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The first thing I had to do was build a walkway from the west end of the patio to the yard. This is where we removed a section of railing to make an entrance to the dog kennel that ended up back in the veggie garden. I didn't want to do away with this entire end of the flower bed, so I hauled in some concrete pavers and set them in for a walk way. Then I edged, weeded and loosened the soil and placed a couple of large (bottomless) pots at each side of the opening. I'll be planting a couple of cherry tomatoes in them, and training them up the posts.
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Then I edged, weeded and loosened the soil in the rest of that bed. Not much is growing there, just a single rose bush, an old thyme that I want to dig out, and what remains of the clematis Mr. Granny mutilated last fall. He thought it was a really tall weed :-( I'd like to replace the thyme with a rosemary, and I'm still up in the air over what else I want in this bed. I'd like to leave room for planting spring bulbs next fall, and I'm thinking I might just fill it up with impatiens for summer color.
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I moved the table to the east end of the patio, so I can put my seedlings on it for morning sun, and I moved the seating area to the center.
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The barbecue went over to the west end.
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Maybe I can get used to using the patio door on the right, which exits from the dining room. We haven't used it in years and years, as we always had a doggy door insert in it. Now that we put an "in the wall" doggy door in, and have a direct entrance to the back yard, we'll have to get use to using the door again.
Lovely weather again today, so I played with Mr. Granny's new birthday present. I bought him an electric power washer! Yes, I really bought it for me, but don't tell him, LOL! I soaped and power washed the entire front of the house and garage, including the windows, then I dried the windows and doors with a big soft towel. It looks so sparkling clean! I got out our two outdoor rocking chairs and two newly purchased folding chairs, two small tables, and a couple of pots of tiny evergreens. The front porch is all ready for relaxing and watching the traffic drive by.
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Sparkling windows and comfy seating. Too bad I'm too busy to take advantage of it! Maybe tomorrow.
Your new walkway and bed look great! Will be very pretty this summer if you plant inpatients in there. Your porches look relaxing to sit after a day in the garden. Got my shelling peas planted today wearing my winter jacket and ear muffs! Nancy
ReplyDeleteLOL, Nancy, I might be wearing ear muffs by next week! I'm really pouring it on to get as much done as possible in this unusually warm weather. I have such a list of chores, and guess what is coming up on the 15th....jury duty! As if my plate wasn't full enough already :-( Oh....I even got the sheets hung out on the line today! It will be so nice climbing into a sunshine-fresh smelling bed tonight.
DeleteLove those nice shiny windows Granny! I sure wish mine looked like that!
ReplyDeleteLucky you to have nice warm weather! It still feels like winter here! It's supposed to warm up by the weekend though.
Robin, you'll warm up just as we cool down. We just can't get together on this weather thing!
DeleteThat looks so inviting! We still have freezing nights here in the Midwest. I'll be over with some tea today:-) Your space looks like a great place to enjoy the harvest this season...Happy Gardening-robbie:-)
ReplyDeleteRobbie, I expect some freezes yet, although we've been real lucky so far and the forecast looks good. The next 9 days are supposed to have lows in the 40s, then day 10 at 36. I'll keep one of the rocking chairs warm for you, bring that tea!
DeleteAG, Who are you kidding. Sit back and watch the traffic. That stuff is for old people like me, not for a teenager like you. ;-) You do more before lunch than most people do all week.
ReplyDeleteI checked my front bed after work today and the front row of onions is peaking through as is the pack row of peas. (first time ever for snow peas). I was suprised because just a few miles north and west of us it was still 39 last night. I am only 5 blocks from the chesapeake bay so we are a bit milder.
you gardening friend
Frank from Virginia
My goodness, Frank....you have such a long ID (923f4b88-9c52-11e2-ac0e-000bcdcb2996), I hope you don't have to remember it! I'm wondering if I use a different comment form, you might be able to comment just by entering your first name. I'll play with that.
DeleteI would so love a covered back porch with furniture. No space for it here though. We do have a back patio with table and chairs, but the sun can be brutal in the summer (yeah so usually the temps aren't bad, but I hate to sweat when I'm relaxing). I do sit out there late in the afternoon sometimes when the sun is far enough down that the house blocks it. Last year I bought myself a portable zero gravity chair. Oh for temps that are warm enough to sit outside again.
ReplyDeleteNo shiny windows here. We wash our outdoor windows once a year in the fall so they will let more light in. A hated chore, but at least hubby will help with it. I do wash my sliding door more often tough. I think because people put their hand prints all over it. And by people I mean me.
Our back porch is on the north side of the house, but it has a fiberglass roof and that really lets the heat in. I think we're going to replace it with a metal roof this year (if we ever get finished with the front of the house and new facia and rain gutters). The front has the priority, as the old gutters were leaking and rotting the facia boards. Anyway, our carport in AZ had the metal roof, and it was instantly cool standing under it. I hesitated to do it before, as I know it will make my kitchen very dark, but as it is we don't use the patio once the weather heats up.
DeleteOh, and my sliding patio doors are always a mess. Dog snot.
DeleteLovely Patio..after all that hard work, please please get some tea and relax on your patio with a good read :) This is what I am dreaming about if I had such a tidy and welcoming patio...
ReplyDeleteHahaha, Sarada. Today I'm repairing or replacing sprinklers. Two lines broken, four sprinkler heads and risers needing replacing. I'm drinking Tylenol rather than tea. Not really, but it sounds like a good idea about now!
DeleteIt looks lovely and so relaxing. At least your dog snot is low down! Taz gets up on a stool in front of the window and snots high at my house ; \
ReplyDeleteStefaneener, I just ignore the low down dog snot. If it's not in my line of vision I don't worry about it. Annie looks out the front windows from the back of the sofa, but she can't mess them up because the curtains get in her way. Otto's a good boy. He just peeks around the arm of the sofa and doesn't get near the window.
DeleteWow that concrete is CLEAN! Mine is so old LOL
ReplyDeleteErin, it's really very splotchy. That's why I have large rugs out there! I was considering a coat of concrete paint this year.
DeleteWe used a concrete stain in one of our buildings and absolutely LOVE it. It's very easy and doesn't peel like the paint does.It isn't the acid stain, just one that you spray on. The acid kind has to be rinsed and rinsed and I'd worry about any plants in the area. Plus I don't like working with acid when there's an easier way. We did the paint in our wood shop and it peeled in spots.
DeleteLangela, that's why I've hesitated with the painting. When we bought this place, there was a deck in the back. It had some dry rot, so we began removing boards to repair it and found to our delight there was the concrete slab underneath so we tore down the whole deck. The steps, however had been painted to match the decking, and that concrete paint has peeled quite badly. I could stain the slab, but I'll still have to paint those darned steps.
DeleteTry using your, I mean Mr Granny's, new power washer on the steps and see if the rest of the paint comes off.
DeleteI used a high powered washer on them last year, but that paint is really stuck on there. I even tried a wire brush. I'll just paint the steps whatever color the concrete turns out to be. Heck, I have so much to do I probably won't even get at it until next fall or maybe 2014!
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