Summer Days

I'm loving our flower pots this year! The hot pinks and lime greens look great together, and those tall red grasses with the soft plumes are so pretty blowing in the breeze.  We love to sit on our porch to have a glass of wine, or even to have dinner.  It's fun to visit with our neighbors as they walk by, too.
Scott made the patriotic barn quilt a couple of years ago.

This Peach Pecan Crisp was over-the-top good!  Our neighbors down the street have a peach tree, and they gifted us a nice big bag of fresh, sweet peaches, which we didn't know would grow so well in our climate!  We both thought great peaches were grown in Georgia, or also in nearby Michigan, which has a nice, temperate climate for fruit, because of Lake Michigan.  
This Peach Pecan Crisp (find the recipe here ) has a really crunchy, sweet topping that complements the tart-sweet peaches.  We topped our servings with vanilla ice cream.  Yum!

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

Happy Easter! 

We have had nice weather this past week, which has caused the garden to spring up almost in front of your eyes - like a Disney movie!  Ploop, ploop, ploop - voila, it's spring!

Dora, not so patiently waiting for Scott to throw the ball!

Little Buddy, not thrilled with wearing bunny ears!

Our apple tree starting to pop, our neighbor's redbud trees getting ready to burst, brilliant hostas...spring has sprung!  We were wearing winter coats in the past week!

Happy little violas, about the only bedding plants that are hardy enough for this time of year.  How cute are they!

More violas in my hanging basket (photo bomber is Scott).  So glad we finished our massive mulching/weeding project yesterday (when this was taken).  We had a big rain during the night, and everything is so pretty today.
Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday!

It's officially fall, but there are still glorious colors to be found in my garden, even one last hydrangea that still thinks it's summer!

New beginnings!

Design wall progress - hourglass blocks from "Cultural Fusion Quilts" (book by Sujata Shaw, see her blog here) + hand-dyed fabrics by Vicki Welsh (see her etsy shop here) = fun baby quilt! Fabrics on the right side are being auditioned for border and binding/backing. 

Spring piano recital was awesome!  I had a movie theme - all the students performed music taken from the movies, from Harry Potter to Mission Impossible to Star Wars! They all got fresh popcorn from our local theater to take home and enjoy.

It was a cold and windy Saturday, but we were all glowing inside with happiness over Danny's (my daughter, Hannah's boyfriend) graduation from Illinois Benedictine University!  He got a degree in Business Administration/Accounting WITH HONORS.  He finished his degree in night school while working full time.  So proud of this boy! 

Speaking of proud, I am so proud of Hannah, buying her first house (with Danny) at the age of 25!  They found a cute 3-bedroom house just 15 minutes from our house, which is great!  So excited for them as they make this house their home!

Emily and Matthew were here over Mother's Day (yay!), so we went over and walked the property of Hannah's house (we couldn't go inside, they haven't closed on it yet).  Such a cute house, and it's all landscaped!  All she has to do it hang up her American flag and move in!

I LOVE spring! Bought all of my annuals for my pots and window boxes, potting soil, a new clematis, and a hydrangea for Hannah and Danny's house.  Happy spring!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! I remember the first Earth Day, back in the 70s - I think I was in the 9th grade, full of hope and optimism.  Funny, that's still me!  One week of warm weather, and my tulips are groovin'!

Some more of the purple tulips are out - along with the dandelions, of course! Looks like I need to get a new clematis - it's usually climbing up the mesh around my gaslight.  I trimmed it back last fall, but I don't see it coming back this spring.

Our flowing crab is starting to burst forth as well!  We keep babying this tree, trimming it and keeping it going.  I had a tree guy want to take this tree out, maybe ten years ago! I just love it, and it adds a nice softness, and old-fashioned charm, to the front corner of our cute little house.  When this tree is in full bloom, it is spectacular! But then one big rain, or wind, and poof! It's over.  Garrison Keillor once spoke of the tremulous beauty of spring - I think that's what he meant:  lovely, sweet, but fragile.

I saw this beautiful sunrise as I was pulling into my office's parking garage this Earth Day morning.  It was even more beautiful as I backed out of my driveway, with the luminescence surrounding the sun, but I didn't stop to grab a picture.

And there is the moon, so creamy and white, low in the western sky.  What a lovely way to start my morning!

Spring has sprung!

Spring is here, time to get back to blogging!  We have been really busy around here, getting ready for a garage sale among other things.  The house is a mess - I can't wait for the sale to be over in two weeks! 

This weekend was absolutely glorious weather! Two solid days of high 70 degree temps, and poof! The garden flowers are popping out!

I have just a few hyacinths, nestled in with one of my favorite hydrangeas - which is budding out nicely.  The pink flamingoes, Emily and Hannah, keep watch.  

My favorite giant, lime green and gold hostas are spiraling out of the ground. 

These aliums have gone from tiny spouts to foot-tall plants in about a week! And if you look in the center, near the bottom, there is a bud! These are the giant aliums - my husband had renamed them "aliens" - are about 3 feet tall when blooming, with giant purple blossoms.

Tulips!  Scott and I both LOVE tulips, and are so excited when they start blooming.  I love these purple ones, alongside the sweet yellow iris, and my deep purple clematis (out of the picture to the right, climbing up my gaslight).
Back to garage sale sorting and pricing!

Clematis Garden Tour and One Alien

Oh no, another long gap with no blog post....time to play a little catch up, I guess!  I could play the "I've been busy" card, but I'd be preaching to the choir...who's NOT busy these days?  

So - no excuses, just get on with it - and try to post more frequently.

 Clematis #1, in my back yard near the patio.  Truthfully, our yard doesn't really have any 100% sunny areas, so I have to be creative with my gardening.  This clematis was just planted last year, so this is its first flowering.  I think they look like pink stars.

This used to be my favorite clematis - the classic deep purple variety that my mom used to grow - but it is just tiny and frail this year.  It seems to be having an "off" year, like so many sports teams.  But the sweet yellow (the leaves are yellow) iris are lovely! They were a gift from our dear neighbors, Peg and Jim, in memory of our first yellow lab, Maggie.  The iris variety is sweet and yellow, just like old Mags was. :)

Easily my most robust clematis plant, this one can be cut back and it still burst forth with vigorous growth.  This one has deep purple flowers, but it blooms later in the summer.  

And how about this stunner? First summer blooming for this beauty, too - a nice, pale lavender, adding some interest to my back fence.  I have to cross the back yard to see it, but those cutting through our alley (and many  neighbors to so) get to enjoy it daily.

We have quite a few alium or, as Scott likes to call them, "aliens", out front.  I am old enough to think of Sputnik when I see these 4-foot tall lovelies.  

Zigzag Quilt Decision; New Life; Best Garden Bargain Ever!

Finally getting somewhere on this project! I made a couple of changes, and I think I finally have something that both my daughter, Emily (the recipient) and I will like.  I added MORE fabrics (always a good choice, if you ask me), in warmer tones, and I also changed it to a scrappy, yet somewhat organized, layout. Someone told me once, when arranging flowers, you should always add yellow, to help the colors blend better. I think it holds true in quilting, too. Always add a little yellow.  And black.  And of course, lime green. Yay.

Someone new arrived this week! Meet Lena Mae, born to the lovely Kristin, who is the best friend of my daughter, Emily.  Kristin had told Emily about the birth right away, but swore her to secrecy until Kristin spread the news on facebook.  Well, Emily's excitement got the best of her, and she sent me an email yesterday, with the following subject line:  "Okay I cannot hold this in any longer".  (Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone else, and the news hit facebook later that same day) When I read what had happened, I burst into tears right there at my desk at work, happy tears. I have known Kristin for so long, and love her so.  Welcome, little Lena!

I just LOVE my newest hydrangeas! These three plants are all the "Bombshell" cultivar, somewhat similar to the "Incrediball", but smaller in stature.  Perfect size for the bed between my porch and the sidewalk.  I found the plants ON CLEARANCE at Lowe's late last year, for ....drum roll....$5.29 each!!!! I pounced on them!  Scott said, "how many do you want?" I got six!

Here's another Bombshell, by itself, in front of our bedroom window.  My window box has NEVER looked this good, the petunias are going to town! Geeves, the blue heron, is keeping watch.

Bicycle Race, Zig Zag Progress

Our town hosted a big bicycle race this weekend.  It is a one-mile course on city streets, one of which is only 1/2 block from our house! Here they are whizzing by!

Enjoying the race, and the beautiful day: Nick (Gen's bf), their cute dog, Buddy, Gen, and Scott.

Buddy is a chihuahua-papillon mix, and he is so cute, and such a cuddler.  They have been staying with us for a week - I'll really miss them after they leave!

These garden shots are from my neighbor, Peg's, garden.  She is a Master Gardener!

The arching red blossoms are called Lucifer - Peg was very excited that they were blooming, as she planted them a year or two ago.

Zig zag quilt progress - I have made what seems like lots of HST's (half square triangles, in quilt-speak), but I'm sure I need at least half this many more.  

Another view - I'm liking the fabrics up close, but I wonder if I need more, busier prints? More variety? Must hit my stash - or the quilt store!

Before and After

We have had a great summer for all the gardens in town! Just the right balance of rain and hot weather.  Driving around our pretty town is even prettier this summer - seems especially the roses and hydrangeas are just LOVING this weather! 

What else loves hot summers with a good amount of rain?

You got it - weeds!  This is one of my backyard beds that has been woefully neglected this summer! (sorry, neighbors!)  I finally attacked it yesterday afternoon.  Yeah, see those 3-4 foot tall bushy plants right in the back middle?  WEEDS!!!!  This is the before picture . . . 

. . . and this is the after!  Still not perfect, to be sure, but I filled TWO big trash cans full of weeds!!! Now you can the the plants that I and my neighbor INTEND to be there!  Her vegetable garden is behind the lattice fence on the left side, and her raspberry bushes are on my side of the fence (the property line was "weed central").  While I was doing this, Scott was on the tall ladder on what he calls the "scary side" of the house, cleaning the gutters.
We celebrated finishing out work day with some excellent steak nachos from our favorite place, along with some margaritas, out on our patio.  Lovely!

Garden Walk July 4th - Part Two - a little late!

I have matching flower pots on either side of the front sidewalk, just before you step up onto my front porch. This year's combination of colors, heights, and textures is a success, I think!

Front window box - love these happy colors!

Sort of a patriotic color scheme - red, blue - and green! So ok, the red is actually orange - but it works, no?

Garden Walk July 4th - Hydrangea Tour

I LOVE this hydrangea! I had read about this hybrid, called Incrediball - so-called, because of the HUGE blossoms, plus the stems are extra strong, to support the flowers. I found this at the local Home Depot, on clearance, last fall. I had to create a spot for it, on the spot - and loves it there. How about that?

Don't know the name of this one - I call it Cone-Shaped Hydrangea. We bought it at an awesome garden store in Chicago last fall. Remember the praying mantis that piggy-backed its way into our car? It was on this plant!

Hot pink hydrangea!

Last - but NOT least - our "crown jewel" - Oak Leaf Hydrangea. It is gorgeous! When it first bloomed, now, and into the fall. Hope you enjoyed my little tour!