Home Dec. Ideas

Kathleen.  Windows for sure.  Our little house is about 20.00 per month due to the windows.  I bought them when Sears was having a nice big sale.  We are where we get the ocean breezes too which can be something else depending on the weather.  There is only one window facing west so that helps.  I also got a new water heater which is key.  I always look for the big blue E on the tags. 

About the treasures.  I will get names and whatever else info and share it here.  I will also look it all up on google to see what I can find.  This will be fun.  We have an old Gibson stove in the main house which is a classic and I will save it at all costs and I bet it will cost.

Check out this fun and whimsical site. 

It caught my eye and struck my fancy so to speak while checking out seeds and garden treasures.

Olive Barn® | Sustainable Living Garden Home Store

Plus it's a GREEN place.  Kudo's to them for that.

Well Little Tina is a star and cute.

Not my garden but the building looks just like one of our small barns and will hopefully look like that picture when the flowers are in bloom.

I bought a Cecile Brunner rose the other day. 

They are great climbing roses and remind me of my childhood at my grandma's.

We have to plant most things in those wire baskets due to the mighty moles. 

Thanks for the johnnyseeds link. 

I tend to pick up packets of seeds on sale when I see them.

We have to watch out for frost here too.  It's a cold day today. 

Rain tomorrow hopefully for our dry state. 

Sahalie, rent a power washer (or a person to do it for you) to clean your wooden deck.  If it's pressure treated, that's all you have to do.  If not, its the best way to prepare it for resealing.  Takes off all the crap and stains.  Works for cedar siding too.

I have a patio made of stamped, tinted cement/concrete that looks like terra cotta tiles.  It's awesome, not as expensive as other things and easy maintenance.  Can't wait till it's warm enought to get out there!  

Love zinnias.  They look like candy, don't they?  Or frosting flowers.  We have a bakery down the street that makes zinnia cupcakes -- chocolate cupcakes decorated with one big frosting zinnia on top.  Ditto sunflowers.  Totally fun and delicious.

Kathie.   What a great idea.  I will do that.  Thanks.  Power wash and stain.  We are knee deep in projects.  We have to put new stairs on the little house and will widen them this time.  I think it will add charm to that little jewel of ours.  

Kathleen.  Your patio sounds beautiful.  I would like an exposed aggregate patio here rather than a deck but it would cost an arm and a leg to replace. 

I just planted one of these day before yesterday.  They get huge so I hope I put it at the right place.  I tend to over plant.  The picture below is a full grown one.  Mine is still about three feet high.  It's bare root so if it gets way out of control this year then I can replant it next year.

It's a "Kew Rose."

I think the Kew Rose is named after the gardens.

I love roses and will have to check out the two you mentioned. 

Is this it Tina?   http://www.rosesofyesterday.com/roseo.htm  

I love this thread.  It's a breath of fresh air. 

Tina.  I'm glad that is THE Rose place.  A tent player here too.  My kids would take all the cushions off the couches and throw blankets over them to make secret passage ways.  So fun.

Is this one of your chairs Tina?

Kathleen.  I LOVE those old to new again wonderful treasures from our past.   We sure were lucky to have what we had.  Now I find my kids love to find the vintage treasures too which makes me very happy.   One of my sons makes the most incredible benches and furniture out of the old barn wood from a couple of our old barns that just don't have the gitty up to stay up any longer.  One is actually being held up by a huge and I mean huge wild berry bush.  I'm talking 12 feet by infinity.

We found an old rusty frame of something a few years ago on the farm.  Have no idea where it came from as it must have been hidden away amoung the wonders in one of the barns.  It was just the frame so my son added wood slats to it and made me the most neatest plant stand or whatever.  I love it and have it in my back yard and in the spring and summer I set two of my huge asparagus ferns on it.  I love it.  Here is a picture (not mine) so you get an idea.

Mine is rusted and not quite as modern.  It's actually a shell of a stand.

Your stenciling and ideas sound wonderful.  Plus your great and frugal table finds.  Way to go. I really like your painting idea of the tables.  I've always liked tables with a checker board  painted on them.  So inviting.

Sahalie - I once found a wrought iron chair (like an ice cream chair) painted orange curb side for the trash.  My uncle cut out a board in a circle to fit the bottom which I then covered in batting and a cool material with seed packets printed on it.  I painted the whole thing red.  It was so fun.  A few months later they put the table and other 3 chairs out for trash pickup.  I had a whole set!

Now that it is officially spring, I feel the need to 'feather' my nest.

Oh, I wish you could all come here this summer for the Master Gardeners' Garden tour we have here in RI.  The Master Gardeners Program is run by the Univ. of RI extension service & each year they have a tour to raise money for the program.  It's awesome!   I have to try to post some photos I took from a past tour.  Both of these photos are from a garden down the street from me which was on the tour.  I love the little retreat, with the rocker, which was full of a collection of watering cans & gardening books:

Gotta get me some of those! I love integrating "things" into my gardens, benches, birdhouses, a wooden plane once, old watering cans, etc.

I once passed someone's house who had a bird house really high up in the tree. It had large letters on it that said "Air Mail". hehehehehehe 

Kathleen.  I'm back to me in my avatar.  I've tried my feet in my floppers as an avatar, me on a hill hike but back to me it is.  I like to change my furniture around too. 

Tina.  I haven't seen the British Country Living.  I'll have to take a look at it when I go to the book store.  I want to buy The Shack.  I've heard so many amazing things about it so I want to read it. First I have to finish the book I'm just about done with.  Tina, your avatar is showing up as the dreaded red x on my screen.  Anyone else?

Back to our house and garden basics.  Today was glorious and I totally wiped myself out working in the yards.  Also want to buy a new umbrella for the deck table.  We are due to high 70's the rest of the week and weekend.

Today I bought some new plants and one is an Aubretia ground cover. Purple in color.  My favorite. 

Next year it should be huge.  I love anything purple.

Happiness in the yard.  Bag of soil mix.  Bag of tiny bark for where ever.  Knowing where the trowl is.  and sunshine.

Barbe.  I have a birdhouse that one of my son's made for me.  I have no idea if the birds use it as it is in it's own little forest area and I don't want to bother it in case it is occupied.

Do you all save your dryer lint to put out in the yard in Spring for the birds to use in their nests?

I have about two cups full and will use a strawberry basket in a tree for them to find.

Have a nice evening everyone !

Sahalie