gardens

Just two short months ago, this is what my garden looked like. My poor daffodils never had a chance. They would start to bloom, then it would snow (or rain like heck) and they would struggle soggily and droop to the ground. I felt sad about all the work I had done in the fall to create a faerie ring of bulbs, all to watch it drown.

My Virgin of Guadelupe rose survived valiantly, even budding in the midst of snow, just as she did for Juan Diego. And today...


There's nothing fancy here, just some calendula, shasta daisies (in the back), pink hollyhock and roses. It's prettier when everything is blooming, but I love the contrasts between these photos. It took me three days to clear the area of weeds and start plotting my next steps.
Here we are at the gate. It is constructed from various salvage, but isn't quite as cute as the ones we see in Country Living somehow, is it? But it does keep the dogs out (much to their chagrin) The Garden is the only dog - free area in our world, which makes the six cats extremely happy. They have water and sunny spots to lounge, and the occasional vole to boot.

I also worked on our deck to create a little outdoor living room.
I dragged a few things out of the garage basement, and after a lot of heavy lifting (pots) and rigerous dusting (furniture), I succeeded in extending the curfew on Use What You Have. Whaddya know? We're spending more time outside now. In front of this is a little slice of a play area (I'd love some lawn there, but it's pretty much weeds) and you can see the teepee, sand tub and jungle gym reflected in the window.
This corner has been totally transformed with a $20 garage sale white metal patio set. Tres Shabby Chic, no? And when we get Real Deck Furniture, it will be darling in the garden. Move over a pot of lavendar and a couple of rose bushes, add a geranium or two, and voila! My perfect place for tea, or, whatever. Dh, however, has to sit on the deck, because he dissed me for spending the $20 when I was basically broke. Sucks for him!

Now on to some crafting!
Here's the biggie bag I whipped up for the Sew? I Knit! along. Thank Goddess they extended the deadline for this one or it never would have happened. As most of my projects seem to go, this one was simple and easy once I stopped cleaning long enough to get it finished.
And we love the inside too! I interpreted this pattern from a Japanese craft book...after staring at it for about half an hour I finally though, what the heck? and kind of just eyeballed the whole thing. Read more about it at the site.