Patio Changes 2022

 

July and August have been filled with hot days, and, sadly for me, that means spending more time indoors in the afternoon and evening. Consequently, my summer blog posts have been less about the season and more about indoor projects.

However, today I'm going to switch gears and show you the patio changes I made this year. This project was started in early June, while the temperatures were still mild, and I've tweaked it as summer has progressed.

Nancy's Happy Place

Hello Cottage Friends,

My oh my! June is nearly over and here am I in my new-to-me home with a plethora of things left undone. I'm recalling how much more challenging it is to get settled when working a full-time job, not to mention being single. Having that other person on hand to help with tasks makes a big difference. This was my experience as a widow, too. However, I'm not stressing over it. In fact, quite the opposite. I'm enjoying every moment; gratefully thanking God that I'm here, I'm well, and I'm happy. I wouldn't change a thing. 

Having said all that, let me share with you my happy place. . .

Oh, how I love this little patio. Every moment I spend here is pure joy. Little by little I'm creating the space I envision. I'm not there yet. Not by a long shot. But I've made progress. 

This is how it looked when I first viewed the home.

And here's the blank slate, more or less.  The terrific terra cotta pot and stand was left by the previous owners, along with the sad little fern to the right. The other flowers were some of the first I purchased.

My realtor said the sellers were in a big hurry to leave and ran out of room in their moving van. So, I'm the happy recipient of this planter.

To which I've added begonias.

So, come with me and I'll share a few more details. Because, after all, I did ask you if you wanted to join me on this journey. ;-)

First, let's start with the wicker chairs. Oh, you know how much I love a bargain, don't you? 

I found the chairs at Habitat for Humanity's Restore. It's on my way home from work, so I stopped in one day to check it out. It's by far the best Restore I've ever shopped. Anyway, I saw the chairs on their patio in this condition.

Pretty sad, right?  However, even though the wicker was tired and a bit unraveled in places, I could imagine the chairs reloved and given a home in Nancy's Happy Place. The price was right. . .$7.50 for the two (they were priced at $5/each, but the nice young man who helped me offered to give them to me for $7.50 total. I think he felt sorry for me, that I would actually give them money for those tacky things.) Two or three cans of spray paint would give them new life and for less than $40 I'd have two charming wicker chairs that even if they only lasted one season would still be a bargain.

I'm really happy with the way they turned out.

The poor lighting gives the impression that the color is uneven in places, but it's not. I found the cushions on clearance at Pier 1 (I'm so sad Pier 1 is closing forever), priced $12.99 for  the two. They're so cheery and fun. If I tire of the polka dots I can always make slip covers for the cushions. I purchased a second set for spares because they were such a great price.

The patio is shaded by a big tree most of the day, so I pretty much have to stick to flowers that do well in little or no sun, such as Impatiens. I picked up the black wrought iron plant stand at a thrift store for $6.99.

I also found this vintage plant stand last night for $15 at an antique and vintage mall that I love. 

There were so many cottagey and shabby chic things there that I wanted to bring home with me. Alas, they'll have to wait for another day and another paycheck. 

One thing you'll notice about my outdoor space is that it's very informal. This isn't a matchy-matchy sort of patio, and it's not about having everything "just so".  I'm choosing furniture, flowers and accessories that speak to me. That perhaps have a story of their own to tell. I like the hunt and the capture when I find that one item that would work so well in the corner, or fill in that bare spot. I like rescuing plants and flowers that would make someone else turn up her nose.

Like this little Clematis. . .

I found it on the Lowe's clearance rack for $5. It had a lot of dead vines on it, but it also had new green shoots. So, home it came with me and it's showing me its appreciation. It has grown about 5 inches. I need to get it repotted this weekend, and then see how it does with limited sun. It may end up outside the patio wall where it can get more sunlight. Although it is growing, I'm just not sure it will bloom inside the patio. But that's the fun of gardening, right? It's an adventure! What works? What doesn't work? 

Another challenge I'm dealing with is where to grow my lavender. I have to have lavender. It's just about my favorite thing to grow. I inherited two French Lavender plants from the former owners. They were on the north side of the house and looking kind of sad. So I moved them to the patio and they're doing much better. There is some afternoon sun where they are standing right now. I think I see some new buds, so hopefully they will bloom again.

I purchased three small pots of English Lavender and planted them in this terra cotta pot. It's hard to tell in the photo, but there are some flower buds appearing. My plan is to move all the lavender indoors for overwintering. I've been reading up on container lavender and it's said they will survive indoors, and even thrive in the right conditions. 

There's a little story behind this terra cotta pot. While at Lowes, buying the Clematis, I spied this pot that I thought would work well for my lavender. Well, it had a big chip out of the rim, and a hairline crack along the side. So I did what any frugal, thrifty buyer would do. I asked if they would give me a 50% discount. And they did. I was pretty sure Gorilla Glue would satisfy the crack, and I could turn the pot so no one would ever see the chip or the repaired crack. And that's what I did. Again, it fits my "imperfect" view of my outdoor space. "Wabi-sabi." Embrace imperfection. 

So, remember in my last post I mentioned the possibility of adding pea gravel between the flagstone pavers? Well, that was before Su of Butterfly Bungalow blog suggested I plant herbs between the pavers.  Now why didn't I think of that? (Hand slap to forehead.) At one of the local nurseries I talked to a very knowledgeable woman about what would work best, and she suggested Scotch Moss. It's prolific here in Colorado, and it holds up well to foot traffic. Perfect!

I've started a few plants and will see how it does. It will grow in sun or shade, and doesn't require much water. Sounds good to me. Oh, and it supposedly does bloom with tiny white flowers in summer.

There are so many other things I want to do to make Nancy's Happy Place truly happy.  For example, this ugly corrugated metal wall needs some camouflage. 

I pinned this photo from BHG. A lattice screen would add so much character to that wall, and make a great backdrop for interesting decor, whether it be old garden tools such as used here, or some other interesting items. Hmmm, my mind is racing. Is yours racing, too?

BHG

Do share your thoughts with me.

Hugs,

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Cottage Life - Mon Petit Jardin

Hello Cottage Friends,

I'm sorry I haven't been around much. It seems like last week everything hit at once. Just one of those weird weeks that I'm sure all of us experience in one form or another from time to time. I helped out a disabled friend by planting some plants for her. Another friend went out of town for three days and asked me to water her gardens. It's been excessively hot here for days and days, so watering is a big deal if we want anything green to live, and it all has to be done in the morning before ten o'clock while the temperature is still tolerable. Then I got stung on my left leg by something I couldn't identify and I had an allergic reaction. It hurt and itched like crazy. My ankle swelled, even though the sting spot -- which turned out to look like a major bruise -- was just below my knee. It was just weird. I took Benadryl and it knocked me out. Yada, yada, yada. Sorry, to bore you with the details. It wasn't fun. But it's much better now. . .almost healed. 

"Give all your worries and cares to God, 

for He cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7

For those of you who would be comfortable doing so, I'd like to ask you to pray for a family in our church whose daughter was killed in a one-car accident a week ago Sunday. Her two year-old son was in the back seat. He's fine, no injuries. His mommy's death is so tragic, so sad. It is a reminder to me that each day is a precious gift from God and to remember not to take loved ones for granted. Hug them while you have them.

About a month ago I revealed my backyard garden project .







I told you I planned to do something with my enclosed garden to add more charm. This is how it looked then.

Little by little I've been working on it, and this is how it looks now.

I finally found a use for all the things I've been hoarding in my garden shed. I've had the hanging planters for several years.

This old mailbox -- picked up at a junk shop for $1 -- had been sitting on a shelf, waiting to be repurposed.

I had always planned to turn it into a flower box, but needed the right place for it. Mon Petit Jardin garden gate cried out for it.

But it still needed something to hang from the newspaper holder, so I painted a little 25 cent metal tray I found at the thrift store, punched holes in it and hung it with twine. The fleur-de-lis on the flower box set the tone for the signage.

A couple of years ago I picked up this chair at the thrift store for $2 thinking that I might actually try to restyle it with a new back, paint and upholstery. It has such great bones.

But after researching how to put on a new back I decided to scratch that idea. I mean, come on, I only have so many waking hours in a day and I've got better things to do with my time than take on a project of that magnitude. I knew, though, that I'd come up with something to help this discarded chair live up to its potential.

So I painted it, and stapled chicken wire (which I just happened to have on hand) to the back and seat. 

I molded the chicken wire in the seat opening to hold a coco liner.

Voilà! My chair has new life as a planter.

It holds a geranium, and two vines that will, I hope, eventually cover the back.

Ten days ago our garden group toured two gardens. The first one was full of cottage charm. I took photos of the garden and the home which I'll share with you in an upcoming post, but for now I want to show you one photo I took of this adorable wagon.

I've been seeing plates used in gardens all over blogland and have thought about how to incorporate some in my cottage garden. It seemed like I needed a focused spot to do this, and my little garden seemed like the perfect place.

I found these little plates at my favorite thrift store, Soroptomist, yesterday. They were only 10 cents each.

I also discovered this little cottage candle holder, which I thought would look pretty cute repurposed as garden art in mon petit garden.

I painted a wooden tray I had and "planted" that, too.

I may do a little tweaking as the summer progresses, but overall I think my little garden is happy with its new look. It was easily accomplished and cost only a few dollars. That makes me smile.

I apologize for not visiting and keeping up with all of you. I will be making the rounds now that things have settled down a bit. Thanks for hanging in with me. Hugs.

Cottage Living - Tuesday with Mary

"A bosom friend—an intimate friend, you know—a really kindred spirit 

to whom I can confide my innermost soul. 

I've dreamed of meeting her all my life." 

-- Anne of Green Gables

God has blessed me with wonderful friends through the years. I've lived in six different states, and have lost count of the number of moves I've made within each of those states. I know, though, that's all totaled it's pretty close to 30 times, give or take 5 moves. I always wondered as I said good-bye to one home and set out for another if I'd again find that one woman who would become my "bosom friend." I wondered who she would be, but I never doubted that she would come into my life. God always has been faithful to bring her.

After this last move, to a little mountain town in NE Oregon, God brought Mary. Mary with the crystal blue eyes and beautiful white hair. Mary with the deep throaty laugh that lights up her face. The woman of faith who has grieved the loss of two beloved husbands and has now come to a place in her life where she most likely will remain single. She's five years older than me. I call her "Big Sister". She is my bosom friend, my kindred spirit. We built our small cottages at the same time, we both love to garden and decorate, and we both love Jesus. It's a friendship made in Heaven, for sure.

Spending time with Mary is the best kind of therapy, and yesterday I had the pleasure of enjoying her company for most of the day. She picked me up at 10:30 in the morning and we headed east through the countryside to Enterprise -- a 30 minute drive. Just enough time to catch-up on the latest news.

I pulled out my smart phone and took a photo 

while she drove.

"Are you going to blog this?" Mary asked.

I laughed. "Why, of course." 

She knows me well.

I didn't take photos of everything we did. Just the really pretty parts. You'll see what I mean as the day unfolds.

We ate an early lunch at Cloud 9 Bakery and Cafe in Enterprise, then stopped in at our favorite thrift store Soroptomist where I scored --  a gardening hat, tote and some vintage dry goods.

After that we drove 5 minutes out of town to Alder Slope Nursery. In this photo I took at the entrance you can see a bit of the mountains rising up behind it.

Randy and Pam the owners of Alder Slope Nursery are really nice. We have two excellent nurseries in the county, both family-run businesses. In case you're wondering, this is not the nursery where I worked last summer. I'll have to do a post on that one another day.

Mary and I spent a lot of time exploring and managed to fill up her trunk with flowers and veggies.

By the time we finished it was time to drive 10 minutes to the town of Joseph for a kick-off meeting of The Garden Group. Here's where this post gets photo heavy, and you'll soon see why. 

The woman who hosted the meeting has a beautiful view of the mountains from her backyard.

But it was her garden shed that won my heart.

In addition to being an accomplished gardener, she's an artist. Can you tell from her door?

I really haven't seen a garden shed this charming in person.

It's a hard-working shed, you can see that by her tools and supplies.

At the same time she's created a sweet sanctuary.

Even her storage containers are a delight for the eyes.

Did you notice the broom?

Such a cute garden shed.

Speaking of cute, how darling are the bunnies peaking out of this flower box on the shed's exterior.

I'd like to add flower boxes to my garden shed.

Soon it was time to leave The Garden Group and accept the invitation of one of the members to drive over to her home. She's in the process of dividing her Grape Hyacinth and offered to give us some. How could we say "no" to that?

D's vintage home is delightful. I'm crazy about her brick walk.

I took a photo of her garden bed for you.

You can see she has a lot of Grape Hyacinth. GH pairs so well with Daffodils.

D dug up and gave each of us a bag of Grape Hyacinth. Then it was time to return home. But not before D took a photo of Mary and me with the spectacular mountain view in the background. 

I thank God for my friend Mary. The older I get, the more precious friendships mean to me. Thanks, Mary, for a fabulous day. Love you, Sis.

And now I'm off to clean up my garden shed, plant Grape Hyacinths and some Snapdragons and other things I picked up at the nursery, and dream some cottage garden dreams.

Have a great day wherever you are.