you've stopped by. I invite you to follow me and I do hope you will keep coming back! Liz
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