Cottage Garden Inspired

Over the Memorial Day weekend we visited our family.  We were at the farm where my husband grew up and lilacs were blooming everywhere.  I admired this deep rich purple one but there is only one bush so we only cut one small branch.  I'm going to keep it watered until some roots pop out and plant it up here at our home.

 They smell heavenly too!

So I'm staring at it thinking I should use it for

a tablescape- can't let the flowers go to waste! 

This new octagon steeple shaped artifact had a bit 

to do with my cottage inspiration!

I made a trip to the garden in between the 

downpours of rain and snipped a couple of tulips. 

I dressed the bottom of this steeple 

piece with a hedge of silk hydrangeas. 

Bear with my imagination-  I raised the vase 
with the lilac so it would be high like a tree and 
the flowers are the garden.

Blur your eyes and visualize!!

The creamy white fleur-de-lis mugs go well

 with my cottage garden theme.

  I love these dishes because they remind me of 

iron garden gates.

These dishes have a very understated purple accent on them and worked well with the placemats and the lilacs.

The favorite standby white chargers from Pier 1 make another appearance.  I chose creamy white, olive green, and purple for my color theme.  Indulge me with the red tulip....I'm a big fan of red!

We're cheating and having some take home tonight!

I hope this rain clears up so I can get out in the 

real garden!

I'll be joining a couple of parties

this week

Cuisine Kathleen  

and

Between Naps on the Porch 

 

Cloche Fairy Garden

I've loaded up my tray and created a

fairy garden.

I borrowed a few pieces from my outdoor fairy garden

Under the cloche is a fairy standing in a

bed of grapevine and floral rosettes!

These are all Mary Cicely Barker fairies-

They have such sweet faces

My fairies lend a little magic to my gardens every year so they'll be heading outdoors very soon!

I set a couple of wax begonias in this cute 

little mini chicken wire metal planter

All my fairies love to garden!

    This one is next to my rustic cast iron garden tool set that is actually a doorstop.

 I lightened it up so you could see them better

 I hope you enjoyed my fairy garden!

These can be a lot of fun.  Normally I would have all real plants, stones and natural accents, but since this was just for fun and temporary so  I didn't want to build it that way.  The begonias and fairies will be heading outdoors very soon! 

I'll be joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life

for her 

Yip-Skip Cloche Party on Wednesday

Sunny Spring Mornings!

Every morning I love to have my coffee and enjoy seeing the woods and my garden plants come alive!  

I know a lot of you are way ahead of me, but this is where we are at right now.

It doesn't look like much but the Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra) is blooming with it's little flowers right now, and the Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) 

has come alive!

I love how the sun was highlighting the Sweet Woodruff and how it seemed to glow beneath the Japanese Maple

This is a great shade loving plant and spreads with no effort and it's not hard to control if it moves where you don't want it!

I love how the moss is highlighted too...I can see it from the kitchen and it looks so interesting!  We never planted any of it.  It just appeared on it's own.

The ferns are growing in leaps and bounds

The grass is tall enough for it's first cutting....

The trillium have been blooming all week...so pretty to see their bright white faces in the woods!

A bright moment in my day...the elusive Baltimore Oriole visits...The moment I snapped the picture it flew off.  A very hard subject!

I didn't know they were attracted to my suet feeders.  It has some fruit and fruit flavoring in it which is drawing them in.  The female was here yesterday afternoon...she blends in so well to the scenery it's hard to notice her!

On the pathway my Jack Frost (Brunnera Macrophylla) are just getting going.  The cute White Crowned sparrows that are visiting and scratching through the mulch and literally littering the walkway with it!  I'm going to have to show them a broom!

Daffodils and soon tulips (or what's left of them)!  

A rabbit has eaten off 7 of my 12 tulips!  Not happy!

Out front the daffodils have been blooming

Tulips are popping up daily and I've inspected the little lilacs and they are forming flower heads!  

Last Saturday we made our way to a couple of the local garden centers.  I've staged them on my garden way card and have been acclimating them.  It looks like we're going to have some safe night time temps so I may jump in and plant them this weekend.  

I've decided to go with wax begonias around the fountain area.  I'll miss the impatiens plants but with the uncertainty of getting that Impatiens Downy Mildew I've decided I was going to have to avoid them.

Out the window from my office I see my Snow Fountains Weeping Cherry 

(Cerezo var. "Snolozam") tree is starting to bloom too!   

How's your spring coming along? 

I'll be joining 
Fishtail Cottage
Garden Party #3

Finishing up the Plate Rack wall and Entry Table...

You recently saw my new plate rack with the blue dishes I put together "here".  I took the pussy willows that I used for my Easter Egg Tree and popped them in the new big blue vase.  I was able to bring in some height to the design which I knew it needed.

 I took a woven tray and an oval platter from the kitchen area and mounted them on the wall next to the plate rack.  I was tickled to be able to use something I already owned.

 I also added to metal bowls to the top of the plate rack- they are also from Wendell August.

 I am pleased I found a way to display them!

One was a gift and one I bought on a trip to

Pennsylvania! 

Maybe a little French Country now? 

 The entry table...

I had to have something to set where the pussy willows had been on this table, so this earthenware vase with the greens has come back into play.  

 

 Do you remember my little treasure box?  I stuck a few more trinkets in it.  Some keys, a tassel, and a bit of lace.

Here's a link to the original posting "here" 

I propped the box top open by using the ring for the keys in the back which help anchor it.

 Now I'd like to see the door painted a different color. 

I've shifted a bit away from the Tuscan coloring so I will study this a while to decide.  I need to switch up to a neutral floor rug color for the season too. 

Our Grandfather clock used to set there where the table is and it may be getting back moved here again.  We're tweaking the living room and haven't been able to make our minds up about it yet.

 Only thing is I'd hate to loose this display area,

I have too much fun with it!

Stay tuned!!

Please join me at
Ivy and Elephants for
What's It Wednesday

   

 

Multifunctional Closet Renovation

I have had this closet targeted for a while for some storage improvement needs.

This is a 3 ft. square closet that abuts the stairwell

going down to the basement level on the other

side of the left wall.  It was the coat closet for the

home but after we remodeled and added another closet 

it turned it into a storage closet which held the leaves

for the dining table, mop, broom, vacuum, cleaning

supplies and even candles!

 I forgot to take a picture before I emptied it all out, 

but you will have to believe me it was packed.

   

It had the wire shelves meant for clothing in it

but it didn't work that well and there wasn't enough
effective use of space.

 

So I stacked it all on the dining table because it's very close by, and the leaves for the table ended up in a bedroom closet of spare bedroom.

Holes had to be patched, then a primer paint went up and eventually the paint.  I had 3/4's of a gallon left over from my office we painted a year ago, so I chose that to use. (White Chocolate by Benjamin Moore.)

The next day the brackets went up.  We decided we better build it strong since we aren't sure how heavy the loads may be.  He found a center stud (well actually it's off centered) so he used that for the center rail.

Hooray!  I chose the two top shelves to be 12" deep and the three bottoms to be 16" deep.  They are prefinished and just had to be cut to length.  

 There is an attic access above and I believe the ladder will clear the shelves.  Let's hope because neither 

of us bothered to find out!

Let the loading begin! I'm putting candle holders, vases and cloches in here so I don't have to go to

the basement to retrieve them.

 Now remember it's a multi purpose closet!   

My green crates hold household cleaning products.  I put lightweight things that I could grab easily on the top shelf.  We had some leftover shelving material so I had him cut one to fit the floor so I could easily slide these plastic containers in and out.  Isn't that rag mop gorgeous!  We couldn't find anything better to hold my mop, broom etc., so we re-used what we had.

 The two vacuums get used a lot and they had to stay in here too so they are the last to go in!   Of course now I could change up and use the shelves for other items anytime I want.  I like that the shelves are adjustable and there is plenty of strength to hold whatever I can challenge it with!

 We spent just under $65 in materials.  We saved on paint because we had our on stock pile.

I will be joining BNOTP for

Metamorphosis Monday

and

Our Home Away from Home for

Tuesdays at our Home

Before and After Wednesday