Winter Clean Up

Instead of painting I've been busy cleaning up my yard and trying to clear the mess from all the oak trees.  Weeding is a top priority right now too.  I love getting outside and breathing in the fresh air even if I do have severe allergies.  It really clears my mind and restores me.  Oh how I wish I could drag my paints and brushes outside and not worry about particles landing on my canvas.  Hey Rick,  I need a screened in porch.

This is the second year for my clematis and it has performed extremely well.

The flowers are huge!

I was able to capture this butterfly in my lilacs, although he was not cooperating when I asked him to spread his wings.

I'll be planting these soon.  

My poor weeping cherry tree didn't make it through the dry winter, but my columbine survived as the dogs trampled over it all winter.  Did your trees and flowers survive the weather?

How Does Your Garden Grow…..

I've been busy cleaning up the flower beds around the house since we finally have some good weather. The first day I went out and pruned back 10 rose bushes and had the blisters to prove it.  After waiting a few days for those to heal, I headed back out to prune the remaining two in the front yard.  This time I ended up with a very swollen hand near the joint of my right index finger.  A couple days later it was very red, swollen, and warm to the touch and I could hardly move my index finger.  I looked up rose thorn injuries on the internet and knew I didn't want "Rose Thorn Disease".  I headed to the doctor yesterday and they put me on antibiotics for a week.  Today it looks a lot better and hopefully will heal quickly.  If you work around roses a lot be sure to wear gauntlet gardening gloves.  I will be purchasing a pair real soon.

My lilac is blooming and sending it's wonderful aroma through the air as you open my back gate and enter to the back porch.  What a lovely greeting!

This morning I learned how to take out the power lines in this image using photoshop.

I put this clematis out last year and didn't get any blooms, but this year it is covered with buds and I'm so excited over the first appearance of the lovely flowers.  As I head down the stairs in the morning, I can see these two flowers through the landing window smiling up at me to greet the day.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Mother's Day!

A New Spring Apron

I finished my apron last week and completely forgot to photograph how I used grandma's old apron as a pattern.  Basically I just folded her apron along the seam lines and laid it on my new fabric and cut it out.  Her apron had darts, but mine doesn't and it really doesn't fit any differently.

I asked Amber to model it for me because I do dislike having my picture taken.  It's a little hard to wear an apron with a cowl.

I thought spring would never get here.  Yesterday I woke up to this weeping cherry tree in bloom when just the day before it was covered in buds.  It's always the first thing to bloom and reminds me of fireworks!  

Let's take a closer look.  See that nest in the center?  I'll be keeping my eyes on that.  

Spring is my favorite time of year in the garden.  I have so much to tend to and need to get out and get those leaves out of the beds.  How is your spring so far?

Snowman Print Giveaway Winner and Spring Garden

Two choices really stood out for me in this print "giveaway", but there can only be one winner as my husband says.  Letting everyone be valedictorian because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, isn't right.  So, our valedictorian and winner of the "Name this Snowman Print Giveaway" is Tanna at The Brick Street Bungalow.  Stop by and congratulate Tanna and enjoy her beautiful home and knitted creations.  The new title is "Chimney Smoke & Cheery Snow Folk"!  Thanks Tanna, I love it!

We've had so much spring rain that our roses have bloomed their little hearts out.

Our hearts and prayers go out to all the people in the midwest who have suffered loss of family members, homes, and those who were injured during the tornados.  

Come and Join Me In The Garden

I've been playing in the garden this morning and found this little visitor trying to enter the church.  You'd think he would try the rather large door below.   Maybe he's just peeking in on the congregation.  Not sure if it's a huge fly or what it is.

I'm thinking it a large fly with very fancy wings...

I've been editing my photos today with PicMonkey and have been pretty happy so far.

At 6:30 am every day I'm up and watering to try and keep everything alive in this sweltering heat.

My grass is fried but my petunias are still happy!

 The impatiens are pretty happy as well...

I'm also having fun making collages on PicMonkey...

Is your grass fried?  I'm talking about your lawn.

Catherine Holman

More Gardening and What's On My Paint Table

Thanks for putting up with all my garden photos, but gardening is what I'd rather be doing in the summer.

Here is the entrance to the back yard....

our front entrance.... don't look at those bushes. I'm trimming them next week.  I've always waited until the first of July so I don't have to trim them twice.

coneflowers that seem to come up in different places each year....

roses and hydrangeas....

vibrant petunias....

flowers inside the back gate....

and more....

I had to drag myself inside to get going on this new folk art painting.

It should be finished tomorrow and I'll be listing it on eBay.

Please keep all the people across the country who are suffering from fires and floods in your prayers.  My sister in law and her family are in Colorado and are pretty near one of the fires.

Our Backyard Project

Come with me, grab your coffee, and we'll head out the back door where I'll show you around.

Oh, just a second, let me stop off at my laundry room and grab my garden hat.

The view from my laundry room window...

This summer we the guys replaced the floorboards on our deck and I scrubbed the boards that were replaced last year.  I just love the smell of new wood!

Earlier in the spring we did some landscaping filling in some vacant areas where the grass wouldn't grow and I transplanted some hostas.  

That stone patio in the lower right was put in a couple summers ago.

This is the view from that stone patio...

Looking back at my laundry room window from the deck...

Our deck is very shady all day long and impatiens really flourish here.

If you don't have one of these chairs you need to rush to Lowe's and get you one.  I got this for Rick for Father's Day a couple years ago.  It's like an outdoor recliner.  Just push back on the arms and you glide back into the reclined napping postion.  It also has a little shade protector that can be flipped up to keep the sun off your face. 

I keep that basket handy to throw the pillows into when rain threatens and I need to make a mad dash for the door.

Behind the deck is another little cobblestone path and lots of hostas....

I spend most mornings out here working and watering.  I do have another little painting that I've been working on when it's too hot to be out here.  I'll share it with you soon and other areas of my garden.



Catherine Holman

Men at Work

Recently we've been working hard in our backyard landscaping areas where the grass would not grow.   We added stone curbing to round out these areas and planted hostas and impatiens.  Other areas were filled in with pea gravel (the canine critters think it's pee gravel) so the dogs would have a place to get to the yard without walking on the flowers (I hope they are listening).  The dogs seem to think they need to water these hostas.  When I get on to them they look at me like, "You've left us very little grass lady so get used to it!"

This is my supervisor chair where I can keep an eye on the guys while they work and the dogs.

Come on boys, lets get with it.

Are you talking to me?

That t-shirt is great advertising for the Dari-B. It was established the same year my hubby and I were born. There are always long lines of people waiting to order their ice cream on hot summer days.  I might have to paint it sometime.

Make sure you measure twice and cut once bub....

Am I annoying you honey?  Honey....

I can't believe I got this job!  Last year a few of the deck floor boards got replaced and they were now grey.  I washed them with a mixture of Dawn dish soap, white vinegar, and liquid OxiClean.  I scrubbed with a brush on my hands and knees.  See the difference between the boards in the center and the ones at the bottom right.

Boys can you get me some tea?

My Secret Garden

This is my secret garden surrounded by a privacy fence and very few people get to see.

We live in an older home and the soil is very black dirt.  The yard at our previous home was hard clay and I had a very difficult time learning to garden.

I still don't know much about gardening, other than digging a hole and sticking a plant in it.  What I do know is that good dirt makes all the difference.

I love how my neighbor, Betty's, cottage peaks up over my fence in the photo below. 

I'm a lazy gardener and don't like to do a lot of digging to start a new flower bed.  Most of my beds were started by laying several layers of newspaper on top of the grass and covering it with about 3 inches of cypress mulch.  Next year the grass and newspaper will be gone and I can plant my flowers. 

We are still getting temps in the 30's on some evenings which is scary when so many of my plants bloomed so early this year.  How is your garden doing this spring?