A walk through the backyard...ready for Memorial Day

Hello everyone! 

Are you ready for this upcoming long holiday weekend (those of us in the U.S. that is)?

I'm ready to putter around the gardens and have some grilled food and relax. 

 I've been running some sprinklers since it's been so dry lately.  We finally got some rain last night.  The hostas are filling out fast.  

The Jack Frost Brunnera have gotten a lot larger but aren't covered in as many blooms as they usually are.  I've always enjoyed this plant because it continues to grow larger and bloom for about a month.   

These are already getting larger .  The patio is messy- well everything is.  The trees have been dropping their seeds and there's pollen on everything.  We should be getting more rain on and off over the next few days so perhaps it will wash away the pollen.

The turkeys have been fun to watch but have been destructive.  I picked up a cheap roll of wire fencing and Dan and I made sort of a random pattern around these hostas.  They've been clawing so much they've sort of shredded these hostas.    I'm going to have to be less welcoming to them from now on.  

Look closely at the bird bath-  they dirty it up the something awful- even leaving feces!  Yuck... I took this before I got my planters filled last weekend. 

This lemon yellow Lantana is great for attracting butterflies.  I found this German Ivy at the store and decided to try it.  It's already grown a lot so I think it will be an easy one to take care of.  

Further back you can see the "Hosta hill" has really taken off.   The Sweet Woodruff is blooming like crazy.

 I took this late in the day yesterday.  That's a Sum and Substance Hosta in the forefront, an On Stage hosta on the left with the yellow and green mix, and at the back is the Empress Wu that keeps getting larger each year. These are my largest hostas.

I planted this red/white star impatiens along the border.  They had gotten a little leggy and are just starting to bloom again.  I'm looking forward to seeing them take off and start blooming like crazy!

This miniature iris seems to have a mind of it's own.  It's moved up the hill as the years have gone by.  The Creeping Jenny has moved in all over the place.

I made a path for the garden cart to wheel in and out of several years ago and I lined the one side with a bunch of these "June" hostas that I had found super cheap at Home Depot.  They've continued to do well and have gotten larger.  The Sweet Woodruff has moved in along the path- I just pull the cart right over it and it doesn't seem to care. If I was a perfectionist I'd be yanking it out...but I'm not.  I love to see things naturalize a space.

Looking over towards the fountain.  I think we can finally turn it on because I believe the trees are done dropping their seeds.  We'll get to it this weekend.

I took these pictures early this morning- aren't the ferns pretty!  I love how they've spread on their own. Every so often I have to remove some but it's not hard.

I found another coleus I mixed in the center of my big dairy planter.  It's so interesting how many varieties there are of coleus.  

 I showed this the other day.  Dan is going to clean up the 2nd plant stand I have and I already filled another copper planter so it's ready to pop in it when he's done.

This one will sit by the house where it will get party sun/shade.

Last December when my brother in-law passed away I brought home this planter from the funeral which had some household plants in it.  They were doing pretty well but it was always my intention to re-plant it and have it outdoors.  I think it's sweet.  There is a blue ageratum in the center, with some violas along the side and this Wojo's Jem vinca vine.    I think of Jim each time I look at it.

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Have a great weekend and take time to remember those who sacrificed the ultimate for our country.

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Some Gave All- Memorial Day 2016 (T)

I placed a flameless tea light inside representing a symbolic eternal flame.

I dressed the table with this oversized flag scarf- I found it last summer at Younker's.  Since it will just be the two of us I kept the table simple.  

 On a visit to T.J. Maxx a few weeks back I found a package of placemats with a red, white, and blue paisley design that I couldn't resist.  

 I chose these dishes for a patriotic color combination.

I found these Ralph Lauren cups back in January at T.J. Maxx and I've also collected these crystal tumblers through T.J's also by Ralph Lauren.  

I'll probably make the usual potato salad, pasta salad, baked beans and we'll grill dogs, and burgers. Of course we can't forget some pie either!

Some Gave All

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Blue dishes - 

Devon Cottage by Johnson Brothers

Red Dishes-

Home Cupboard by 222 Fifth

Crystal Tumblers 

Ralph Lauren- Aston

Coffee Mugs

Ralph Lauren- Hampton's Flag (discontinued 2015) Amazon and Ebay have some

Napkins by Park Designs - Casual Classics Newport Blue

I'm Joining:

Thoughts of Home On Thursday
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Tablescape Thursay
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Foodie Friday and Everything Else 
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Dishing It & Digging It 

Morning Pics and Annuals Planted

Happy Weekend Everyone! 

I decided to pop outside in the early morning a shoot a few pictures.  I thought this tulip looked rather artistic in it's closed form.  As soon as it warms up a bit more it will open.

The daffodils have been blooming and I've started fussing more with my fairy garden.

I decided to use some brick pavers leftover from something we did a long time ago as a foundation for the cement cottage.   I'm just beginning to fuss with it and haven't finished but I'm pleased that I chose this spot because I can see it more readily and even from my kitchen window!

I only have a few tulips this year.  Between the rabbits that got them last year and some vole activity I had in the years before I guess they've dwindled.  

I just love the Jack Frost Brunnera.  It's reliable and the little flowers are the sweetest. So far only the one is booming but I expect that will change soon.  The Hosta are all on their way up and the Coral Bells are coming alive.

The flower always makes me think of Forget-Me-Nots.  

I picked up some new planters from our Sam's Club. They look like expensive iron planters but their not!   I've got some Fuchsia and Alyssum planted in them.  I chose this Gartenmeister Fuchsia for it's height and of course the hummingbirds love it.

This is the other one I got.  It's low and wide so I planted it with a very traditional combination.  I hope I like it as it grows.  I put a lot of Dusty Miller around the edge and I know they can get kind of big so I may have to trim them if they overwhelm the Geraniums.

I saw a hummingbird race to it but I don't know if there is anything they can get from a Geranium.

Last fall I picked these sphere planters up out in Pennsylvania.  I've got a moss basket for it and some flowers which I hope to plant today.

These are the flowers for the spheres.  More Fuchsia and some Bacopa to fill and spill.

The morning sun highlights things so nicely.  As you can see the Sweet Woodruff is well spread around the side of my host hill.  The trees are still leafing out but not full yet.

These are the impatiens I chose for this year.  The tag calls them "violet".  I think their hot pink coloring will show off nicely.

The Creeping Jenny or Moneywort fills in everywhere.  I may snag some and put some in with those sphere planters.  I think if I drop some cuttings in water for a few days they'll root (I hope)  There are some Painted Japanese Ferns in here too but you can hardly see them.

My original fairy garden weathered the winter pretty well.  I haven't done anything with it yet.  I've got to get after some maple seedlings that have started to grow in there.  Our yard is riddled with tons of them this year.

These don't look like much yet but in a few weeks they should start to fill out.  I've got some Caladiums,  Begonia, Euphorbia Diamond Frost and violas in them.  These sit out near the water fountain.

My moss basket liners are tired.  I'll retire them after this season.  I planted geraniums here and a couple of Sweet Potato Vine.

This is new for me.  I did a bedding planting in the area where the boxwoods were removed.  I've got some deep purple/blue supertunias, white geraniums and African daisies planted.  Can't wait to see this fill out.

Back at the house I re-used a planter from last year and potted it up with Lobelia, Pink Bacopa, Ivy, Pansies, and Impatiens.  It should be colorful and showy in a few more weeks.  The hummingbird already found the Fuchsia!

A hot pink Geranium surrounded by these adorable striped Superbells- should be cute as it gets going!

I planted Bubble Gum Supertunias in the garage planters.  Can't wait to see them fill out!

All my annuals get a generous dose of Osmocote when I plant.  Annuals love to be fed and I find 

the pelleted fertilizer is a reliable way to feed.  I also use some new Garden Soil each year that comes with a bit of fertilizer it it too. 

Not too exciting yet, but again once these fill out they'll be colorful. 

Lastly I chose these soft orange Begonias to be in my window planter by the kitchen.  There is some Browallia that will come up behind and Sweet Potato Vine that will drape across the front. 

We've been having some great weather and the night time temps haven't fell below 45 lately so I took my chances and planted the annuals.  We often get a surprise late frost in June so I may have to run out and cover things up but I've done it many times before.

I'm still fighting the lasting affects of that darn cold I caught.  I'm beginning to think it's also dragging on because of some allergy related issues.  I checked our area forecast for pollen and it's pretty high right now.  I've gotten more done than I expected, but it's been so much harder this year.  I even put my back out for a few days last weekend so I've really felt constrained.

Ok enough whining!

Have a wonderful weekend and those of us here in the U.S. have a great

Memorial Day and always remember why we celebrate it.