Breakfast Room Secretary

Hello Friends!

Still playing catch up in the gardens from last year and enjoying every second of it!

We have added a great deal and removed some details, as well.  Always in flux...

Today we are transplanting 20 arborvitae.  It's 7am and I am anxious to begin!

Before we had our fence installed last year, we used arborvitae as a screen.  We still plan on using it to surround the property but some areas take precedence. Today we will surround the arbor with a circle of arborvitae, to give it a solid backdrop.

This is going to be absolutely stunning with an emerald green backdrop!

Recall we found the pavilion free on Craigslist when we moved in!

...and, no, I never did finish this secretary.  We weren't speaking for a long duration.  

I was the first to reach out.  LOL!

In the Fall, though, after the gardens go to sleep. 

Handsome Husband brought these Asiatic lilies home from the grocery store.  They are perfect in the silver water pitcher I found at a garage sale a while back...

The drinking horn is his prized possession.  

Yes, even Viking drinking horns have a place in our home!

Hoping you are well!

It's time to dig some holes!

xo

Andie

The Gardens, Dedicated to Our Dear Friend, Ben

Hello my friends!

Summer is keeping us on our toes!  Lots of catching up to do!

I have not shared many photos of the gardens, so I decided now is a good time!

Since there are so many, I will let them speak for themselves.  

The gardens are a work in progress, so please bear with me.  

How is your Summer?

xo

Andie

****************************

Ben and his beautiful fiancée, Erica. 

This post is dedicated to my dear friend, Ben Pelot, without whose support, these gardens would have remained just a dream. 

 I imagined them, drew the plans, and Ben helped me with the hard work...always with a smile.  Always a smile and a "Sure thing, Miss Andie!!"

Ben helped me make my dreams a reality.

You were taken from us too soon.  

Gracie said she knows you are an angel in Heaven now, because you were an angel on earth. 

We will miss your kindness, your friendship, your humble nature... I look forward to when we meet again, my friend. Until then, I will see you in the gardens. 

Love,

Miss Andie

All Grown Up!

I trimmed the parterre yesterday.  It is not quite finished.  I still need to attend to details and add more pea gravel.  

This is the parterre when it was born; Before we added concrete curbing, pea gravel, the large angel statue, yew hedges at the street and Cleveland Pears behind it, with a Limelight Hydrangea hedge directly in front of the Cleveland Pear Trees, as well as a ten foot privet hedge. 

I thought it looked pretty good then.  LOL!  

500 boxwood shrubs.  

What was I thinking? 

Here is the parterre on its second year of growth.  The neighbor's houses and swing set are now barely visible, thanks to the trees and hedges we planted!

The parterre is situated on an incline in our front yard, to allow for proper drainage.  I allowed the boxwood at the base of the incline to grow higher so the parterre is level with the horizon. It looks as if it is not on a hill at all. 

There is lavender planted in the circles at each end of the parterre. (The other end is not visible in this photo).  The scent of boxwood and lavender is like HEAVEN! 

I trimmed the lilac standards, as well.  They must be trimmed immediately after their blooms fade, as they set their flowers at that time. If you trim too late it will not flower the next year. 

Too tired to take more photos and I have sunburn on my sunburn.  LOL! 

The gardeners in magazines always look so dignified, so proper, so clean! 

At the end of my gardening day, I always look like I wrestled a pig in mud. 

I suspect they are doing it wrong.  

xo

Andie

More on this as it develops...

We found this table free on Craigslist!  I will be painting it and adding a gravel patio and a pond behind it where the bronze cherub spitter sits!

Every last thing you see here is from Craigslist, including the arborvitae! 

The table is seven feet long and made of pine.  I am just too excited!  I want to paint it right now! 

Can you just hear the tinkle of the fountain and the crushed gravel underfoot? 

I have envisioned this for years, even to the point that I walk around the imaginary pond and encourage others to do so as well.  

Me: "You're standing on the goldfish."

Handsome Husband: "Goldfish? What are you talking about?"

Me: "The goldfish mama is not happy. I don't know what she's capable of...and your shoes are sopping wet!  Will you please just get out of the pond?"

Handsome Husband: Rolls eyes. Steps out of imaginary pond, makes imaginary squishy shoe sounds as he walks toward the house...

xo

Andie