A DREAM COME TRUE IN THE GARDEN!

I've always dreamed of having The Secret Garden closed off with a picket fence, but I thought it would be too expensive.

So I put old metal headboards on either side of the arbor/trellis that Mr. Old Glory built for me. You can't even tell that they're there, because the Sweet Autumn Clematis has completely taken them over. It even attached itself to the tree and started climbing!

So I ripped the clematis off of the headboards, Mr. OG pulled them out of the garden, and this is what they look like, now destined for the curb. I bought picket fence panels at Menards (my favorite store) with a gift card Mr. Old Glory gave me for my birthday. Mr. OG set up horses in the garage for me to paint them on, and he even volunteered to park his car outside so I could paint. For a week! Isn't he terrific?

And then Mr. OG installed them for me, and now my gardening dream has come true! Doesn't it look SO much better? Most of those plants in front of the fence are summer bloomers, so it's going to look AWEsome real soon! I just love that you have to come on in to see what's back there. Psssst, it's a Secret Garden!

For Mother's Day, I received that gorgeous red Mandevilla vine. I had a pink one last year, and it grew to about 8' tall. This one is a giant variety. Should I be scared?

I also received a Fuchsia in a hanging basket. They always remind me of little dancing fairies when the buds are open!

The lilac color of  Dame's Rocket is looking quite pretty next to the red bike. I bought one plant several years ago at a garage sale, and I've kinda regretted it ever since. It's a biennial, and needs to reseed itself, and boy does it reseed itself!

So in order to not have a gazillion plants, I've learned to cut most of it and enjoy it in a vase.

Because of the amazing winter and spring we've had, the gardens are way ahead and I'm way behind. I've noticed some small trees that have planted themselves and need to be cut down, and there are a couple of patches of poison ivy that make me literally hyperventilate whenever I get anywhere near them. I almost weed-wacked a patch today, which would have been horrible if I'd actually wacked it. Makes me shiver just thinking about it! So be sure to come back next week to see what's blooming, and whether or not I'm still poison ivy-free!

Rednesday: CALL ME!

It feels like forever since I've linked up to Rednesday! When you're done looking at my reds, be sure to visit It's A Very Cherry World, where Sue hosts this party each week.

I stopped at a garage sale last week that was listed as "A Collector's Garage Sale". Oooooo, sounds like it would be a good one, doesn't it?  It was a major disappointment! But I did come home with this red rotary phone.

So...... if you've got any junk that you want to get rid of, CALL ME!!!

I found this old milk box at a sale a few weeks ago, and I've been saving it just for REDnesday.

And inside I've got this big Capitol Dairy milk bottle.

At that same sale, I found these little flags.

And this book, which I really love. It will most definitely be part of my 4th of July decorations!

Dated 1921. It's an oldie but a goodie! Now, would you like to see more reds? Then head over to Sue's right now!

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 made it back to the flea market after a 3 week absence, and the first thing I spotted was this gorgeous pink radio. And it works too!

The next town over was having a citywide garage sale, and that's where I found this white radio. Which brings me ever closer to having a vintage radio in every color!

Lately I've had a thing for vintage little girl's bubble baths and cosmetics. As I'm writing this, I thought it would be nice to see if there was any powder left in the face powder box. I now have a lapful of pink powder, but I guess I should be grateful it didn't land on the keyboard!

A sweet little bottle of children's aspirin!

With my birthday money, I bought that blue picnic basket. I'd been trying for a while now to add one like it to my collection, but always got outbid on Ebay. When I saw this one on Etsy, I nabbed it. I'm nutso for this thing! I don't know where I'll put it yet, but I think it needs to be next to something pink, don't you?

I'm 99% sure these trees are repros, but that's ok because they're something that you just can't have too many of!

Rand McNally Elf books!

I remember seeing these plates somewhere (Target?), and I thought they would be pretty fun to eat lunch off of.

Especially since that bike reminds me of one I had, with the big banana seat. Except mine was green and sparkly!

I ended up carrying this big metal sign with the wheel in the back counting down the days 'til Christmas, along with a bunch of other stuff, for two blocks back to the car during that citywide sale.

And I'm pretty darn glad I got him, because how else would I know that there are only 232 days 'til Christmas!  So, did you find any treasures over the weekend?

IN THE GARDEN

Things are really popping in the gardens this week. Let's take a look!

There's tons of Columbine blooming throughout the gardens right now.

They're so shy though. I wish they didn't have such droopy heads, because they're even prettier on the inside.

The Corydalis Lutea is going gangbusters in this border. I love this stuff. It's the first to bloom in the garden, and keeps on blooming all summer and through Fall. Unheard of for a perennial! It does spread though. Just a warning....

Sweet Williams. They're always marked as annuals, but I'm here to tell you that these come back for me every year. They usually come in a 4 or 6 pack, so that's really cheap, per plant!

A blue Hydrangea. I have a friend who is a floral designer, and when the shop doesn't sell these right away, she brings them home. For FREE. For ME!

I thought I had gotten rid of the Lily Of The Valley last year, when in fact I really just angered it.

It may be invasive, but the flowers sure are pretty, and smell heavenly and I forgive them all over again for taking over the garden!

I spraypainted that shephard's hook, and hung the birdcage on it today. Eventually I'll put a plant of some sort in the cage. Normally we don't plant things around here until after May 15th, but it was in the 80s today, sooooooo.....NO, I think I'll wait!

I'm starting on a project this weekend that involves lots of paint and moving around of plants, but it will make The Secret Garden look much better when I'm done. So I'll put on my little overalls like this gal, and hopefully I'll be finished just in time to share it all next week!

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!

 

          

OK. The blog break is OVER! My Mom has been in the hospital the last two weeks, and I haven't felt like being on the computer. Or cleaning the house! Thankfully it looks like she will get out of the hospital on Tuesday and head to rehab to get stronger before she goes home. Hey, what the heck happened to Blogger while I was gone?! I hope I'm doing this right. Frankly, I'm afraid to click the Publish button!

Ok, so maybe I didn't feel like cleaning the house, but I did find time to go junking. I think it's important to do the things you enjoy while a loved one is sick. Keeps your mind off of things. I found this tray a couple weeks ago at an antique store.

Here it is hanging above the watering can collection, and it's my new favorite thing!

I found more vintage gardening tools and seed packets too.

And this tiny pottery bud vase.

I'm crazy for blue pottery these days, so when I unearthed this McCoy pot outside at an estate sale, I played it cool and asked how much for the filthy dirty flower pot. The guy was no dummy, flipped it over and saw that it was McCoy, but he still gave me a fair price. The bunny cake decorations were free and will be used for an Easter craft project I have in mind.

What's not to love about a red, white and blue vintage tablecloth? Ok, it has a couple of holes, but I don't mind.

I don't even mind the stains on this Florida tablecloth.

The scenes on this tablecloth are fun, like this gal golfing while her friend sits way too close. She's going to take a golf ball to the forehead for sure!

Surf's Up!

These Goldilocks s&p shakers came from a really great garage sale, where I found several things that I'll share on REDnesday. 

I found these vintage greeting cards at an antique store a few weeks ago. They were only 10 cents each, so I went a little nuts. I think I bought like 30 of them. And I won't ever do anything with them. I just like to look at them!

New cards just can't compare to these beauties.

So that's my finds for the past few weeks. I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things now, and perhaps even clean my house. It's amazing how mentally exhausted you become when you're worrying about someone you love. My Mom may be 87 years old, but she's one tough old broad!