Wednesday, May 21, 2014

NaNa's Garden

My garden is finally coming alive. The days are starting to be warmer, even if only for a few hours in the afternoon, but that is helping to green everything up.


I was out in my yard today with my granddaughter Chloe, playing ball and looking at all the different things in my gardens, some vintage, some getting there!

I always go thrifting with buying for my shop in mind, but occasionally......okay, more than occasionally.......I keep a few things! This red metal chair is one of them. Partly because it is big and too heavy to ship and mostly because I love it and it is red!


I saw this castle in a catalog and my husband surprised me with it as a gift.


He also surprised me with this fairy door and windows. Around the corner from the castle is where the fairies live. We had this thing about circling items we wanted in catalogs as gift ideas. It definitely makes it easier to decide what to buy for each other and you always get what you want!


Chloe loves to go over and pet the deer. I got it at a yard sale where I practically had to fight the guy for it. He was selling it but reluctant to let it go because his late mother painted it. I am happy to have her just to watch Chloe go over and pet the "mommy" deer.


This bleeding heart was very small when my husband bought it for me. It must be planted in the right place because it is thriving there. The metal frog with the pink flower was a gift from my friend Lisa.


Chloe is a natural! A perfect pose next to my made in Mexico metal sunflower.


I have a lot of frogs in my gardens and this couple is my favorite. I think of it as me and my husband! Surrounded by Hosta and tiny blue Spring wildflowers, he is hiding a bouquet of flowers behind his back waiting for the right moment to present them.


We "inherited" the Christmas tree ferns when we bought the house. They are such a beautiful shade of green and just fill in everything beautifully. They multiply too so they are popping up all over my yard and they look great all the way to September. There are Lily of the Valley sprinkled in there too. I love the random, wild look of a garden as well as the perfect manicured one, so I left this area to grow where they may.


A Jim Shore frog lives in the ferns every summer.


Chloe is mesmerized by a tiny red spider crawling on the stepping stone my son made at school.


I love this terra cotta bird bath. I got it in the early 90's at the Renaissance Faire in Sterling, New York. Made by a local artisan, it has a frog perched on a leaf.


This bird bath was found at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in nearby Canandaigua. It is totally rusted cast iron which makes it perfect for a vintage junkie like me. The plants are Marguerite daisies, a gift from my daughter Jena, that will soon be a mass of tiny white flowers. Next to the daisy bed is my orange Daylily, my most favorite flower of summer. Growing up we had the exact ones all along the side of the garage. 


I was so intrigued by gargoyles after seeing them displayed all over the gardens at a summer cottage we stayed at. I had to get one for my garden, but just a small one. They are a little creepy looking! The background plants are chives which will have fuzzy purple flowers on them. I transplanted them from my farmhouse 18 years ago!


I bought a tree face for my husband one year which started a must-have trend for our yard. As you can see here, four trees have faces on them, each one a little different from the other. They do make an interesting addition to the garden. That's my kitty, Miss Kitty, perched on the brick fireplace.


More Christmas tree ferns all along the garage and Chloe in her Cozy Coupe. The CM on it stands for Christian Michael, my almost 16 year old son. It was also used by my first granddaughter Cassidy who is now 9 and will be used by Jeremy Craig (JC as they will call him), due in September, when he is old enough. Those Little Tikes toys last forever!


Chloe found it a fun game for me to chase her around the path with the stepping stones around the tree. I had to slow her down because of all the roots coming out on one side. My husband spray paints them every year not to stumble on them when making his way to the grill.


At one point she wanted to hop around. It was really hard for this old body to do that, even with two new hips!


I think the new growth on the pine tree is so pretty! It is a huge tree and the focal point of our yard and gardens.


I have always wanted to live by water, probably from going to the Thousand Islands every summer as a kid. I just love the sound of water nearby. Well, I kind of got my dream. There is a creek (really a water run-off) running under our yard from the other side of the street, and then along the back of our yard. When the water is high there is a constant sound of rushing water in the air. I'll take it!


If you made it to the end, thanks for taking the tour with me. It actually helped me see all that we've accomplished in 18 years. There is so much more to do and maintain but I am not in a hurry. I do what I can, one day at a time.

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these great blog hop parties:

Wednesday's Adorned From Above
Fluster's Creative Muster Linky Party
A Little R & R Wednesday Linky Party
What's It Wednesday
Fishtail Cottage Garden Party
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Home and Garden Thursday
Feathered Nest Friday
Fertilizier Friday/Flaunt Your Flowers
Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Weekend Retreat Link Party
Weekends Are Fun Blog Hop
Pink Saturday
Strut Your Stuff Saturday Link Party
Amaze Me Monday
Make It Pretty Monday
Masterpiece Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
A Return to Loveliness
Cottage Garden Party
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
A Little R and R

33 comments:

  1. Chloe certainly is enjoying the garden. I loved the tour. Your garden is full of memories as the years passed. It was a lovely journey.
    Blessings, Catherine

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  2. Enjoyed the tour - thanks for sharing your space.
    Hope you are having a great week.

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  3. You have so many awesome treasures around your garden! It looks great. If you remember where the home was that you got the deer from, you should leave a note with that photo to let him know that it is a treasured and loved piece of your garden. I'm sure it'd mean a lot to see his mothers deer being appreciated :)

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  4. fantastic garden...I would love to see you share your post over at this weeks garden party (just uploaded) on my blog! xoox, tracie

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  5. What a great garden! I love all of your little surprises tucked in there. My favorites are the metal sunflower and the birdbath. Thanks for the tour!

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  6. What a fun post. I loved your tour you gave us. Your garden is just wonderful. I love the birdbath. I do not have a birdbath and I need to find a fun one. I like yours a lot.
    I also like the path to the grill.
    Thank you for the tour, I love touring gardens.

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  7. Thanks for sharing the beauty of your garden with us & for visiting me at Doorkeeper. Blessings!

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  8. I enjoyed your tour, Anne-Marie! Lots of interesting trinkets, and an adorable granddaughter!

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  9. A fairy garden with Chloe as the fairy queen ...just a lovely tour altogether! :)

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  10. Love all of your garden accessories...especially the red chair!
    Mary Alice

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  11. First, congrats on 600 sales!! Amazing, AnnMarie! Here's to 600 more!! Your gardens are so lovely & I enjoyed the tour. My favorite part is the winding walkway with the stepping stones.....and Chloe's sweet smile by the sunflower. Thanks for sharing!
    AntiqueShopGirl
    P.S. There are no options to sign up for replies. :(

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  12. I am totally infatuated with your garden!! And I love that red chair! I need one like that to go with the lovely vintage metal table I inherited from my husband's grandmother and now use in the craft room.
    Beckey
    http://www.etsy.com/shop/queenbsbusywork

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  13. Loved this post...the tree with the windows and the door like Pooh is precious. Thanks for sharing on the Thursday Blog Hop!

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  14. Loved your garden tour and hope to see more as the summer progresses. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. One day at a time is so right!!! I love everything that you have accomplished and your sweet granddaughter is adorable! Those ferns are just gorgeous and oh...to live by water like that is such a treat!!! The birdbath that you have in your flower bed is stunning...just a super finish to it and that red chair is a dream! Thank you so much for popping by my blog! I look forward to journeying along with you!!! A happy weekend to you friend! Nicole xoxo

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  16. Hi-

    I just found your blog this evening and what a treat.
    I love gardening too, and your granddaughter is beautiful.
    I would have kept the red chair too!

    I am a new follower-
    Enjoyed visiting,
    Laura
    White Spray Paint

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  17. I am visiting your blog from My Turn For Us. I loved the tour, I love gardens, yours has so many features its just lovely!! Your granddaughter seems to be enjoying herself too.

    I would like to invite you to stop by and link up this weekend as well.
    Enjoy your weekend, be safe!

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  18. I just found your blog. What a fun garden, I just love it and all you have done. Run off or not, the little water feature if fun!! And I think its cool that you and your husband circle things you like in catalogs, take the guess work out of gifts!! Love the miniatures!! Can you tell I just love it all!!! Come share!!!
    Have a great relaxing weekend
    Karren

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  19. That fairy door is just precious! I bet your grandchildren adore it!

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  20. I enjoyed the garden tour, lots of fun treasures and beautiful plants! :)

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  21. Wonderful Tour and so much to see. I came here from Tootsies. I have a similar birdbath that held half-round marbles until it tipped and spilled. Empty looks good.

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  22. Such a lush garden! Love your fairy door and windows and sweet little deer. Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY...
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  23. What a pretty garden - and what a special place to visit, with all the things to see and secret gardens-within-gardens. Lucky Chloe!

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  24. Very pretty! Love the castle!

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  25. Thanks for the lovely tour of you garden. Chloe is so beautiful and I know you enjoy having her around and teaching her. Love your Christmas tree fern and that you let it grow wild. It is beautiful.
    Thanks for stopping by Timeless Treasures and leaving a nice comment on my
    Junkin' treasures.
    Enjoy your summer.
    Audrey Z.

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  26. Your garden is quite enchanting, perfect for a little girl to explore - I will be featuring your post in this week's Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  27. Hi Anna Marie,I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I have featured you and this post in my Weekends Are Fun Blog hop. So come join in the fun check out the post and if you would please share it with your friends using G+ and Facebook. Hope you enjoy more traffic, have a great weekend, Karren

    Weekends Are Fun Bloghop with Linky

    Note: 26 comments so far on this post 5/29

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  28. Hi AnnMarie! Beautiful photos and grand girl. I love that fairy door. Such sweetness. HPS to you and thanks for sharing.

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  29. Hi AnnMarie, it's me again! Wanted to let you know I am doing a little feature on those who participated in the April photo diary - I should have it posted tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

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  30. Lovely garden! I do appreciate you sharing with A Return to Loveliness,
    Kathy

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  31. SO happy the winter is far, far behind us! What a lovely retreat you have created!

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  32. oh what a delightful blog. i see we are both garden lovers and collectors of all things beautiful. I have a small collection of baskets too. blessings.

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  33. What fun to get a tour of your backyard. I have to tell you that my heart has been stolen by the fairy castle. I am in love with it. I popped right onto Google to see if I could find one. No luck :( I have a fairy garden that I made in a tub that I posted back in the middle of June this year. We also plan is to create a fairy garden (village) on the island around a white pine tree in the backyard. I hope you post pictures of the daisies when they are in bloom. DH just cut down the remains of the Alaska daisies in the flower beds yesterday. I want to move them to the back of the lot and put in some daisies that don't get quite as big around the side of the house. I loved the pathway too. The stepping stones are darling on the walking path, is that vinca and pachysandra? And ferns are marvelous. I miss my old house with all of the trees and shade in the backyard. Your yard reminds me of the yard at our old house.

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