Early Summer Garden

Hello my friends,

I am always amazed at how the garden is continually changing.

 

One must be careful, if you blink an eye you might just miss something.  I did miss my French Lilac.  It was in bud before we left for vacation and spent when I got home.  :(

 

I snapped these photos of our garden before we left for vacation last week.  Upon returning home things look entirely different now.

 

Two of my Clematis were putting on a show.  Now they are spent and two new ones are taking center stage.  I'll share them at a

 later date.

 

 

 

 

Some of the blooms of this "Nelly Moser" are huge.

 

I love the intricate centers.

 

I picked the last of my pink peonies today to share on Instagram.

 

The purple Sweet Rockets are spent and will be cut back for a second bloom.  Never as pretty as the first, but still adds a bit of color to the garden.



Kissed with water from the morning watering.

 



 

 My white Peony only had three buds and they were just starting to open when we left. . .yup, missed them.  :(

 

This bloom was trying hard to be noticed behind the

feathery fennel.

 

 

 

I have four colors of poppies in my garden.  Orange, red, white, and salmon.  I love each and every one.  Here orange and red ones are tucked behind purple salvia.

 

 

An orange poppy with yellow Mrs. Bradshaw and Mtn. Bluet, (Perennial Bachelor Button). 

 

 

I have quite a bit of Jupiter's Beard along the rock wall.  It blooms for a long time.  Love the pink blooms!

 

 

We call this "Ada" flower.  It's really a Clustered Bellflower, but my mom's neighbor named Ada gave us the start.  It's really purple, but for some reason looks blue in this photo.

 

I planted a Mock Orange bush because I had one at my previous home and the smell was heavenly.  Weird, but this one doesn't smell.  So pretty, but a bit disappointing!

 

The spring trailers on the rock wall have all been cut back and new ones take over.

 

 

The snowball bush was filled with big beautiful blooms.

 



 

I have wanted to hang this old window from the pergola for a couple years.  Hubby finally did it.  I took this photo looking out my family room window.  I thought it was kind of fun.  Looking through the window at the garden through the window.  lol!  Wish I would have taken it when the Lilacs were all in bloom, next year!!

 

 

We had a wonderful vacation to Napa and Carmel, CA.  I saw so many gorgeous flowers.  It definitely gave me my flower fix, but it's always nice to come home to my own garden!

 

That's the joy of a perennial garden.  It's continually changing.

 

hugs,

Jann

I am sharing with Pam from Everyday Living for her new party
Gardens Galore

Garden Gate Love. . .

Hello my friends,

tonight is our last night in beautiful Carmel by the Sea.

 

We have had a wonderful three days in our sweet cottage rental.

 

I read about it in the Victoria magazine.  It has been everything I'd hoped it would be.  We are just a block away from the beach and downtown shopping and eating is in walking distance.

 

 

We have walked up and down the steep streets numerous times.  Each time we would walk a different street.  The garden gates were such a delight to see.  I must admit that I had a bit of

garden gate envy.

 

The lush ivy surrounding this one was simply gorgeous!

 

 

And how pretty are the flower pots gracing each side of these

two gates?

 



 

This gorgeous white one with the roses is one of my favorites. 

 

 

Some were a bit rustic.

 

 

 

I love how you see the flag when you peek through this

garden gate!



 

This gate was rustic, but the painted flowers on the home helped to dress it up.

 

 

 

The railing leading to this gate was totally covered with ivy.

 

 

Some had  pretty curves,

 

 

 

and some were adorned with baskets of flowers. 

 

 

 

Some were wooden pickets.

 

 

 

 

Others were made of iron.

 

Everywhere we walked I had garden gate envy.  And each and every one of them left me longing for more.

 

Oh how I yearned to wander behind the garden gates!!

 

And now I'll leave you with a little bit of  '7th heaven'.

 

 

hugs,

I am sharing with Pam's from Everyday Living new garden party:

Gardens Galore

 

 



Front Porch Sittin in the Summertime

Hello my friends,

hubby and I are vacationing in CA.  I decided to take a little break from posting Share Your Cup.  Not to worry, it will return next week.  :)

Summertime is approaching and we all need to take time out to enjoy it!

Before we left I readied our porch for some

front porch sittin.

Last year I had our glider, which use to be red; powder coated aqua for my grandsons wedding.  Hubby helped me bring it around to the porch.  Perfect for some
"front porch sittin",

wouldn't you agree?

I painted an old cooler that I had picked up at a yard sale to look like a flag.  It's a fun conversational piece to take on picnics.  I can see it filled with some summertime refreshment.  :)

The large wicker cone hanging on the old door in the corner use to be a planter.  I bought it from my friend, Paula; who hosted the "fleology" vintage flea.  I put a pumpkin in it last fall out by "hilltop cottage", my she shed.  It tipped over one day and the base broke off.  :(  Not to worry, still cute as a hanging planter!  For now I filled it with a cluster of flags.



The wicker stool was also a garage sale find.  I topped it with one of my old scales and added an old honey tin planted with a sweet potato vine.

I also tucked flags into the bucket planters hanging from the porch.  Everything will look much prettier when the plants fill out.

I added a few pillows and an Americana quilt for extra comfort.  I must admit, that the quilt will not stay out there.  It's one of my favs, and it cost me way too much to make to let it get sun faded.

We live in the center of a cul de sac.  At any given time there's generally a lot going on in our little circle.  The neighborhood kids  love to ride their bikes up and down our drive way because it has a slight slope. A few of them own mini ATV'S.  The teens are quite entertaining with their skateboards skills.  It certainly makes for some fun summertime front porch sittin!

Now let's pop open a Diet Coke and relax!

hugs,

Jann

I will be sharing with these fun parties:

Vintage Charm

Off to the Beach. . .

Hello my friends,

I'm sure that most of you know that I have been very busy helping my friend with her Aunts estate.

 

We have held 5 sales so far and there is still lots of treasures to be found in the home.

 

It has been fun, but also tons of work!

 

I'm in dire need of some R&R.

(rest and relaxation)

 

So guess what?  Hubby and I are off to the beach!

 

I have been running rampant with a nautical theme this year for my summer décor.  So why not continue with it for my kitchen tablescape?

 

 

Some time ago I picked up a bag of Americana paper items at our local thrift shop.  One of the things inside was a kit containing the supplies to make these little sailboats.  My granddaughter, Paityn saw them and wanted to make them for me.  I happily let her.  :)

 

I sat a little boat inside a shell and placed them on the

stack of dishes.

 

 

I've had these dishes for years.  When the wooden chargers started looking a bit beat up I sanded them more.  Now and then I think about repainting them, but haven't yet.  I had four of the striped salad plates made by Tag.  A couple years ago I found two more at a thrift shop.  I bought them just in case.  I only have four of the star trimmed dinner plates, but you never know when you might need another salad plate.  (wink)

 

 

Not sure if we'll get to do any sailing, but boy am I ever anxious to dip my toes in the ocean!

 

Last year I picked up a scrap bag at a quilters garage sale.  It was filled with precut sailboat squares and some navy fabrics.  I knew it would make a perfect table topper.  My friend Amanda quilted it for me.  I asked her if she could quilt it to look like waves.  Didn't she do a fantastic job?

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think I will look nearly as cute in my swimsuit as this sweet thing, but let's just not go there!  lol!

 

 

 

This fun tag was created by a blog friend, Dorothy from

Hensrule She showed it on Fb and I commented how cute it would be with my beach theme.  She's so sweet and sent it to me.

I love the two little fishing bobbers!  You guessed it, both them and

 

 

the cake plates are thrift finds as well.

 

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record.  I have two sets of these S&P.  Both found at thrift shops.  I have one on the table and one set in my tiered tray on our island.

 

The speckled tray did not come from a thrift shop.  I bought it at a damaged goods store.  ha ha!

 

This girl loves a bargain!!

 

 

I didn't want to cover up too much of the quilt topper, so I kept the centerpiece simple.  Lanterns hanging from the chandy remind me of something that might be hanging from a beach shack.

 

I added my seltzer bottle with the idea of, "staying hydrated".

You know how that sun and sand can dehydrate you.

 

 

 

And where are we going?  Well, a while ago I opened my copy of the Victoria magazine.  I thumbed through the pages and I saw an article about a fun resort in Carmel, CA.  I mentioned to hubby that I had a couple of blog friends that had been there and loved it.  He said, "let's book it".  We've booked one of their cottages only a half block away from the beach for 3 days.  Before we head there we are going to spend a few days in Napa.

 

We're doing a road trip, so I'm certain that I may be sharing more thrift finds with you in another post.

 

Happy Sailing,

 

Jann