Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1500 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

MHC Before & After

June 11, 2012 at 9:30 am by Claudia

I ran across this photo yesterday, taken in the autumn of 2005, a few months after we moved into Mockingbird Hill Cottage:

When we moved in, the two bushes on each end of the area in front of the porch were the only bushes there. Since we moved in at the very end of August, we didn’t do any planting. We did buy those 4 teeny tiny boxwoods to fill in that yawning empty space in front of the porch. I dug out a bed and planted the boxwoods. Then winter came and once we hit the spring of 2006, I started planting in earnest.

Here’s the cottage now. I tried to get a view from the same angle:

I not only pruned those boxwoods this year because they were so big, I made an attempt to prune them into a pretty shape. Ignore the little picket fences leaning against the porch. They’re holding something up until the hydrangea I just planted (just to the left of them) fills in the space. And the rocks on the right are maybe going to be used in a rock garden. Not sure yet about that.

Anyway, what a difference almost 7 years makes! The roses have grown by leaps and bounds. I added two planting beds just around the corner from that rose bush, where there are more rose bushes, an Annabelle hydrangea, spirea, purple coneflowers, the New Dawn rose, liatris, white coneflowers, day lilies, and a butterfly bush.

I hope I can find a photo of the big planting bed in its forlorn 2005 state. I know we have one somewhere from the day we first saw the house. If I find it, I’ll show you a before and after. Of course all the before shots were from my pre-blogging days. If I had been blogging, you can be sure I would have documented everything!

The great thing about being home this spring, beside the obvious pleasure I get from seeing everything burst into bloom, is that I have time to plan, to add, to tweak. I’ve added plants here and there. I’ve planted some seeds in a little area by the dog corral. I’ve pruned. I’ve weeded. I’ve added plants to the patio. In previous years, I could only prep the beds, mulch and cross my fingers until I came back home in July.

How are you on this Monday? What are your plans? (Yesterday I mowed, did laundry and caulked the tub. Today, I’m mowing again – it’s endless. And cleaning. And eating Rhubarb Snacking Cake. )

Happy Monday.

Sunday Bits

June 10, 2012 at 9:11 am by Claudia

A gorgeous morning. Rain may fall at some point in the day. It probably will. (It’s been like this for days.) I have to mow today…and clean…and organize. We have guests coming to stay for a couple of days mid-week. Nothing like the prospect of visitors to sharpen your ‘house and yard vision.’

I was looking for something yesterday and found something else. Didn’t I post about that sort of discovery earlier in the week? I found the door knocker I used in our little rental cottage. It’s such a pretty acorn and oak leaf design. Our doors, however, are metal and I don’t want to mess with all that. Since we have no doorbell, I thought I’d attach it to one of the porch posts – right by the porch entrance.

Now instead of shouting ‘Hello?’ (which is fine, by the way) perhaps a visitor will eye that door knocker and give it a nice, sharp, metallic rap.

I’m afraid I succumbed again.

I made more of the Rhubarb Snacking Cake.

I couldn’t help it. Rhubarb is only in season for a short time. And this rhubarb was grown locally. I mean, it’s my civic duty, don’t you think?

If you love rhubarb, make this. We are in love with it. It’s fabulous right out of the oven, but I like it refrigerated as well.

Don had some when he got home late last night. I had a piece this morning. And I’ll have another shortly.

Happy Sunday.

Our Funky Little Patio

June 9, 2012 at 8:00 am by Claudia

A couple of years ago, Don got the idea to add a patio space next to the house. Let me explain: when you drive up our driveway you reach the top, turn the car to the left and park. The car ended up being parked right next to the house, which was too close, thank you very much. So Don thought some separation might be called for. I was home for a week’s break in the middle of my 6 month stint in San Diego. So we went to the store, bought some pavers and some barrels and a birdbath and threw it together. We didn’t really level the area or put sand down or any of the recommended steps – we just did it. Three years later, it’s still here. The pavers are a bit crooked here and there, but it’s hanging in there.

I hope you are enjoying my high-tech visual aids. Since I harp on the peonies all the time, I thought you might like to see where they are on the property. See them at the top of the picture? They are all the way down by the road. The big garden bed starts just beyond the patio and slopes downward to the lawn. We park the car to the left.

I love, love the white chairs. We bought them at a local antique store several years ago. They’re extremely comfortable and you can rock in them. We used to have them way up in the back forty but we didn’t sit there very much (although it’s cool up there – you can see the mountains.)

So…yesterday I decided to add that galvanized tub on the right. And I planted lots of bright colored annuals in it.

I found the tub at our local Agway store. The plants are from my favorite local nursery.

Then I moved one of the benches from the porch to the funky patio. I always like to have a place to set down a cool drink or a book.

You know I love our porch, but sometimes I like to sit here. It’s a little further from the road and a wee bit more quiet. Some day, we’d love to add a fence between the big garden bed and the patio. It would nicely separate the areas and make the patio more private.

And look! Last year some of the impatiens that are planted in the barrels seeded between the pavers. Impatiens are annuals. They’re not supposed to come back. But there they are! A wee little miracle.

The patio is nothing to write home about. It’s not slick or professionally done. But it suits our little cottage and our lifestyle. I guess if the patio is funky, we must be, too.

Happy Saturday. It’s a rainy one here.

Oh, Northeastern gardeners: do you have more slugs than ever this year? We sure do. Every leaf on every plant has holes. I see those little buggers everywhere.

MHC Before & After

Sunday Bits

Our Funky Little Patio

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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