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Window Box Ideas

I was trying to decide today whether or not I wanted to go to all the work of window boxes for my deck this year.  However, looking at these pictures from last year, leaves me no choice.  I'll be planting window boxes again!   I had forgotten how colorful and pretty they were!  My hesitation has been because, like everyone, I am busy much of the summer and away from my home quite often.  It's very hard keeping the window boxes and planters watered and alive. 

Moving the pots to the center of the deck and running a sprinkler on a water timer while away seemed to do the trick most of the time.  However, it is still a lot of work.   Summer is only so long  though, so... I'm thinking it is still worth the trouble!

Dwarf Irises

I discovered these dwarf irises blooming this morning in my shade garden.  Finding them was so thrilling!  My friend, Nancy, had given me a section of this plant at our garden club plant swap a few years ago.  Nancy's plants are always reliable and always perform well in my garden.  If possible, I try to grab whatever she offers at our plant swaps!

As you can see, this dwarf iris has really spread out.  I started with only two or three rhizomes and now they have spread to a 1  1/2 foot by 3 foot section of the garden.

I'm not even sure if they are supposed to like shade but this iris has loved it there!  I'm sure this plant would look great in a rock garden, as well.

Trying a Plant Experiment

They were having a sale on pansies at my local Lowes store last week.  They were half off!  Since I hadn't planted anything in my barn window boxes, I thought I would give them a try.  The barn window boxes are kind of a pain because there is no water at the barn and I either have to drive my car down a dirt road or walk down a steep hill carrying old soda jugs filled with water.  (Most of the time the car choice wins.)  The reason I go to all of this trouble is because the barn is on a busy road and people see it so, I want it to look pretty.  I usually wait until later in the season to get into that whole routine but, I thought the price of the pansies was so good, I would give it a try. 

My thinking was that I would be diligent about fertilizing the flowers and hope that they would end up performing well, even with the bad start.  Let's see what happens with these bargain pansies!
 

This really is a sad display, I know.  It's a rustic barn anyway but I'm not sure these pansies will do well enough for me to leave them in.  We'll see.

This is a few days after I watered them with Schultz Expert Bloom Plus Fertilizer.  They were starting to perk up a little bit.

As a comparison, these are pansies I purchased a few weeks ago from my local farm stand.  They started off with big beautiful blooms.  I'm pretty sure the Lowes pansies won't ever look this nice but, I am giving it a shot anyway. I'm hoping the fertilizer will work wonders. I'll let you know what happens.

Afternoon Tea and Dessert

I had fun putting this little vignette together with some crisp white linens and my fancy tea cups.  The tea cups are ones I had collected years ago from the Bradford Exchange.  It was one of those deals where you received a new tea cup every month or so.  It was a real thrill opening the package and discovering the beautiful tea cup inside.  The tea cups came with a matching spoon, as well.  I wish I liked tea more to really enjoy them but, I do happily display them on a special shelf!

It was time to bring out the special silverware as well!

I tied the napkins in a bow with pink organdy ribbon for more color.

The heart-shaped china piece was a good place for the used tea bags.



A Kalanchoe plant a friend had given me was just the right color for my centerpiece.

It's time for tea and dessert!

Joyful Flower Quotes

I came across these neat flower quotes and wanted to share them with you.  All of us who love flowers and gardening can certainly appreciate them and agree!

"I hope some day to meet God, because I want to thank Him for the flowers" -Robert Brault-

     ~I found this quote on my Mary Engelbreit daily calendar~

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more hopeful"
             -Luther Burbank, American botanist-

     ~I found this quote in the April 2014 issue of Country Living Magazine

SPRINGTIME PACKAGES

These springtime gifts were going off to an event.  Aren't they cheery?!

Do you like the gifts without the tags...

or with?