Musings of a Vintage Junkie: garden hose wreath

Showing posts with label garden hose wreath. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

As My Garden Grows

It has been especially hard this year to get the garden growing. I missed all the garden blog hops because mine just wasn't ready.

I blame it mostly on the cold weather. My garden is almost all perennials but I do like to plant annuals in pots for around the yard and the front porch. It just never fails here in the northeast that you just can't trust the weather until after Memorial Day.

At least my favorite Spring plants came back in a big way this year and flourished.

My Bleeding Heart is just huge and was full of gorgeous flowers.

The Quince bush bloomed profusely this year and my Forget Me Nots doubled in size and quantity.

I have been collecting new things for my garden since last summer. All stored over the winter, now being revealed in my garden at last.

I found this great fence at a roadside sale I just happened to drive by on the way home from Naples. I could not afford much of what the antique dealer had but the fence was $8 so I went for it.

I love how cute an old sink filled with flowers looks in the garden so I started looking for one. I found this one at the Restore. I am still looking for a faucet. The plates are a recent barn sale find. I filled the sink with my new favorite flowers, white Bacopa.

I could not pass this rusty milk can up, even though it would be the fourth one in my collection. The wheel is a barn sale find and the watering can garland is something I have had that rusted perfectly over the years.

I found this great door last year, also at a drive by sale. It was only $5.

I didn't do anything with it last summer because I didn't know if I wanted to paint it or distress it. I figured we'd put it away for the winter and then I would deal with it in the Spring.

Fast forward to Spring and I am wondering where my door is. My husband says, "oh, it's behind the grill". It never got put in the garage for the winter!

I am so glad because the fierce northeast winter weathered it so much more perfectly than I could.

I saw the idea for a garden hose wreath on Pinterest and I just made mine very simple. I just tied a garden shovel, a garden fork and some old gloves to the top.

I showed you a sneak peek of the door in my last post but I restyled it to this....
the little rocker a recent yard sale find.

Just around the right side of the same tree is where the fairies live.

And this is where the Royal Fairies live...

I mentioned a few times before that I was going to make a fairy garden in my big galvanized tub for my garden. Well, I decided that smaller is better and I am happy with my small enamel pan fairy garden.

I even found some small plates to add to her garden. The plants are small succulents and pink baby's breath. The little fairy just sits by her house all day admiring her lovely garden.

Next to the fairy garden the Poppy's are starting to bloom...

Instead of the fairy garden, I planted purple Bacopa in my huge galvanized tub again this year. Last year it grew to overflowing and was gorgeous. It is early stages....

In my middle garden, that needs a good weeding, I tried another new idea I found online.....a succulent garden in a bird bath. The birds never noticed this old wrought iron bath last year so I decided to try a new kind of garden. It has already grown and spread out.

I hung my blue shutter up again from last year and added a rusty star to the rusty shovel that was there.

Last year I found a huge ivy geranium to hang from my post that stayed beautiful all year. This year I decided to try and plant my own in the rusty old wire basket my daughter Jena gave me for Mother's Day.

I finally found a plant to survive in my aqua wire basket. It is a very hot spot and the planter is very shallow. Purslane seems to love those conditions so we will see how it does this summer. It has the sweetest pink flowers.

Along the house I have been digging out and re-doing the garden. It was so overgrown.
Last year I had a table with a chair and the shutters in this spot....

In one summer that poor table got so weather worn that I decided not to put it out in the garden again. It is being very useful in my new booth. So instead, I did a makeover on this vignette.

The chair was a roadside find. That is my Elephant Ear plant in the large galvanized bucket that hasn't started growing yet.

The plates are another cute idea I found on the many blogs I visit. I just happened to have a few left over from the garden flowers I made last year.

The large one to the right of the shutters is one I made for myself after making three others for gifts....Aqua!

My purple Iris bloomed this year after a no show last year. They are so pretty but seem to want to grow out instead of up. I know I need to move them but I am so afraid of killing them. They are unique!

I just loved these ceramic garden hands with two birds on them. It reminds me of the scripture Job 12:10 - In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

I found them at Rite Aid of all places!!

My Orange Blossom tree is a little late in blooming this year, which is magnificent when in full bloom. Here is a peek at it just starting to pop. That's my new birdhouse hanging from it. My husband got if for me from Wegmans.

I couldn't wait for the Margarita Daisies to bloom for this post, but they look about ready to pop too.

After a long day puttering in the garden, there is a place to rest and relax....

I can finally rest a little and, like my little fairy, just sit back and watch my garden grow.

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these fine blog parties:

Make It Pretty Monday

Talk of the Town

Share Your Cup Thursday

Vintage Charm

Thoughts of Home

Home Sweet Home
Anything Blue Friday
"Anything Goes" Pink Saturday
Dishing It & Digging It Link Party
Happiness is Homemade Link Party
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
Top Recipes, Crafts, and Tips of the Day from Plucky
Best of the Weekend
June Garden Party

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Five Random Things Plus a Recipe!

Time for another "random things" post (otherwise known as 5 things happening in my world that would take me five weeks to write them all out as individual posts!)

1 - I have the perfect recipe for all those luscious homegrown red tomatoes you have been or will be picking and don't know what to do with! It is called Fresh Tomato Garlic Pasta and it is from a great cookbook my sister sent me when she moved to Florida 20 years ago.

Simple to make with simple ingredients and it is SO good and fresh tasting. You have to make it ahead, in the morning of the day you want to eat it, so that all the ingredients have time to become delicious together.

Here is the recipe:

4 large ripe tomatoes, diced

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large sprig fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed

1 pound pasta, like penne

Parmesan/Romano cheese as garnish

The night before or early in the day combine all ingredients EXCEPT pasta and parmesan.

Stir well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but not more than one day.

Stir once or twice while in fridge.

When ready to serve, prepare pasta. Coat with sauce; serve hot or cold with parmesan.

It is delicious both ways.

The final plate with penne pasta and romano cheese....

2 - It was finally warm enough for me to go watch my granddaughter Cassidy's baseball game. She is eleven and the only girl on her team, the Marion Knights. Her Dad is a coach and her Mom is the score keeper. So proud of her and how she holds her own with the boys. She plays third base or short stop. Here she is ready to smack the ball.

3 - I have been working on my garden, getting things planted in pots and putting all my new, fun garden things out. It has been slow going because of the cold weather but we are having high 70's - 80's now so I am playing catch up.

Here is a sneak peak of two of my new additions to my gardens this year.

My weathered door and garden hose wreath I made this year

A sink garden with white Bacopa and vintage plates

Once my yard and gardens are ready and done I will do a whole post on all of my new treasures!

4 - Huge score at my local Goodwill. It was another "thrifting on a whim" kind of day and I found so many things that I was there for an hour and a half while my frozen tilapia was melting in my car. It is grocery shopping day but the thrifting bug bit me hard! Some will go to my booth and others to my Etsy shop. I might have to keep the little fish.

I need some help here. Does anyone have any idea what this cut glass, crystal beauty is? It is on a marble base with no way to wire it as a lamp. The fancy brass top screws off. I just had to get it but I don't know what to call it to even search it. I was asking customers at the Goodwill to help me out. No one knew. Help!

Since I first posted this, I found out that this stunning piece is a Scales of Justice. It should have a hanging scale on either side. After reading Betsy's comment about using this pretty crystal stand to hang necklaces, I had to try it. What do you think? I love it!