I grabbed the opportunity to do some work outside yesterday. I wanted to get the pansies, geraniums, and lavender that I recently purchased in some pots.

Don found that chair on the curb during our neighboring town’s trash day. I have to clean it up a bit. We’re thinking it might look good at the kitchen table. In the meantime, I sat in it while I added pansies to the white urns.

Then the dark gray urns:

I got the urns from The Christmas Tree Shops a few years back. They’re not vintage, but they look that way.

Happy flowers.

And I planted them in the ‘window box’ I bought last year because I had too many pansies. Same case this year.

There’s another pot over on the porch table with even more pansies!

This is only the second year I’ve planted pansies. I’m so glad I did; they’re perfect for this time of year when the weather is dicey and the nighttime temps are cold. Eventually, when the sun gets too hot, I’ll switch them out for some calibrachoa. Though I somehow managed to keep the window box going into October and it just kept on blooming!

I also did some sweeping and cleaning up on the porch. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the fern makes it. My mistake in putting it outside too soon, along with the wind knocking it down two times, has resulted in damage to the plant. And it was so, so beautiful right before I put it outside! I could kick myself. I’m hoping that it will revive over time. I keep apologizing to it. Over and over. Sigh.

We plant lovers sometimes make mistakes. This one was a doozy.

We have rainy days ahead. And I have more mulching to do. I’m going to tackle that today. I also have to buy more plants for pots. (I went through a 2 cu. ft. bag of potting soil yesterday!)

Don and I talked about plant budget yesterday. I’m not adding any new plants to the beds this year. That will save some money. The budget goes for mulch, topsoil (for the seeds I plant) and potting soil, along with all the plants for the porch, funky patio, and secret garden pots. Our little cottage and our gardens are a haven for us. Seeing flowers blooming, having secret places to go to surrounded by natural greenery and a splash of color from potted flowers, sitting on our porch or on the funky patio – and we do that every day – surrounded by beauty brings us peace. And we need that now more than ever. So it’s worth it.

Call it “therapy.”

I’m reading The Girl of His Dreams  by Donna Leon. So far, so good. After that, I have two more Ian Rankins from our library. But, I imagine, like most of you, I’m getting less reading time in as I spend much of the day working outside.

Happy May! I hope it’s warming up in your neck of the country.

Happy Wednesday.