porch

Prettying Up the Porch

April 25, 2026 at 9:17 am by Claudia

I am tuckered out today. I did a lot of work outside this past week and much of it involved bending over repeatedly. Back aches, along with a major allergy flareup, have resulted in my surrender today. I need to take a break. Fortunately, it’s going to rain all day today, so I will not be tempted to “just do do a little something.”

I went to the nursery and, hurrah! – the impatiens had come in. I put together a flat, found some more lobelia in a paler purple, and the geraniums I grow in the barrels by the funky patio. And more potting soil. I still have to buy a certain kind of hanging plant that I use every year, and some coleus for a pot in the secret garden. I’ve decided that I’m only going to use one or two pots out there this year. That will save some money.

Came back home and started in on my porch project. I had to retreive the pots I use from the shed and then I proceeded to happily pot flowers for the next 3 hours. I swear, I was so happy! Nothing makes me happier than working in the garden and adding flowers to the porch. Don came out on the porch after I was done and thanked me for prettying up our favorite place. We sit out there a lot, Don plays his guitar there, I sometimes go out there with a cup of coffee very early in the morning and listen to the birds sing. We love that porch.

Nothing surprising here, it’s my usual setup. Hey, it works, so why mess with it? I want dependable at this point in my life.

The impatiens will begin to fill in pretty quickly. Before you know it, they will be quite lush.

So that’s pretty much done, save for one more hanging plant.

Hurrah!

Then to make it an even better day, I walked down to get the mail and decided to check out our culvert – the section that always has water. As I neared, I saw something jump in. It was a frog! A large frog. Has Phileas come back, or is this Phileas Jr.? I immediately went inside to tell Don and he was so happy. Unfortunately, when he ventured down to the culvert later in the day, the frog was MIA. But I reminded Don that that often happened last year. I hope Don can see him soon.

Okay. Time to rest.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Potting on the Porch

April 26, 2025 at 9:18 am by Claudia

Mother Nature has determined that I need a day of rest. It’s been raining since last night and we’ll have thunderstorms today. To be honest, I’ve known this was coming and boy, oh, boy is it welcome! We really need the rain and I really need to rest.

I’ve been working on clearing out the garden beds on a daily basis as well as driving back and forth to the nursery to see what is available. Yesterday, I cleared the garden beds on the far side of the house. Later in the day, I took a run to the nursery and another plant on my list was available. I’m still waiting for the final 3 and then I’ll be done.

Just the beginnings, as these pots will look very different once the plants take off.

This is lobelia. I have it in the pot in the first picture and in another pot on my little blue chair, which I’ll show another day.

Nothing has been officially arranged yet, but it’s the usual; big pots of impatiens on the benches, as well as my geranium which I overwinter every year. It’s on the bench near the porch entrance. I have two hanging pots of impatiens and two hanging pots of scaevola – those beautiful purple flowers that are super dependable. The impatiens will last until the first hard freeze, as will the scaevolas, lobelia, and calibrachoa. I can’t afford to change out the contents of my hanging pots from spring to summer. What is there is there, and it has to last for the next 6 months. Oh, and the pansies, in pots just outside the porch entrance – they last the longest of all of the flowers.

I’ll take more photos after a little time goes by. Hopefully, I can get everything potted by sometime next week. I also sowed the seeds for morning glories and zinnias.

It’s tiring, but necessary. Don is so adorable. He knows how much I look forward to spring and gardening and every time I come back from the nursery, he greets me with “Did you find anything??”

Today, some rest for my back, some household chores, and an episode of Gardener’s World. Don has a gig at a winery this afternoon.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

View From The Glider

May 20, 2024 at 7:53 am by Claudia

We’ve been working outside on these rain-free days. Don mowed the lilac side of the lawn yesterday and I pulled lots of weeds. I need to weed whack but I have to do it sparingly as my hand continues to heal. Anyway, we took about a half hour to sit on the glider and gaze on our property and remind ourselves how lucky we are to live here . It is so beautiful this time of year – so much green!

The view from the glider.

I decided to use only one of the Adirondack chairs this summer. We rarely use both of them at the same time and getting around them on our way to the glider is difficult. So, the other one is in the shed until we need it. I’m surprised how much all the impatiens have grown since I potted them with one hand a couple of weeks ago. They’ve really taken off.

Those are roses poking through the porch railing on the left. That glider was something Don picked up on the street way back when we were living in San Diego. I think he paid $25 for it. We’ve used it on the porch there, on the lawn in our rental house in Westchester, and on the porch here. It’s rusty and the paint has flaked off and I love its weathered look.

The secret garden needs to be mowed but it’s been very wet around here. The wild phlox is blooming all over the property. That’s an old street sign from our days in San Diego. It doesn’t really belong in the secret garden, so I’ll move it soon.

Today, some more chores outside.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Prettying Up the Porch

Potting on the Porch

View From The Glider

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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