An Afternoon In the Garden

A view of my cottage from the best place to sit when the weather is warm.

Sometimes unanticipated yard work is the best and most productive kind. Sometimes one thing leads to another and simply mowing the lawn leads to heavy trimming and weeding. So went my afternoon and I am beyond thrilled!

Here's my new view from the back door: open, green and airy. No longer overgrown, dark or crying for attention.

You can see the freshly groomed palm trunk right above the calla lilies.

Other places in the garden are showing their spring colors and the irises are in full swing.

And the camellia is ready to burst with blossoms.

Garden Project: Painting the Porch Pale Yellow

Last week we had a run of ideal paint-drying weather as Santa Anas coaxed temperatures into the 80s. Having trimmed my plants back the week before, I spent the good part of Wednesday with brush in hand and ladder in tow taking advantage of the dry heat. Here are a few shots of my completed porch painting project.

The porch railing design was inspired by a tip in a 1980s issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

This hanging basket was lucky enough to have an impatien broadcast a seed onto the outside tip of the cone. It's been thriving for about two months now and has outlasted the plants that were actually in the cone.

I've had good luck with coleus this year (usually snails don't give them much of a chance) and this particular group is right outside my back door. My bench and porch swing are the same blue of the doors and I plan on touching up their paint when the weather heats up again.