Periwinkle it is!

 It's one of my all time favorite colors, and yet I never decorate with it.

Until now!

I've had this old, beat up bird house that I've been wanting to make over. I don't actually mind the rustic siding. It was the dingy, dark green roof that really needed some sprucing up.

So I cleaned it off and gave it a quick coat of Bahama Purple by Delta Ceramcoat (which I believe has {sadly} been discontinued).

Much better! 

The perfect punch of color along the back fence.

The two birds came off of a birdbath that unfortunately did not make it through this crazy New England winter, despite having been covered under a tarp with a lot of other garden decor.

This last photo, with the bunny and the moon, reminds me of a favorite book I used to read to my girls when they were little, "Goodnight Moon."

This week I'm joining Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday

and Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.

I hope you all have a great week!

Donna

Our Pet Chipmunk

Sometimes I feel as though we really do have an enchanted garden, and the other afternoon was a perfect example. While it's not very big or fancy, our little backyard is filled with a variety of birds and little critters scampering about. And we've made some "enchanting" friends back there.

One day last week hubby and I sat back there and spent quite a bit of time with one of our "Chips," seen here taking peanuts from me.

Not wanting to play favorites, Chip divided his time equally between hubby and me.

We all hung out, just chit-chatting, admiring the garden, and enjoying a glorious summer day.

After a while, Chip decided he'd like to choose his own peanuts.

He may be small, but he's got a mighty big appetite!

A bit later, while tossing peanuts on the patio for Chip and some of his friends, one peanut ended up in the waterfall fountain.

Our little Chip wasn't about to let a bit of water stop him from retrieving that tasty tidbit, as evidenced by this short video:

I've made a set of "steps" by placing rocks, from small to large, along the inside edge of the lower level as it's a bit deep for small animals and birds and I want to make sure they're able to get out if they ever fall in. Chip was smart enough to climb down those rocks in order to reach his peanut. That's my boy!

Wishing you all enchanted gardens filled with magical little creatures!

I'm linking to Tracie's Cottage Garden Party at the lovely Fishtail Cottage
and Cindy's Show & Tell Friday at the lovely My Romantic Home this week.

Donna

Vintage Bird Cage Planter for the Garden, a DIY project

 I finally got around to setting up this year's bird cage planter!

For a while, it looked like we were going to attempt mounting the bird cage to the top of our birdhouse pole. We honestly didn't think we'd be able to put the birdhouse together again once it broke into dozens of pieces after a winter storm. Thank goodness we were able to save it (blogpost about the birdhouse here).

 It's so easy to make these birdcage planters. Most of the cages have tops that can be removed. If your cage has a tray, take that out so the water can drain out when watering. Just arrange your plants, and if you have any trailing plants (I put a vinca vine in each corner), gently pull the vines through the cage bars.

Once I had my vinca vine and impatiens arranged, I decided to add a garden statue (I should have thought of that before and arranged the flowers around the statue).

I decided on these two lovebirds as they're tall and will still show as the flowers get taller. I just pushed the flowers aside to make room for the statue. (The flowers and vines are all in their original containers from the garden center).

I love the little domed door and ornamental scroll work on the door of this old cage, not to mention the aqua blue base!

 I have an old white table that I use for this bird cage planter every year. It's the perfect size!

 The location on the deck changes from year to year. This year it's over by the fountain, which is also in a different location this year.

 It is so relaxing to sit out here on summer days and evenings (until the mosquitoes crash the party!)

 Generally there's no tablecloth on the table as I'm sure it could easily blow away on a breezy day. But I have several old, vintage tablecloths with minor stains or holes, and they're perfect to throw over the table when we are out there.

 And would you look who's been watching me take photos out here! I tossed a few peanuts in front of the slider and the Chips have been keeping her entertained! They all know by now that she's on the other side of the screen and therefore they're safe!

This is the baker's rack that you see in the background of the previous photo. Nothing special going on here. Just my always reliable impatiens and a few ground cover flats that will get planted in the fall. I love using ground covers for 'display' on the deck and around the yard until they get planted in the fall.

AS a matter of fact, here's another bird cage planter I have down by our swingset deck this year. It's very similar to the cage up on the deck, but a smaller size. I just stuck a ground cover inside of it for the summer months and then I'll plant it this fall.

 I'll have to share before and after photos of our honeysucke vine in the background. We planted that to climb a homeade obelisk a few years ago and it has done amazingly well in this spot! (The hummers agree!)

If you need more info on making birdcage planters, I have a DIY link on my sidebar that gives a bit more information. Check it out if you have any questions!

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

I'm hooking up to My Romantic Home's Show & Tell Friday this week.

Donna

A stroll around the yard...

It's been so beautiful lately, so I wandered around the yard and snapped some photos to share with  you...

I know I showed you the hoppa crab trees from inside the other day, but I had to take a few more because they are just so beautiful.

I'm not sure if Mr. & Mrs. Wren have officially moved into this birdhouse yet. They have been checking it out, along with others in the backyard. I'll keep you posted.

Every year we toy with the idea of cutting off the lower branches to make mowing easier. But every year we expand the bark mulch a bit more because we just can't bring ourselves to cut them off.

As you can see, these were taken almost a week later than the previous... The blossoms are now a pale pink and have started dropping off the tree at at a furious rate, thereby carpeting the lawn in pink.

I love everything about these trees, including their gnarly branches.

Goodbye, sweet apple blossoms. I will look forward to seeing you again next year.

Adding to the pink show in the front yard is our bleeding heart. It is, by far, the fastest 'grower' in the yard. One day I will see tiny sprouts peeking out from the bark mulch...

... and in record time, the entire plant has skyrocketed out of the earth...

... covered with the most perfect little pink bleeding hearts.

I didn't plant these (that I remember!) but they pop up every spring, adding some much needed color to a far corner of the yard.

The honeysuckle is loaded with buds, which I'm sure the hummingbirds are keeping an eye on, just waiting for them to blossom!

This photo is from several weeks ago. I had just take the plastic off of my vintage Mary garden statue, and she clearly survived another cold winter. The cement paver should be replaced and the birdbath in the background (along with all the others) needed to be cleaned when this photo was taken (all the birdbaths have now been cleaned and the birds are happily bathing and drinking on a daily basis).

So thank you for peeking through the garden gate with me...

Now let's sit in the Adirondack chairs for a spell... This is the view, looking skyward. The birch tree leaves are just starting to open, giving it a lacy appearance.

Dad got home from the hospital/rehab yesterday, and life is changing for all of us... I promise I'll get around to visit you all soon. There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day lately.

I hope you're enjoying spring wherever you are!

I'm linking up to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home... Come join everyone!

Donna

A new garden sitting area...

...or "What My Family Did This Weekend"... Now if that title doesn't sound like an elementary school composition, I don't know what does!!

(click any photos to enlarge)

Please ignore any broken pickets you see in the photos... We (and by we I mean hubby) have obtained some weathered stockade fence so we (and by we I mean hubby) are in the process of replacing old and broken pickets...


These Adirondack chairs have replaced the old wooden bench that used to sit here (which hasn't been safe to sit on for years!)... I've always loved the look of adirondack chairs, but they're quite expensive!! The good ones are anyhow... (Actually, the not-so-good ones are, too, as I found out once I started looking! I got these two at Target - one was discounted, one was regular price.)

We (hubby) had problems with the first one since some of the pre-drilled holes didn't line up, but by chair #2 things were going much quicker... Hubby said it would sure be nice to be able to buy something high quality and pre-assembled for once, but then we wouldn't have had all that quality time in the blue air (only kidding, the air wasn't blue... well, maybe just a little teeny bit blue once or twice...)


All in all, though, they weren't too bad to assemble. The entire seat and chair backs with the individual slats were already assembled, so it was just attaching those pieces to the frames and arms.


Once the chairs were finished, the first order of business was to hang up a hummingbird feeder...

... Would you like to join me to watch for them? We'll have the best seats in the house!

But while we wait, I'll show you around a little bit... See the little birdbath that hangs between the flowerbox window and the chairs? It's one of my favorites. I got it years and years ago at Wal Mart....

There are three little cherubs that sit around the bath, which is a great size for the finches, chicadees, and sparrows (do wrens use birdbaths? I've never seen a single wren in any of my baths even though I have wrens on a regular basis!)

My windowbox flowers look nice and healthy, but they sure aren't growing very much...

Of course, as you can see from this photo, they only get a few late afternoon hours of filtered sun because the trees block this area (to me, this part of the yard feels a bit like a little secret garden, tucked in behind the crapapple trees and the weeping branches of the birch tree... I just love it!)... The bleeding heart (under the hanging birdbath) that I transplanted from the backyard a few years ago, is thriving in its new location. The flowers are done blooming, but the foliage is still gorgeous!!

See these purple flowers next to the chairs?

Back when the girls were little, one just popped up one summer. I looked through all my gardening books (that was long before I had the internet) and as best I can tell, they are spiderworts.

They've multiplied by themselves over the years and have even spread to a few different parts of the yard now (all in garden areas, too - thank you bumblebees!!)

They are absolutely the most beautiful shade of blue!!!

And if you peek through the trees from the chairs (see them back there?), you'll be able to see the gorgeous rose bush I planted last year.

It is doing SO good and has so many blossoms and buds! I honestly did not know how it would do since it's my very first rose bush!!!

It's called New Dawn, and it has just a blush of pink on the roses. I planted it next to our old corral fence. It's a climber/rambler and I believe it reaches close to 15-20'...

I plan to train it along the fence.. I've seen gorgeous magazine photos of climbing/rambling roses covering old fences and my dream is that someday you'll hardly be able to see the fence through the flowers! ha ha

So thank you for stopping by today!!! Now let's go plunk ourselves in those Adirondack chairs (which are VERY comfy) and watch for our little hummer friend(s)!!!

Donna