Summer Blooms

It's been a beautiful summer for the most part here in Michigan.

Sunny skies, warm days, and plenty of rain have my flowers looking happy!

Well, the weeds too, but they don't make me happy, haha!

 My purple coneflower are the prettiest they've been in years.  I've been picking bouquet after bouquet of them.  I used to cut them back in the fall, but I found that if I leave them standing, the birds  enjoy dining in their seeds all winter long.  And as a bonus, I end up with more flowers the next year!

 I also really love my black eyed Susans. They are so cheery, and have been blooming their hearts out!

 As you can see, this large bed is a bit on the wild side, but that's how I like it!  Not too groomed, just full and lush.

 Wait, what do we have here.................?

 Looks like "someone" has been busy munching on my hostas!

I have tons of hostas in our yard, and I had forgotten to reapply the deer repellant.  It is all natural and doesn't hurt the animals.  It really works, but it smells to high heaven!!

(think "rotten eggs".  ugh!!!)

 My zinnias are so pretty, and are blooming a bit earlier than normal.

 I saved their seeds from last year, along with my cosmos and marigold seeds.

 I wish you could see how large this lovely orange one is.  Believe it or not, it's much bigger than the palm of my hand!

 Another large hosta bed, along with more black eyed Susans.

 The black eyed Susans are so hardy, they tend to crowd everything else out!

 A little birdie "planted" this sunflower!

 Cheery and tall orange cosmos.  I've saved these seeds for the past several years.

You can't beat free flowers!

 What's blooming in your garden?

My Faux Stone Patio

How is your week going?  I can't believe how quickly this summer is flying by! Next week will be August!  I really do love summer, I just wish that the days would go a bit slower!

You may have seen my faux stone patio in past posts.  You can read my original post, and how I turned an ugly concrete slab into a pretty painted patio here.

I first transformed it several years ago, and thanks to the elements, it was fading and needed to be redone.

So this spring when we were busy sprucing up our home and yard in order to get it ready to put on the market, I thought it would be the perfect time for a touch up.

This part of our yard is my very favorite.  We had the retaining wall and put in several years ago.

Oh, we also repainted the wood arbor this spring too.  Now that was a tedious job!

I originally was planning on just touching up my patio here and there, but once I got started, there just was no stopping me!  So, over the course of two days, I ended up repainted pretty much the entire thing.  Back breaking, yes.  But I was just having too much fun!

The best part?  I had all of the paint and the concrete sealer on hand, so it didn't cost my anything but time!!

Gotta love that!

 I must say that I am really pleased how it turned out!

My hostas are in their glory, and are so pretty.  Well, except for the ones that the deer decided to munch on!

 The back and sides of our yard are surrounded by woods.  I love all of the privacy, and watching the wildlife and birds we get as visitors.

 Here is a close up of my "stones".

 It was a really fun project!

 In a few days, I'll be sharing photos of what's blooming in other parts of the yard.

Thanks for visiting!

Destressing at the Garden Center

Bon jour Mes Amis!

Hubby and I just returned from a week of camping in our motor home in northern Michigan. We had such a great time, and Katie loved it too!  I neglected to take any photos, other than a visit we took to a beautiful garden center that's just a few miles from the campground we stayed at.  

Not only do they have some gorgeous plants and flowers in their huge green houses, but they have really neat gift shops, a cute little cafe, and lots of display gardens to enjoy and inspire.

 Isn't this angel serene looking among the blooms?

 I wish you could have seen the hydrangeas, they were stunning!  I am in love with these gorgeous blue ones!

 I thought this was the neatest table, in the patio outside of the cafe.

Notice the center?  They built a "trough" and planted it with herbs.  How fun!

Hubby and I split a really yummy sandwich for lunch on the patio.

What a great setting for the cafe.

 I was loving all of the water features.  I would love to have one of these fountains at home!  The sound of trickling water is so soothing, I think.

 This pine topiary was so neat, and must have been over 6 feet tall.

 Another water feature, below.

 Just look at this darling little garden fairy village!

 The stone like homes were made of concrete, and were just the cutest ever!

 Beautiful astilbe.

 It'snot showing up well in the photo, but below is a cute little bike planter.  I love the metal sunflower stake next to it!

 I was drooling over the cosmos, spider flowers, and purple salvia!

 Cheery sunflower.

 This cute little metal fence featured pretty hibiscus at the top.

 This clematis was even prettier in person than my photo could capture.

 How about this friendly looking squirrel planter?!

 I love lavender!

 Also on the property is this cute little blue guest cottage that you can rent out.

 In front was the biggest hosta plant I've ever seen!  It's much bigger than it looks here, it came nearly to my chest, and must have been almost 8 feel across!

 I loved this pretty statue, below.

 Notice the sign, hanging above moi?

It truly was a stress free environment!

And let me tell you, it was so needed!  With our house on the market for nearly 2 months, the stress of not knowing when, if or where we will be moving, along with other life challenges, really got the best of me, in all honesty.

It was just so good to veg out and decompress on our camping trip.

 Another pretty fountain.

 Pretty window boxes greeted you as you walked in the front door of the main greenhouse.  I love the vibrant colors of these pretty orange begonias.

 And I thought this window box was so cute with the gnomes!  Notice the gazing balls inside?

 Here is a view of the outside.  It's much larger than I could get in one shot!

Thanks for joining me on my little tour, hope you have a great weekend!

Painted and Embellished Mason Jars

I'm sure you've all seen the painted Mason jars, that have been all the rage for awhile.

While I'd painted a few sets in the past, I wanted to do something a bit different this time around.

Rather than go out and buy a bunch of crafting supplies, I am trying hard to use what I have on hand, and just so happen to have a cupboard full of canning jars!

 For this set, I painted the outside of both a quart size and two pint sized jars a pretty cream color, using my Deco Art chalky finish paint.  I bit of distressing reveals all of their great details, and gives them rustic appeal. I then added a couple of coats of clear matte sealer for durability.

 So I thought I'd put my own glittery spin on these jars, by adding some of my paper roses that I've created from vintage sheet music.  You can't really tell in the photos, but I've added clear coarse glitter to the roses, as well as tiny rhinestone centers for a bit of bling!!

If you've been visiting me for awhile, you know how much I love making these roses! While they are a bit labor intensive, they are so much fun to make.  All of that hand tearing and glittering is a real stress reliever, and cheaper than going to therapy!!

 I tied some of my crinkly cream seam binding around the tops of each jar, then hot glued the flowers on.

 I think these would be so lovely with bouquets of fresh flowers in.

They also would be magical with votive candles, or even flameless tea lights added!

I've added them to my Etsy shop, but I think I'll have to make myself some to keep:)

 Wishing you a great week. Now go out and find something to paint or glitter, ok?!