Our backyard has gone through many transformations over the past two years. In one post, I wrote about our "
Roswell, New England crater," the spot where the old above ground pool sat, and which, little by little, is being transformed into a garden and patio area...

And this is our little shed, or at least a corner of it... It sits next to the old free-standing
treehouse.
(It seems like just yesterday that the girls would have Mr. O'Malley climb the stairs into the treehouse to play with them...)
We've had the shed for about 2-1/2 years now. It sits where the girls' old wooden
swingset used to sit. I suppose this is a natural transition for yards once the children who played there have become young adults; but years ago, the deck was a great place to sit and watch them play on the swings, in the pool, or in the
treehouse...

This photo was taken last year, our first summer with the shed. Before planting flowers in the windowboxes, I decided to change the color of the shutters and
windowboxes, as we'd only had a small selection of colors to choose from when we purchased the shed.
(As you can see from this photo taken late last spring, the treehouse hadn't yet been gussied up with an old window and windowbox... That was done later that summer.)
Since I had picked a
vibrant (some might say 'gaudy') green for the
windowboxes, I thought it might be a bit much for the shutters as well. Although I'd never seen white shutters on a white house (or shed) before, I thought I'd give it a try.

When
all was done, I actually liked the 'white-on-white' look of the shed and shutters, with the only color being provided by the
flowerboxes. Just a few weeks ago we put lattice around the foundation and planted
hostas on either side of the double-wide doors.
(Since they grow so quickly, I'll probably end up separating them from time to time, which is a plus since I have several other areas I want to put hostas into.)

Remember this photo from my "
Old windows and flower boxes - a match made in Heaven" post back in May? I was so anxious for my impatiens to grow...

Here they are now. The impatiens really flourish in these northern exposure
windowboxes, and the
vinca vines now reach the ground. By this time of the summer, my impatiens always look better than any of my other flowers. They don't care if I fertilize and they don't need to be dead-headed... They're actually the perfect flower for a lazy gardener like me!
As you can see, Mary has once again been moved. She is now in her (I think) permanent home under the cherry tree, watching over the garden... Now I need to get out and enjoy this beautiful afternoon as we're finally rain-free for a change!! (And believe me, I wish I could send some of our rain to you gals who need/want it so badly!)
Donna