The weather has been more summer-like & the gardens are showing it!
We have had frost hit badly too, the blueberries have been damaged & the crops will be very small this year. Some farmers have lost 80% of their blueberries & the grapes have been damaged too.
I prepared for this, knowing that June's 1st full moon will be on the 27th & that's when there is no more worry about frost. When I lived in SW Ontario it was the May 24 weekend that was the safe time to plant outdoors.
The June sun is so warm & the days linger with light, well into the evening.
It's hard to believe that snow/ice covered this area & the Boston's play in their pool on the asphalt by the garage door. They too are taking in the wonderful weather.
The Gnome Garden in the shade has come to life again & more hosta & lilies were added!
Thank Jocelyne for thinning out the gardens!
The Gnomes quietly watch over the garden area.
The bright pink bleeding hearts are a nice touch of whimsy to this area.
All the gardens needed mulch & 40 bags were used around the yard with more needed for the Anniversary Garden.
Bill & 'The Boys' put together a large firepit behind my potting shed. We had a wonderful bonfire well into the evening,
The Dwarf Korean Lilac has so much fragrant with the blooms this year. I had one in London & just loved the smell of it every spring. Plants are like old friends that you can visit. ;-)
Spring blooms would not be complete without the Lily of the Valley. I've picked several dozen of them to place in vases inside.
The Pussywillows have come to life too! With the rain & Nicholas' watering, they're thriving. I think he thought that the yellow flowers were real. I placed them there last month when I needed to see spring colours. lol
The Carroll Cottage garden bed that was transferred last fall has come to life in its new flower bed outside the Boston's yard.
It has such pretty colour to it!
The violet is our provincial flower.
Daylilies are an addition to the side garden, everything is growing so fast!
This poor garden takes a beating with the Boston's as it is in their yard! They are getting better with not digging the plants out this year... so far so good!
Sunporch Transformation
The workers were in the 11th hour finishing the porch before Bill & the boys would arrive last Thursday, this is what it looked like on Wednesday! Thank you, Francis & crew, for making it happen!
This was the original exterior of the house, see the top colour? Yes, it was painted a bright yellow & could be seen far away in the water & was used by the locals as their landmark. Then I painted over the darker beige to a lighter beige & now everything will be painted a soft white.
The 16" BC cedar shingles were added around the room where modifications were done by adding in the double garden doors.
It will be a very bright room with the 8 - 54" windows & three full glass doors.
This is the cove area that the IKEA wrought iron bed will go, it will help with sleeping arrangements for one more person! It's rather private around the corner when the roman shades are down.
This is the IKEA laminate flooring from the Carroll Cottage & it looks great!
It has an airy feel to it with it all being white.
And now with the furniture in, it is looking good!
Old Tom cat has taken over the couch at the end. This room fills with the sun in the afternoon.
Rexton has claimed the sleeping cove as it gets the late morning sun pouring through the end window.
The shingles will have to be painted again, there have been two coats of heavy primer & two coats of paint but those thirsty cedar shingles have not yet cured long enough. Next year we'll paint again.
I have my morning coffee in here now, what a wonderful summery room!
Hard Workers!
A BIG THANK YOU to Bill & the boys for moving my last trailer load from the London studio. It truly was the 'Mother's Load'. And the days, weeks, month, & years to follow, I'll be sorting out & creating from this current load & all the other loads that have been brought out east in the last ten years! I truly free like I have arrived! lol
One of the eleven bookshelves & books that arrived. Bill commented on so many books but I told him, 'They were my resources & inspiration before the computer era consumed us!' I still like looking through books & magazines at my own leisure.
I was told 15 IKEA bags were purchased to collect up things that were on the shelves. Get recycling, with the banning of bags at the end of this year!
Yes, it was a heavy full load!
And the next day they chopped, split, & stacked wood for the coming winter. This is wood from last year when we had to open the area up for the addition. The beautiful maple is in among that stack.
It makes my heart sing seeing a wall of beautifully cut wood to cozy up with for the cold long winter.
And the very next day Mitchell William was hard at cutting the wood again! I really enjoy his visits!!
He got on the lawn mower that night & mowed the grass too! He was born to be outside!
And then after they left we had some horrid winds go through this area and...
That beautiful wooden wall collapsed in the center. I think the tree behind it had something to do with it in combination with the wind.
Humpty Dumpty had a big fall!
Changing Of The Cars
The white 2014 Ford Escape is going back to Mt Brydges Ontario & the new 2018 Ford Edge is staying with me. I have been enjoying the drive in it the last couple of days. Heather & I are doing the first trip into town with it this Friday to the Miramichi Garden Club Sale. Bonus, it does have a larger storage area!
And the summer gas guzzler is out too. This 1996 beauty Mustang Cobra has a mere 21,800km on her & Bill enjoys driving it. I do too when the day is just right, it has horsepowers that make me move quickly & sits very low to the ground. The roads out here are transport driven & slowly repaired with patching. Must people drive SUV's or trucks for good reason!
Six Limelight Hydrega bushes have been planted out front & they seem to flourish in the sun.
I like the look of green with the stone & we needed plants that could take the steel roof landslides of snow & ice & the piling up of shoveling. These bushes get cut down to a manageable size & should be able to take the elements of the area.
This is that gorgeous rose bush from the Carroll Cottage, it will take this year to set down its roots again & next year should flourish & flower again.
The Anniversary Garden has come back to life & the Iris's are getting ready to flower!
The white lilac looks pink & in just one week here is the current photo...
The smell is heavenly!
The small pom bush has taken right off this year, stunning to see all of its pom's!
The white bleeding heart is very hearty!
The other gargoyle twin has been delivered safely, he will greet my front door visitors!
The Bostons explore all the new things & smell that has arrived with the family. Bill's truck sits up so high the Bostons just walk under!!
A Grammy Surprise!
I knew that it was going to be a family convoy with Bill & Donny starting out, then Nicholas with my new car would pick up Mitchell arriving from Alberta on the red eye at Pearson Airport & would catch up to the truck & trailer. Well, Madison, my 14-year-old granddaughter came along too to see her Grammy. God love her, she had a 15-hour car ride to spend two days & then back again to London in the 2014 Escape.
She hid in the back seat & I greeted her uncle & dad, she popped out & said 'Hi Grammy!'
That was a surprise a happy surprise for this Grammy!
The Bostons just loved playing with her.
Maddy had their undivided attention. lol
She asked if I could French braid her hair, I did her hair & painted her nails, we had a 'girly time'. lol
We spent a week together last year & she will return to spend a week together this August too! XO
Bridget feels that everything is hers... until she surrenders the tennis ball.lol
Oatmeal chocolate chewies were a big hit with everyone & went fast. I made another batch for them all to share on the ride home. I also made Maddy a pillowcase from the Laurel Burch fabric & gave her a pillow for her long ride home.
The east coast has such beauty that cannot be found anywhere else for me. It just feels like home.
The Bostons have adjusted to having freedom outside & staying & playing on the property.
The backyard needs some work with the grass but the view is just as stunning as ever!
The small islands can be viewed very clearly & it is so calming to see blue & green again.
The Hardwicke House is completely finished now, the sun porch was the last room.
I still will have the boxes, bins, & IKEA bags to organize but today I just want to take it this day.
The Bostons are grown now & I get great joy from them, even though they can bee a lot of work but so worth having.
As I'm finishing up I notice the glowing sunset...
It is 9:50pm & this doesn't do any justice to the beauty of the sunset. It is also raining right now too.
Those that have stayed here know what I'm talking about, it is peaceful & beautiful here on the northeast coast of New Brunswick.
Thank you for stopping by for a visit & I hope you too enjoyed seeing the beauty of spring introducing the summer to come!
Take care,
Cynthia
My mom gave it to me many years ago.
