If I see you in the Garden...

 ... I will abandon my post at the birdbath...

 ...smile...

...and run up to you for attention.

New Lawn!

Last Friday just after dawn, a sod truck rumbled up the street and delivered two pallets of Marathon I.  For the next several hours we carried, laid, watered and placed 1,000 square feet of freshly harvested grass.  Here's how it looked when we first started:

And a little further along, maybe 2/3rds done:

Now, a week later, it's grown noticeably and is just about ready for its first cut.  After prepping the area for many months and basically living next to a dirt patch, it's amazing how dust-free the house and porch stay.  Next up? Flowers, flowers, flowers!

Back in the Yard

 It's been quite a while since I've shown more of our yard progress.  And, although we slowed down a little at the end of last fall, we did accomplish several large tasks over the last few months -- boardwalk, beach rock borders, painting...  Here's a little peek at what's moved ahead:

 The wall is officially blue! On sunny days the palms cast great shadows on the wall and orange and white flowers really pop against its brightness.

Above is a newly formed flower bed bordered by a band of beach cobbles, each handpicked  and brought home by yours truly and my faithful elf.

Here's another view of the rock border and, in the very background, the boardwalk.  The rocks continue all the way along and also serve as a place for sprinklers.  

Next up? A few sprinkler adjustments, grass, flowers, transplanting... slowly but surely it's all coming together!

An Evening on the Beach

This evening down on the beach felt more like October than July and we were thankful for our sweaters as soon as we neared the water. The sun tried peeking through occasionally but was mostly hidden by the clouds that have hung around all month.

We passed several beach goers who weren't deterred by the briskness and spent most of the time crossing patches of cobble stones washed in by the tide.

A determined beetle took a brief break on his journey just long enough to pose for a picture.

We also passed several castles, the one below being the most elaborate with careful landscaping and bridges.

Another had pebble paving and a thoughtful bridge.


As the sun dipped lower, it grew chillier under thickening clouds and, calling it a day, we headed for home.

In the Garden

photo by Ann Weber, Smithfield Gardens, Suffolk

There's been some major gardening going on around here lately due to the dreary weather. That's right, while the rest of the country broils, our temps are barely reaching the high 60s and we haven't seen the sun for ages. Definitely one of the strangest summers yet, but perfect for working in the yard, and I've been taking full advantage. About 50 tropicanna rhizomes have been unearthed over the last few days. Their striped foliage and pretty red hues are right up my alley and they're super easy to separate and cultivate. This isn't the time of year to divide them, but in coastal Southern California they're hearty as can be, and in no time will be looking like the ones above.

A Weekend Tending to the Plants

Cool weather made for an ideal couple of days to spend gardening, and most of Saturday and Sunday were spent in the flower beds pruning, clipping, digging, planting and separating.

My lawn chairs even got a fresh coat of paint -- bright red and a creamy yellow to match the fiery colors that have replaced the irises and other bulbs.

Time not spent in the yard was devoted to adding items to and rearranging our etsy shop, plus a bit of website work and even some sewing. Phew! I'm exhausted! How was your weekend?

And be sure to visit Mary over at Little Red House for more mosaics.

Flowers Inside and Out

Today was an Easter to remember for a rather unusual reason: a 7.2 earthquake centered in Baja California south of Mexicali gave us quite a good and long shake in the afternoon. Ironically, the quake was at a latitude of 32 Degrees North!

Otherwise we had a nice quiet Easter with splendid weather and good company. Here's a mosaic with flowers from the garden as well as flowers and textures that appear on some of my favorite inside pieces.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Be sure to visit Mary over at Little Red House for more mosaics!