On the deck...

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend, everyone. I just wanted to share a few photos from the deck, and show you a couple of new things that I have potted up this week. This space is right off the sunporch and under my kitchen window, so I always like to keep things tidied up out here, giving me a pretty view while I'm in the kitchen. I can't see much of the rest of the yard from that vantage point, so if this looks presentable then I'm happy.

For some reason, I've lost a couple of ivy's inside, so I headed over to the little corner nursery to see if they had any left. I hate going there in these mid days of July, because all the plants are looking forlorn and straggly. They are shutting down next week, so the nature lover and rescuer in me wants to adopt all the poor misfits and bring them home.

I don't have very much of a green thumb, so they'd be taking their chances here with me, but I did find a couple of sweet Pink Ivy Geraniums, and these little pink Petunia-like plants. I put them here in this old wire basket with the burlap ribbon that I painted last year.

This is my super old wicker wrapped chair that my mom gave me years ago. It's protected from the elements out here, so it pretties up this little corner next to the door.

I stuck in a little cream colored tin tray for some added shabby interest.

So far so good with my Impatiens in the old concrete urns. If the chipmunks will leave them alone they may make it the rest of the summer.

The hail storm over Father's Day weekend killed all my Petunias, and did a number on the rest of my plants. We had ping pong sized hail and it tore most of my potted plants to smithereens. I ended up having to replace about half. And speaking of hail, it also finished off our 30 year old shake roof. Everyone in our subdivision is either getting a new roof, or having major repairs. We're hoping we can get a new roof, but that will take a huge chunk of money, even IF the insurance will help out. It's beyond patching. 

The little black wagon was one of the victims of the hail storm,

 so I had to replant it.

The angel vine and mint are going crazy though.

This is a little metal grocery store display rack that's been in the garage, I pulled it out and planted some old pots with Moss Rose, which works well in the heat and sun. The Petunia on the bottom shelf is iffy. It's a little shaded down there on the bottom, so it doesn't get pounded too much. I guess I'm going to have to quit buying Petunias, they just don't like it here.

On the other hand, the Lantana and Geraniums are flourishing.

OK, so that's what's happening on the deck this week...

And an update on the last post about my Antique Mall space, Hubbs and I went over yesterday morning and packed up all the smalls, unscrewed all the doors and took down the gate, so they're accessible now for shoppers. I had lot's of interest in all the pieces while we were there, and a really nice man came by saying that his daughter was getting married and that the large window would be perfect for a backdrop. So I'm hoping it goes to a good home. I know you all were hoping I would keep it, but it's just huge, and I had it stored in my garage for 3 years, it needs to be enjoyed and used by someone.

Joining in with these parties this week:

Blissful Whites at Timewashed

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch

Knick of Time Tuesday

See you Monday for The Marketplace, 

hope you'll come by and link up if you have an Etsy Shop or Online Boutique.

xoxo,

Pretty in Pink

Thanks to my sweet husband, my computer is up and running again. He's a "computer savvy guy", so he knows who to call when there's a problem. YAY!!

This post is long overdue, by about 2 weeks, actually, since that's been how long ago my Peonies were in bloom. I've waited for several years for them to mature and they rewarded me this year with some lovely fat, ruffled, oh-so-heavenly blooms. 

They needed a special vase,

 and I thought that this antique pink Depression Glass Biscuit Jar

 showed them off to perfection.

I'm not really a "pastel" person, but this wonderful soft pink had me thinking of ways to show them off. My one nod to pink in decor is in my love for rosy-posies patterned vintage china, so a little impromptu garden tote filled with my mismatched pieces was the answer.

A pink plaid vintage "luncheon cloth" was the foundation.

Over the years I've collected several different pink floral patterns

 of salad and dessert plates 

that I just keep stacked in the Dining Room. 

I also brought out two of my Heisey etched glassware goblets

 for a little more lacey feminine charm.

Vintage floral embroidered tea towels serve as napkins, 

with mismatched dessert silver.

In an update to the yard mess from the storm, we were able to get most of it cleaned up, but it took our Father's Day to get it all done. Lousy timing, but glad that we had that day to do it. At least I can look out on my deck now and not want to cry. I'm sure most everything will be back blooming in a week or two. Just seeing these photos makes me feel better...

I'll be joining in on these great weekly parties:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Homework Wednesday at The Everyday Home
DIY by Design
From My Front Porch to Yours
Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
No Minimalist Here
TTT at Stone Gable

xoxo,

A Vintage Flower Wagon

I've been seeing photos of some adorable vintage children's wagons being filled with flowers this Spring; some planted, others just holding the pots. I had this little guy, here, that I found a few years ago to fill with pumpkins and mums, but it was just sitting in the garage all forlorn, so I brought it out to the deck and decided to liven it up a little.

It's just not Summer without Red Geraniums, so I had to include a few of those, then Million Bells, Petunias, Lobelia and Marigolds. I wanted it to be bright and colorful, since the wagon itself is black.

It's not but just a few inches deep, so I had to use peat pots for the Geraniums and some of the others that were larger plants with more root base. Then I just filled the whole wagon with potting mix to help hold it all together. My husband drilled a few holes for drainage before starting, and that will help this Fall too, since water always collected in the bottom around the pumpkins.

My picket fence gate from the sunporch came out as a photo background.

Here it is last Fall on the front porch, and then a few others 

from my Pinterest Board, Wheelbarrows, Carts and Wagons.

LOVE the idea of using one for Herbs.

 I just have a few other things to get potted, 

most of it is done.

Now, I just get to wait and see them fill out.

I'll show you how it's growing in a few weeks.

Hopefully it will be spilling over the sides to cover up the pots.

It's been nice having more room on the deck now that the Monster Gas Grill has been adopted by the kids. We went to Academy Sports and Outdoors and found a little charcoal grill on sale yesterday. My husband said that he'd never thought of me as a "cheap date" until that purchase. Hey, doesn't take a lot to make me happy...sometimes.We grilled filets, and they were heavenly. But we've decided not to tell the kids that we went "cheapo" on the cooker. Bigger is better in their minds. Not me, I just want a steak that tastes like "steak".

joining in with these party gals:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Inspiration Exchange at Ella Claire

Share Your Cup Thursday at Mrs. Olson
Tips and Tutorials at Stone Gable
French Country Cottage
The Charm of Home
The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch
Simple and Sweet at Rooted inThyme
Garden Party at Fishtail Cottage
Funky Junk
Blitzed on Pinterest

Hope you're start of Summer was a good one!

xoxo,

Of Roses and Redoute...

Last weekend I shared some photos of the front yard, and a Knockout Rose bush that is blooming profusely this year. Our yard has two levels and this bush is nestled in a little grotto area that is shared by a much used bird bath and surrounded by Black-eyed Susans.

I thought I'd clip a few sprigs of blooms and bring them inside to enjoy up close.

I thought they'd feel at home in this petite Staffordshire Crown China teapot, trimmed out in a lacy pink pattern of flowers with gold trim.

I  also just recently found this little white chippy box and thought it might work for one of my "Vintage Seed Box" embellishments. Spring and Roses go together beautifully with one of my two vintage Redoute framed prints from the 40's, that I had on my baker's rack on the sunporch.

Below, I included some interesting information about Redoute. Knowing a little about the artist makes these beautiful prints all the more interesting.

 Pierre-Joseph Redouté (10 July 1759 in Saint-Hubert, Belgium – 19 June 1840 in Paris), was a Belgian painter and botanist, known for his watercolours of roses, lilies and other flowers at Malmaison. He was nicknamed "The Raphael of flowers".

He was an official court artist of Queen Marie Antoinette, and he continued painting through the French Revolution and Reign of Terror. Redouté survived the turbulent political upheaval to gain international recognition for his precise renderings of plants, which remain as fresh in the early 21st century as when first painted.

Paris was the cultural and scientific centre of Europe during an outstanding period in botanical illustration (1798 – 1837), one noted for the publication of several folio books with coloured plates. Enthusiastically, Redouté became an heir to the tradition of the Flemish and Dutch flower painters Brueghel, Ruysch, van Huysum and de Heem. Redouté contributed over 2,100 published plates depicting over 1,800 different species, many never rendered before.

 Marie Antoinette became his patron. Redouté received the title of Draughtsman and Painter to the Queen's Cabinet. In 1798, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, became his patron and, some years later, he was her official artist. 

What perfection is found within the bloom of a rose.

My heart is heavy with all the devastation in Oklahoma. We are in the same "tornado alley" as they are. Storms start in North Texas and then take the northeast route each Spring. Many of us here in Missouri have basements, but Oklahoma has so much bedrock that basements aren't incorporated into a home's structure; not much comfort, but a little. I'm praying for all those who have lost so much in these storms this week.

I'll be linking up to these parties this week:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Stone Gable
House Party at No Minimalist Here
Rooted in Thyme
The Charm of Home
French Country Cottage
Shabby Art Boutique
Jennifer Rizzo
Craftberry Bush

xoxo,