IN THE GARDEN

Let's take a peek at what's blooming in the gardens this week!

It was a scorcher today, reaching 100 degrees, and if we were beer drinkers, a tall cold one would have gone done quite nicely!

I finally got the garage windowbox planted. I'm so jealous of all the ladies who have real chickens, so I planted some fake ones!

This pink hydrangea is doing exceptionally well this year. I just wish I could get near that birdhouse to straighten out the shepard hook, but I don't want to knock off one single luscious pink petal. Wrens build a next in that house every year. 

PINK HYDRANGEA CLOSE-UP!!!

The daisy patch hasn't looked this good since I planted them. Some rust-colored disease always appears, but this year, so far so good!

These lilies are ginormous! They're about 7 feet tall. I'm not lying! I got them from my sister-in-law, who works at a major public garden in Chicago, and she had no info on them, so they were a mystery. I expected a 3 foot lily and ended up with The Little Shop Of Horrors!

I'm so happy to see things starting to bloom in front of the new picket fence. Don't flowers just automatically look prettier when there's a picket fence behind them?!

Lantana. Oh my goodness, if I could have just one annual, it would be Lantana. Can you think of any other flower that has so many colors going all at the same time?!

One lone pink lily.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Bee Balm (Monarda) looks just like fireworks!

Here's how many flowers I have left to plant. Two flats worth. I think I'm done planting annuals, and will save the rest of my flower money on Fall bloomers like mums. And I'll buy bulbs. Lots and lots of bulbs. I'm picturing red tulips in front of the picket fence in the Spring!

I've just come back inside, after sitting on the porch watching it rain for the first time in two weeks. It was a good one, lasting about an hour. I bet everything is so much happier now, like this mandevilla vine. And hopefully the grass will soon turn green again, instead of the ugly beige it is right now! What's blooming in your garden?

REDNESDAY

Time to share our red hot REDS over at It's A Very Cherry World, where Sue is the coolest hostess around!

I've been busy Red, White & Blue-ing it up outside! This is part of my collection of old flags, out on the back porch. The '76 flag is a recent addition, found while on vacation. I almost didn't get it, because it was twice what I wanted to pay for it, but my husband convinced me that Old Glory Cottage needed it!

This birdcage, already painted red, was also a vacation garage sale find. The cage was sitting on a table, marked $5.00. I thought I would try to haggle the price down to $3.00, until the seller said "I've got the stand in the garage, if you want it".  SOLD, to the girl who already has way too many birdcages, for $5.00!!!

For now, I've got it sitting behind the porch swing.

With little flags flying inside!

Some back porch decorations. Those are lights stuffed inside that star-shaped basket, and it's a nice little welcome by the back door at night.

Paper lanterns hanging on the front porch.

I found a huge piece of foam for 25 cents at a garage sale, so I made a cushion for the back porch bench. I just wrapped an old tablecloth around it. I know, I know, it looks kinda silly because the cushion is SO thick, but it's a proven fact that as our butts age, they need a soft place to land! Now, if you would like to see more reds, head over to It's A Very Cherry World!

 

 

MY WEEKEND FINDS

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of My Weekend Finds, the continuing saga of one girl's quest for more junk!

I often get asked, right here on my blog, whether I keep all of the junk that I find. The answer is that, much to Mr. Old Glory's disappointment, I keep most of it. I'm the type that's constantly changing things around, so I've got a huge "inventory" in the attic. But on my honor as a former Girl Scout, I vow to sell off alot of it this year, between Ebay and one big whopper of a garage sale! But that doesn't mean I'll stop hunting for more junk. Like this tablecloth, and the cutest vase with a metal holder and a flower frog built right in!

If I see a vintage mermaid, I'm gonna buy it. Especially when they're 25 cents each. I may be a hoarder, but I'm not crazy!

I simply had to have this old aqua fan. I just need to make sure to keep the kitties and the kiddies away from that open area where a piece is missing!

25 cents for a bouquet of flocked hat floral picks.

A bunch of vintage pillowcases, all with the original price tags still on. I paid even less than that!

A pair of Lefton patriotic drum bookends. I'm ashamed to say that I just started decorating for the 4th on the inside of the house. Otherwise I'd have more patriotic books between those drums!

An old framed Pledge of Allegiance, pre-1954. "Under God" was added to the pledge in that year. I forgot that it wasn't always in there. All I know is that I  remember saying "Under God" when we'd recite the pledge every morning in school, with our right hand over our heart, and I say it that way to this day.  Anyway, I've been hoping to find a vintage Pledge for a while, and I found this one on vacation, in the same town where I found that Old Glory print last year.

Finding vintage Christmas stuff year round is always appreciated, and these blow molds are no exception. Especially that little elf!

Another thing I can cross off my must-have list. An old funeral/cemetery basket. I found this at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago, and the plan was to put lots of vintage flags in there, but it's just not going to happen this year. I am, however, already thinking ahead to Easter, and wouldn't a bunch of vintage bunnies look great in there?

An old African Violet plant stand, from that same estate sale.

More old garden tools. Crikey! I ask you, how many will finally be enough??? After finding that turquoise-colored one, I don't think there could possibly be another one out there as pretty....

Last but not least is this old tray, also found on vacation in the Northwoods. It really doesn't go with our decor, but I bought it as a symbol of hope and promise. We hope to retire up there some day, and have a little cottage in the woods. And I promise that this tray will look fantastic hanging on that cottage wall!  So, did you find any treasures that you really can't use right now, but hope to use in the future?!?

Planting Like Crazy IN THE GARDEN

Let's take a peek at what's blooming in the gardens this week!

First of all, the 3 week long blog break is OVER! You know how it is when you go on vacation. You need a week to prepare and a week to play catch-up afterwards. We went to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, and I promise not to bore you with a bunch of vacation pictures, but I just had to share this fabulous sunset. And Mr. Old Glory sitting in the boat, enjoying it!

I always knew that when I had a garden of my own, it would include a Jackmanii Clematis. I've always loved my Mom's, and finally last year I planted one.

I was so excited to see that I hadn't missed it bloom while on vacation!

It's finally time to get the Dirty Dishes Fountain up and running again.

I think I need some new old dishes in that fountain, instead of the same ones I put in there every year. I love to hear the water softly tinkling away when I'm working in the garden!

Normally I plant up my own baskets, but Menards had some really pretty ones, 2/$7.00, so I thought: Why Not?! I love hanging my baskets from out of the ordinary things, like this old scale. 

And this old pulley.

I found this pretty handpainted bucket at a garage sale a few weeks ago, and I've planted some pink impatiens in there.

The white lilies are in full bloom.

Along with the Gooseneck Loosestrife. Try saying that real fast five times! I have a love/hate relationship with this stuff. On the one hand it's gorgeous, and on the other hand, it's invasive and I always have to rip out a clump or two in the Fall.

I haven't had a Hibiscus in a few years, so I'm having a hard time remembering if they all have two different colored flowers on one plant. Anyone know? I've been really lucky and have run into a few great plant sales, so I've got 5 flats to get planted.

I could really use a helper like this cute little guy!

A Project Finally Finished IN THE GARDEN

C'mon, let's see what's blooming in the gardens this week! And see a project that I started last summer, and finally finished.

I almost missed seeing this Clematis blooming on the windmill.

I wish I could show the top of the windmill, but then the neighbor's ugly deck would also be in the shot!

The Coreopsis seems to be bursting open all at once.

The Lysimachia Punctata, or Yellow Loosestrife, is blooming too, starting from the bottom and working it's way up.

This Hydrangea is just starting to turn pink.

The pansies in the windowbox by the back door are still going strong. I find that if I keep chopping these back, they will bloom for me all Summer long and into Fall

I totally ignore this Creeping Sedum, which sits in that red-rimmed enamel bowl outside year-round, and it does just fine. Those tiny yellow flowers look like little stars! 

Ok, let's talk about that project I never finished last year. I found several pieces of vinyl lattice at a garage sale last summer, all for $3.

And my friend had a ton of these 2x2s just sitting in her garage. Which was perfect, because then I could make.......

THIS SCREEN! This is where we sit when we have a fire in the firepit. Those chairs are vintage, and let me tell you, they weren't meant for a butt and hips from 2012! I'm guessing people were alot skinnier back then, because sometimes I feel like when I stand up, the chair will be stuck on my hips! Anyway, the purpose of that screen is to hide the mess that's behind it. I suppose you want to see what's behind it. Ok.......

It's my gardening shame. Tons of plants that still need replanting, lots of empty pots just waiting for me to buy some flowers for them, and bags of mulch that need to be spread.

And a ton of rocks from a kindly neighbor, that need to be placed in the rock garden and in the Secret Garden. Yes, it's a mess back there, but now I can't see it. But my neighbor with the ugly deck can! Honestly, they're lovely neighbors, and I hope to get that all straightened up very soon!

It's been drizzling here all day, and we needed it badly. For a while there, it looked like I was going to have to bust out my special rain dance! Go ahead and laugh, but it has worked in the past! So what's blooming in your garden?