End of Summer Blooms

I love summer and gardening.  My yard is at its peak in May-July each year; however, there are still some good blooms to enjoy into August and September.  One of my favorite flowers, Cosmos, are in full bloom right now!  In fact, they were going SO crazy along the entry to my front door, I had to put this little fence up to corral them in.  My husband thought I should cut them back...  now that's just crazy-talk!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This area is fairly newly planted.  A few months ago I decided to pull all of the boxwoods that were lining this planter.  I was able to give them to a friend and they are now thriving in her backyard.



 

We already had this amazing Weeping Cherry and Tree Peony.  They both bloom in early Spring.

 

 

 

Is there anything prettier than a clematis climbing up a birdhouse and blooming?

 

 

Here it is a few weeks after I planted the area.  Many of the flowers that were blooming back in May are done now, but the Cosmos are happy to keep going!

 

 

 

And because I love birdhouses, I had to throw this picture in.   The fern is a volunteer.  I love how it's growing around the birdhouse. 

 

 

What are your favorite flowers? 

 

Thanks for your visit!

 

Pam

 

 

I am linking to the following parties:

 

 

Great Time in the Garden and a Great Stuff Giveaway!

I absolutely love summer and working in the yard.

 

 We built this pond four summers ago.  The fish are getting huge and the plants are thriving.

 

Several birds are making their homes in my birdhouses.

 

There are three different birds checking out this house.  It looks like the one on the bottom right has already moved in!

 

 

 

There are several babies in this house.  The parent sitting here is very, very attentive and goes crazy if anything or anyone gets close.

 

I found this ladder last year for $2.  We built the flower boxes and added drippers for water.  The daylilies and coneflowers are some of my favorites.  The rose of Sharon to the right of the ladder hasn't started blooming yet.

 

 

What are your favorite flowers?

 

 

Now on to the giveaway!

 

The people at GREAT STUFF^TM have offered to give FIVE of my readers three cans of their products. 

 

Each winner will receive one can of each of the following:

 

GREAT STUFF^TM Pest Block

GREAT STUFF™ Gaps & Cracks

 GREAT STUFF^TM Work Wipes

 

I've tried all three products and love them! 

 

It's easy to enter!

 

You must be a follower of my blog to enter.

In your comment, let me know how you would use the GREAT STUFF^TM products! 

That's it!  Easy as can be!

 

 

 

 

I will be choosing the five winners using Random Number Generator on Thursday, July 25, 2013.  Be sure to leave an email address in your comments if yours doesn't automatically come through.

 Thank you to everyone who entered.  The winners have been notified by email.

 

Thanks for your visit!

 

Pam

 

I am linking to the following parties:

 

 

 

 

 

June Bloom and a Winner!

My absolute favorite time of year here is May and June.  After enduring months of cold, it is so welcoming to see all of the perennials come up and show their beauty.

These Lupine are stunning!  I love the plant in front with magenta, pink and purple flowers.  (and of course I love the "all pink" one in the back too!)  :)

 

The reflections in the pond look so neat!  The lilies and irises are blooming inside the pond.  The creeping thyme is really filling in around the rocks.

We love to sit here and relax.

The Delphiniums are so pretty in bloom.

 



Oh my gosh, the peonies are in bloom! 

 

 

 

 



 

The milk crate I planted last week is starting to fill in.  I used Wave Petunias and a Wallflower.

 

 

 

 

This clematis is starting to take off. 

 

 

 I'm eager to see this clematis start blooming all around the birdhouse.

 

 

 

Wave Petunias, Dahlias, Cosmos and Snapdragons in a pot on the driveway. 

 

 

What are your favorite flowers?

 

The Winner of the Graco Paint Sprayer is Jessica!  Congratulations to Jessica and thank you to everyone who entered!

 

Thank you for your visit!  

 

Pam

 

 

I am linking to the following parties:

 

   

Great Memories of Our Old Backyard



The other day I was on Pinterest and this picture popped up that someone had pinned from the HGTV site.  (I had originally uploaded it to the RMS site)   How exciting to see our backyard!  It was our old one that we put years and years into making our own.  We moved from there a few years ago, but have great memories of the place.

Here it was when we moved in in 2000.  Yes, a bit rough!!  :)

When we first redid this area, we had a swing set, as our kids were in grade school. They loved that thing! After they outgrew it, we put our firepit up there.  It was such a great place to relax!




This is actually after we had cleaned it up quite a bit.  I remember lots and lots of 2x6's stacked against the fence, rotting....  I think the prior owner's plan was to build raised beds.  Because the soil is clay, clay, and more clay, a lot of people do make raised beds.  We decided to rototill truckloads of compost in instead. 

Max would play for hours, chasing racquetballs. When he'd get tired, he knew exactly where to cool off. He would lay in the second level with the cool water flowing on his back. He would set his racquetball down and it would stay right there until he was ready to play some more. :)   HGTV also had this picture on their site for Pets in the Yard.  Max was a star!  :)

Thanks for your visit!

Pam

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Neat Old "Maid of Honor" Sink

I was out doing my normal Saturday garage-saling this morning and not having any luck!  I probably went to six or seven different sales without buying anything.  I then went to the west side of the city where I have had pretty good luck in the past.  Yes, I found stuff immediately.  (hmmm, maybe I should start on the west side from now on!)

I met a lady who was selling beautiful jewelry.  She had some banana boxes and old metal stuff off to the side that really caught my eye.   At first I was interested in the banana boxes, and although they were fabulous, they were pretty big and pretty much over my budget.

I then asked her about this sink. She gave me a price and I told her I'd think about it. As I was driving away, I decided that I had to have it! I quickly ran to an ATM and got more cash and hurried back and bought it.

It wouldn't fit in my car, so we came back later with the truck.  She said that several people had stopped to try to buy it.  I'm so glad I went back immediately when it hit me that I had to have it.  :)

I cleaned it and brought it in the house for now.  I might use it as a party cooler or maybe put it out on the back patio with annuals set in the tubs.  In the meantime it's in the downstairs kitchen.

She asked that I please not paint it.  I promised her I wouldn't!   I love the patina and love the rusty legs and wheels.

She was so sweet that she even gave me this picture as we had discussed our mutual love of gardening earlier. I love garden friends!

What a fun day of shopping!  I love the fact that I'm not looking for anything in particular when I go out, yet I usually come home with something that makes me very happy.

Thank you for your visit.

Pam

I've been nominated by Palatin Remodeling, Inc for Best Innovative Blogger.  The voting ends next week.  I'd love it if you would vote for me HERE!  You don't have to sign up for anything, it's just an easy click!  Thanks!

I am linking to the following parties:

Ivy and Elephants What's It Wednesdays

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style