Summer Garden Tour

Welcome to my little summer garden tour, being hosted by the lovely Tracey of Notes from a Cottage Industry. Tracey, who also hosted last year's garden tour, thought it might be fun this year to "focus on one specific idea, or spot, or project in your outdoor area."

So, with that in mind, I thought I'd focus on a specific idea, mine being using things for purposes other than what they were intended for.

This little birdbath planter rusted so badly that I didn't dare use it as a birdbath any longer for fear of poisoning the birds...

So for the past several years I've been using it in various spots around the yard as a plant pedestal. I usually buy a nice hanging plant, remove the hanger, and plunk it right down on the rusty basin.

This idea works just as well for inexpensive plastic birdbaths that don't hold water anymore...

...due to cracked basins.

This is the cracked birdbath last year, up on the deck...

...but this year it's down on the patio, sporting a hanging fuschia to attract little hummingbirds (oops - still need to removed the hanger!)...

I have no idea what this is, but I call it "the white cage thingy." It's all enclosed so you can't even put anything inside of it - not even a little votive candle. I found it at the dump last year in the "free recycling" area. It consisted of this cage type structure, a long white chain, and a hanger. Conversation that day:

Hubby: Why are you taking that?

Me: I like it.

Hubby: What are you going to do with it?

Me: I don't know.

Hubby: That's why we have so much junk. You're always bringing things home that we don't need.

Me: I know, but it will be fabulous when I figure out what to do with it!

Introducing fabulous #1: The hanger thingy, which has a hook at the top, is perfect for hanging this petunia plant from the girls' old tree house! (See, hubby? I told you I'd figure out something!)

Introducing fabulous #2: I hung the white cage thingy and chain from a mulberry tree branch and then hung a plant from it. I think it looks kind of neat - and you sure can't beat free!!


Speaking of the tree house, I love using old windows around the yard. This one was the perfect size to dress up the "window" area of the old tree house. With a flower box hung underneath, it's a nice little focal point in this corner of our yard.

I also like to hang old windows on our stockade fence...

... with flowerboxes mounted underneath...

It's better than looking at a plain old fence as you go through the garden gate into the backyard, don't you think?

This is the screen feeder outside our dining room window...

We love to feed the birds during the long....

...COLD....

...snowy....


...New England winters...

But for the summer, I thought I'd put the screen feeder to work as a "planter" box (after all, there's plenty of natural food for the birds during the summer months!)... So I set some impatiens flats right on the screen (which should be fine because they're very light weight). As long as I water them daily I'm hoping they'll do just fine!

The same view taken just a few months ago in March 2009... I like the view now soooooooooo much better!!!

Speaking of long, cold New England winters, we lost a major portion of a couple of our trees during an ice storm this past winter... Before the trees were cut up and removed, I told hubby I wanted to keep some branches because I had a project in mind for the summer... (Hubby: Oh no, here we go again)...

So this past weekend we built a very rustic obelisk...

...out of four branches to support a honeysuckle vine we bought a couple of weeks ago (gotta keep those little hummers happy!)....

Right now it looks like a giant unfinished teepee, but hopefully within a few years it will be covered with that beautiful honeysuckle vine!

We staked each of the four branches to the ground with long spikes so it will withstand the strong winds we get sometimes!

And as I've posted about recently, this is the birdcage planter I put together for our deck. If you've read my blog before, you know I have a big thing for birdcages (it goes back to wonderful memories from the 50's of my beautiful Nana and her parakeets)...

So last month, when I spotted this birdcage on the roadside at a yard sale that was just closing down, I knew I'd found the perfect cage for my outdoor garden project! (if you'd like to learn how to make one of your own - and avoid making some of the mistakes I made along the way - click here)...

I love finding fun uses for things, other than what they were intended for! I hope you enjoyed your visit to our little cottage and "garden in the making." It's always a work-in-progress around here!

Now be sure to visit Tracey's garden and all the bloggers giving "garden tours" today!

Happy summer everyone!!!

Donna

Summer Garden Tour

If you haven’t already done so, hop on over to A Cottage Industry to see the list of blogs offering “garden tours” on this lovely June day! I’m not sure I’m even on the list since I just sent in my info yesterday… but just in case, I strolled around the yard today and took some new photos of our “work in progress” garden!


Here’s the view from out front… Remember the whiskey barrels that were so popular in the 1980’s? My mom was with me when I bought this – such a long time ago. Being the non-gardener that I am, I just planted a few vinca vines and plunked down a hanging basket of petunias on top…


These little guys will greet you by the front door. I got them at Target in with the Christmas decorations last year (I love that place, but I still haven't quite figured out the connection between these guys and Christmas!). In any case, they enjoy sitting on the front stoop under the shade of the old bench and flowers.


Mr. & Mrs. Wren are busy raising their babies because they chatter at me constantly now that the eggs have hatched. They live right beside the garden gate that I wrote about in yesterday’s blog post; therefore, we try to come and go through the house as much as possible so as not to disturb them.


I’ve been trying my beautiful vintage Mary out in a few different spots in the yard. Right now she’s under the baker’s rack (the free one from curbside)… I planted a foxglove on either side of her and a Mandevilla vine behind her, to grow up the baker’s rack. I’m not quite sure about this yet. It could change before end of summer…


"Patience" has been moving around a bit as well.. Right now I have her sitting on an old bench that hubby built around the same time as the gate (it desperately needs to be powerwashed and cleaned up, but we've been so busy with our 'Roswell Crater' work the past year or two!). I used her old hat in another flower grouping so I bought her a new one of coral impatiens. From the serene expression on her face, I think she's digging it!


Here is the outer edge of Roswell Crater, finally starting to look something like a garden (not bad when you consider that it looked like this a few months ago!). I've been planting some butterfly bushes, crocosmia, monarda/bee balm, penstemon, phlox, red hot poker, etc. – anything that will attract hummers and butterflies into the garden!! And this week we finally put up the birdhouse I bought back around March. I've always loved the look of a birdhouse on a post in the center of a garden.


And here, Foxy Loxy stands guard over the Chip(s)’ favorite birdbath. A little green table with bright impatiens gives some color to this corner of the patio.


Why don’t we sit, have some iced tea, and watch for the hummingbird at the feeder hanging from the cherry tree behind us.


Earlier this evening I took my camera over to the feeder and waited for Mr. or Mrs. Hummingbird. I didn’t have to wait long before Mrs. Hummingbird came zooming in for a drink…


… She was being shy tonight though, and insisted on hiding behind the hanger while she sipped her sugar water…


I’m so glad you could stop by for my little garden tour… Let’s go out through the garden gate (we'll hurry so we don't disturb the Wren family). This is the gate from inside the backyard. You saw it from the outside on last night’s post… Years and years ago I planted ivy to grow up the fireplace. I’ve always loved the look of ivy on brick…


It’s amazing how many more clematis have bloomed since yesterday’s photo! And look – even the clematis seems to be growing in a ‘heart’ shape to match the heart cutout on the gate!

I had the nicest time.. I hope you enjoyed your visit to my garden. If you're new to my blog and would like to see more of our "garden in progress" (or the furry and feathered friends that visit us!), just scroll down... It's intermingled with lots of "inside the house" goings on! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Update: If you are looking for the "butterflies and blooms" that Tracey mentioned on her blog, they're on my June 14th post.

Donna

Today's song: Home is Where the Heart Is - Elvis Presley