The new patio tent and a mish-mash of flowers...

This is the new tent we picked up last week for over our little backyard patio.

We would love to have gotten a few more years out of the old tent...

... but during the high winds and heavy rains of the past few weeks, several branches fell right through the tent to the patio below (Glad I wasn't sitting out there when it happened!).

 And although the little white wicker set under the tent is water resistant, it's not waterproof. As it is, it's deteriorating faster than we'd like so we want to keep it as dry as possible to get as many (more) years out of it as we can.

 While I was out photographing the tent, I noticed one of the bright clematis blooms right by the deck. I focused first on the new tent in the background....

... and then on the clematis bloom right next to me. I have to say, I'm really pleased with my little Canon Power Shot Point & Shoot. I know it's nothing fancy, but it has served me well over the years.

I did the same thing on the other side of the deck, focusing first on the impatiens on the dining room window 'screen feeder' flower box...

... and then on the clematis cascading across the arbor over the back yard gate.

This last photo is just the hanging basket I put together that hangs from the deck with the girls' old tree house in the background.

A couple of posts ago I shared a photobomb I recently captured, and in my next post I'll share a videobomb that I caught today! It's all in the timing...

I hope you are all having a beautiful weekend. 

Donna

A Fuchsia Sunset...

The last few hours before the sun sets are my absolute favorite.

This is the view when I'm sitting on the patio down in the backyard...

I usually sit on the settee in the center because it's easy to see both of my hummingbird feeders from there, and the hours before sunset are the most active for these little jeweled birds!

I can see the feeder that hangs from the mulberry tree...

(being visited by the female hummer here)...

.. and the one that hangs from the swingset deck sitting area next to the honeysuckle vine

(being visited by the male hummer here).

The patio becomes an almost magical place to sit and unwind as the sun starts to set...

The fuchsia plants that hang from the tent over the patio are brilliant as the sun streams through the blossoms.

I'm always amazed that the hummingbirds pay little attention to the fuchsias. They occasionally visit them, but definitely seem to prefer the feeders and the honeysuckle vine.

I tried planting cardinal climber from seed last year, but they hadn't even flowered by the time the hummingbirds left in September...

... so this year I bought well-established plants to climb the small twig obelisk we made last year. I certainly hope these flower long before the hummers leave in September!

My beautiful irises put on a spectacular show this year.

These photos were taken at the very end of May, when they were at their peak.

Their bloom time has now come to an end. I desperately need to plant more perennials that bloom later in the season. Other than some annuals and my honeysuckle vine that give summer-long color, it seems that most of the perennials I've planted are early bloomers. But all in good time...

After all, it was only 5 to 6 years ago that the backyard looked like this. We were left with a large crater after taking down our old above ground pool.

So rather than focus on how much still needs to be done, I think I'd rather reflect on how much we've accomplished over the past several years, transforming the "Roswell crater" into a little garden oasis that attracts a wide variety of birds and little critters (my beloved "Sammy" Squirrels and "Chip"munks!). The fact that they all make their homes in our garden and/or visit us on a regular basis makes me oh-so-happy!

Wishing you all a beautiful week...

I'm joining Claudia, Mockingbird Hill Cottage for A Favorite Thing Saturday,

Brenda, Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday.

Tracie, Fishtail Cottage for Cottage Garden Party
and Cindy, My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

Donna

Hummingbirds and honeysuckle vines....

Honeysuckle is my way of thanking the hummingbirds who visit our little backyard.

 They provide so much entertainment for us that back in May, I bought three more Major Wheeler honeysuckle vines for them.

We planted one at the base of the arbor by our backyard gate.

With any luck it will climb over the arbor and I'll be able to watch the hummingbirds who visit it from the deck or the dining room window.

We planted the other two on the front posts of our swingset deck sitting area.

One of the vines was planted on a post right next to the honeysuckle vine that is already growing on our homemade obelisk.

We're hoping that in a few years' time, the honeysuckle vines will grow up the front posts and then start traveling across the old monkey bars!

 While the hummingbirds do visit the hanging fuchsias on the patio, they definitely seem to prefer the honeysuckle.

Of course they also love their feeders, so I always make sure we have fresh sugar water for them. This single feeder hangs from the swingset.

A larger feeder hangs from our mulberry tree. The arrow is pointing to the female hummer resting on one of the branches...

... right before she visited the feeder (how I'd love to have a telescopic camera lens!)

The third feeder hangs from our deck...

... and, as you can see, Mrs. Hummingbird was enjoying her sugar water when I took this photo last week.

 

Photos of our honeysuckle vine on April 28th (left), May 2nd (right)...

... and then a photo taken this evening.

Our oppressive (hot AND muggy) weather has broken and it's been glorious - mid 70's and dry, so I really enjoyed my time in the back yard after supper tonight. And while sitting on the swingset deck I was able to catch videos of both the male and female hummers at the honeysuckle vine (within minutes of each other)...

The male stopped by first...

...  and then the female paid a visit.

One more that I shot of the male.
(You can really see his ruby red throat at the 32 second mark!)

I know I've shared this in the past, but here's a quick way to make sugar water for your hummingbird feeders. It cools down in a fraction of the time that it takes the normal recipe to cool off!

Quick Hummer Solution: Put 1 cup water in saucepan. Put 1 cup sugar in saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. As soon as it starts to boil turn off the burner. Add 3 cups very cold water to the sugar solution and stir. And that's it!  Now it will still need to cool down before you fill your feeders (I always check it with my finger to make sure it has cooled enough), but it's just ready so much quicker than boiling the entire 4 parts of water and then having to wait for all 4 parts of water to cool!

I'm linking to Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home this week.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Donna

Whitewashing the birdhouse...

 Our poor old birdhouse really needed some freshening up.

 It was inexpensive to start with, and has fallen apart over the years, but I love the shape of it and am willing to glue, screw, and repaint to keep it going for many more years!

This is what it looked like last spring after a very rough winter where high winds had blown it off its post. Hubby spent a lot of time putting the pieces back together again.

Hubby built a new, strong base for it so it wouldn't blow off anymore. But, boy oh boy, did it need a new paint job.

To be honest, I actually like the rustic, weathered look.

But I also want the wood to last a l-o-n-g time...

... so I got out my white paint and gave it a fresh coat of paint..

Hopefully that will keep the wood from rotting any more than it already has. Don't you just love all our landscape fabric? We desperately need more plants and more bark mulch back here. Hopefully soon.

These photos were taken just last Thursday.

Look at the difference in our flowering cherry tree, just 7 days later!

It won't be long before the salvia at the base of the birdhouse is blooming and the vinca vines are once again cascading out the birdhouse windows. I can't wait!

And take look at the difference in our honeysuckle vine. Again, the photo on the left was taken one week ago, and the photo on the right was taken today. It is getting soooo green and there are buds galore. I've decided to plant two more honeysuckle vines to climb the front posts of the swingset.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We're looking forward to more beautiful weather. We're on a roll here in New England!

Donna