Monday, June 22, 2015

Bugle Weed Banished - Summer Begins!

It's been rainy with the remnants of post tropical storm Bill so I've been forced inside for days.

That's OK because I can finish a few things that I started. This is the large granny square afghan that I started last month on my long trek here. It has taken up both skeins of wool, one blue/white & one solid blue. I'm now looking for a white similar yarn, to do an edging on it.
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On the right you can see my doorstop collection. I finally took it out of the box that I packed them in.
It was hard to find a secure place as they're cast iron & very heavy.


They all fit perfectly up there!


I was outside doing a photo  of the urns on the patio stones...with no weeds! Thank you Elizabeth! She lifted both urns & patio stones up so I could dig out the weeds & place plastic down to be covered by the gravel. Neat & tidy entrance now. And Boris Loree came up from his morning beach stroll.

                        His eyes weeping from the wind & a stick hanging from his mouth?!


                         When I asked him where he was, he just looked away &  ignored me.

              He's enjoying the rainy days as he just sleeps the day away under his blanket.


Back to my beautiful urns...with no weeds around them. Thank you Elizabeth for your help! ;-)

Love My Garden Blooms!







Bugle Weed Banishment

When I was at my rug hooking group last Thursday, fellow hooker Susan could not wait to show me the devastation of her lawn from the Bugle Weed. Oh my!! Who would have thought but I guess that's why they call it a 'weed'. I removed it & replace it with one of the several plants Susan had brought in for me to place in my garden. What a very pleasant surprise to have such beautiful perennial plants given to me. Thank you Susan! Everything is now planted & just in time for the drizzly days to help the roots find their new home.

A new plant infront & behind the tower is the new replacement plant from Susan. :-)

It has pretty blue flowers on it & will spread only within the garden. Unlike the Bugle Weed that will spread all over the lawn too!

The morning glories are growing daily, with plastic fencing around it & a pair of steel flowers inside to climb onto to grow & flower.

I'm going to trim the edges of the iris leaves to remove the dried dead brown pieces.

                                  Everything is growing & taking hold in this new garden.

And the Bugle Weed has been put back in thew pot...till I find the 'ideal spot' so it's rapid spread that gets out of control! lol Thanks for looking after me Susan & giving me hindsight from your catastrophe of this nasty wee plant. Your photo's were the visual I needed, thanks again!



Antique Find!

I found an old sewing box that I think is just lovely!


                                There is no handle & top overhangs slightly, for easy opening.

                                                      It has brass ball feet on it.

Inside the box was a built in shelf & a red velvet  pin cushion. It's the best $2 I've spent!!





Myer's United Church

The church is getting a huge lift...


As you go down the stairs you can see the wall, the the upstairs sits on, has moved in.

  
                        Strong steel beams go through one window & out through the other!


From the outside the steel beams are seen going through this side of the windows...

And out this side of the windows!

                                                                 See!!!

The church will be lifted and the foundation will be repaired. This church is over one hundred years old. It will now have a basement that will function. :-)

                                                             Left side of church.

                                                          Right side of church.

The construction will go on for a while now, with weather permitting...
This could take a while and I'm very interested in the process as the wee cottage in Eel River has to have the same thing done! Oh my the saga of construction & contractors continues.

Back in 2009 when I purchased the wee cottage, the renter empty the above ground pool next to the house, in late fall & the ground froze with the water & moved the brick foundation. Last winter was a very wet one in December & again the ground froze & moved the walls foundation even more.
So now I'm waiting to get a quote done on the foundation repair. The wee Carroll Cottage has to be lifted whilst the foundation repairs are done. Quite major & that's not going to be cheap!!

Thank you for stopping by & I hope you have a good week!
This weekend my husband Bill arrives for a week & our 28th wedding anniversary. :-)

Though for the week.

"Death, taxes, and childbirth.There's never a convenient time for any of them." 
                                                                                                                                                -Margaret Mitchell
                                                                                                                        






























































Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Sowing & Not Sewing

How beautiful is the end of the day here?! It's breathless sunsets after a full hard day if digging in the ground to try to forge out a garden...
I never knew how much work went into a garden nor did I know how good it makes you feel to do so  & to see the beauty of nature. It is a physical & spiritual experience for sure!


Sowing This Week-----------------------


 The Miramich Garden Club had their plant sale last Friday. So armed with Bill's truck, Heather, Lynn, & I made our way to find some treasures to purchase. I found so many beautiful plants & so did they!
                                              Lupins to enhance my white bleeding hearts!

                                                 Don't they just look like a gnomes hat?!

                                                     How east coast are these beauties?!

                                         Maybe that's why I see so much character in them. lol

                                                  See their hats? Familiar aren't they! lol

         These are the sweet flowers between the gnomes, I hope they grow as thick as weeds!
                                                               Thank you Heather.

                                 Ross my neighbour, brought by some bulb plants for my garden & iris plants!

Three new bearded Iris, will be planted by the new ones that were planted last week. What finds were found at the plant sale!

 I've had these stones for over 15 years & have never used them till now, how perfect are they?!



                    This wee plant will take a while to mature & it will be wonderful watching it.

 First bloom from the peony that I brought with me last month, what a gorgeous colour it displays.

          This is what size the climate in south western Ontario grows in the same time frame.
How fragrant the front of the house must be...those peonies come with me next year. :-)

       This was called a bugle weed & I hope it spreads like its name in the area I've planted it.
We also took in the garden center at the Great Atlantic Superstore, where I purchased a tray of lavender & this Ornamental Onion which will have purple pom poms.


Bird Bath Job....I Mean Work!!

 First I had to remove all the sod & weeds from the area & placed them around the cluster of birch trees on the side culvert.
            The hen & chicks waiting to be transplanted in their new spot at the base of the bird bath.

With new top soil & a paper mache around the freshly planted hen & chicks, a thick layer of black mulch was added. I also put the top of the water fountain in the center of the bird bath. The rest of the fountain may come out next month but for now it looks right at home there!
Love the backdrop of the Bay du Vin Island in the background.
Some background on the fountain---in 2003 we were doing an elevator tradeshow & I wanted a soothing sound in our booth, so a fountain was needed. It was hard to find one that would be appropriate & I knew what I wanted when I would see it. There were so many fountains with cherubs but those are so sad to me as they were designed in the Victorian era to soothe mothers that had lost their babies to childhood deceases. They were to represent their babies in heaven as angels, to me I see dead babies... So to find these beautiful playful boys like these, were just what I wanted & next month I'll show you the fountain if it makes it here!
Looking at this picture I really should have raked the lawn! Sow much to do Sew little time! lol

                               

 This is the front garden & in the distance to your right, by the blue patio set, is the opening to the woods & in there, all the visual delights to come with time!


 This is one side of the walkway that I'm constructing & it will be lined with lavender.

                                      How heavenly will that be to the senses as it matures?!

They look so small but the instructions say 18" to 24" apart, glad I read it! I would have done 4 to 5"!


This is the otherside of the path, it to will have lavender. The center will have wood chips or black stone, I'm not sure yet. Time & money will tell. lol


Funny True Story--------

Before we venture into the side garden, I must tell you this story because it still makes me chuckle out loud whenever I think of that morning.
It was my arrival last month,  the week that Mitchell & Nicole were visiting. He made Nicole a morning coffee & when she took her first sip she yell out loud "Mitch, it tastes like soap, yuk!"
Oh my, the first thing I thought of was my dish washing habits as I have no dishwasher. It's done with Jesus & I technique . First I wash them in hot soapy water & then rinse them with hot water & let Jesus do the drying. Did I not rinse the cup well enough?
I asked Mitchell ''Where is the sugar you used?" It's that little one next to the coffee maker  he replied.
That's my salt cellar I told him! OH that explained everything. He told me that he thought it was a little sugar holder with a cute little ceramic spoon & it was next to the coffee maker...which has the stove to the other side. We all had a great laugh over this & I still do!

                                                                 The innocent salt cellar...

                                         You can see how he thought what he thought! lol

Side Garden---------------

                        This bleeding heart bush just looks the shade, it's so full of bloom.

 I transferred my herb garden to a large box & found stakes that I had purchased years ago at a salw somewhere...I think I was destine to garden.

 How cute are these, I might have to spray them with varnish to help keep them looking good.


Flowers & Birds--------------


 I also spruced up the phone pole area with lilies that were given out at the EBH Garden Club.
Wow that was hours of work & I secured the rose bush to the pole. Can't wait to see colour from the lilies but that will probably be next year.


                          A new bird house was installed on the top of the pole this year too.

Potting Shed------------



I dug out an area to the side for some more lilies.

 To the other side I planted cat mint. Years ago when the kids were little I use to pick & dry this mint thinking it was related to the lavender family. I would make sachets for inside their pillow cases only to have the pet cats take them out! Duhhhhh Oh my I'm learning so much through gardening! lol

 I've added some creeping phlox & just love the colour next to the siding!
 The lily of the valley was planted last fall from Jean's garden & I just love its ability to spread that's why it's on the side only.



 This grape vine has been potted for now as it will need an arbor...that's another blog. It has wheels under it so I can move it around the yard, till I find it's forever home & arbor.

 The front of the house is really coming together with a lot of sweat, something I never usually do. It's a good physical workout for me & mentally I feel how people say "Peace In The Garden".




The last of the lily of the valley. It has had its time & now other blooms will come to life after laying so covered with snow just a few months ago! Mitchell the sugar bowl is always on the table. lol

Thank you for stopping by today. And my you to take time to find your peace, in the garden.