front and side garden..hardscape finished

Well, I did plan on waiting to show you the front and side garden once all the plants were in but since this may take a little longer than planned I thought I'd show you the hard scape.. all the paving and rocks we put down.  I don't even have the plants to go in yet and I am also waiting for a downpour of rain to soften the soil to make it easier on these poor old bones to dig up the ground and add some compost. I can't even remember when it rained last.

this picture is looking from the back of my house, on the side, looking towards the front yard. We finished the gravel path and took it from the back and joined it up to the front.

the path takes you to my side verandah and down the sandstone steps to where my front rockery, retaining wall is.. Where you can see the pot I would love to do some sort of water feature there...or perhaps a statue..still undecided..

I had planted some pink and white pansies near the steps a while ago and so far they are withstanding all the heat we have had..(already!)

plants need to go in along the front of the verandah and along that dirt part you can see on the left, which is on the higher level..

here is a  better view from the top.. the soil is hard as a rock .. I may have to use the hose to dampen the soil as who knows when it will rain..

and this is the view from the front to the side garden, that mess of a garden on the left(where the yellow pot is) all needs to be dug up too...that's where all the large trees were that we had chopped down. I have so much sunlight on the house now it's wonderful ..I love it.. but so do the weeds unfortunately! I also have another arch waiting to be put up with a couple of yellow climbing roses somewhere along this path, probably right at the very front. Hopefully I can put some plants in soon to add some much needed colour!

take care,

Maryann

what's blooming ..sept 2013

We have had a good start to spring this year and my garden is just full of colour!  Nearly every morning I'll make myself a cuppa and have a wander round and just enjoy the beauty that God created and of course look for anything new that may have opened to make my day. I'll just warn you there are quite a few pics.

My angel has lost his wings for now. We had very strong winds not long ago and knocked my poor angel down. They suffered a crack down the middle so I need to find a good quality glue as he's not the same with out them.

Looks like Ill be doing some weeding this week end....

I'm still waiting very patiently for my roses to bloom but not long now! Today I'm joining Glenda at
Tootsie Time for Fertiliser Friday
take care... Maryann

some new things for my bedroom..

Hi girls, hope you have all been doing well! Since I last wrote I've added a couple of new things to my bedroom...a couple small and also one BIG thing...
I'll start with the small..
 I picked up these pretty pale green and diamonte earrings for a few dollars at one of those costume jewelry places.. and even though I will probably never wear them, I really liked the vintagey look they had and knew they would look great on my dressing table..

Also got some new picture frames with a gift voucher I still had from last Xmas (would you believe) from Bed, Bath and Table...

I picked ones with blue in them as I have touches of blue in my room along with the pink. I really need to put photos in them .. they've been like this for ages!!

ok, now for the big thing....

 Yep.. I found a new bed. Actually it found me! 

Funny how things happen sometimes as I have been longing to change my 17 yr old bed for a vintage looking one for a while. A friend of ours sent a pic of the bed to my hubby asking if  we knew anyone who wants it. Well I knew someone!  These pics were taken a few days ago and I have already changed some things around trying to make it work.

Now truth be told I wasn't looking for a 4 poster... my room is a good size but it's not massive and I was scared it would cramp the room. Hubby said he could cut it down for me but I thought I'd have a go playing around with it first before we start hacking it!

I already have lace curtains on my windows so at first I only added some roses to each corner... cute.. but I ended taking them down the next day. 

When I set up the pillows, they completely covered the headboard which was a disappointment.  I'm also not sure about the front rail being so close to the chandelier and.... I'm also not sure whether I should get the sander out and totally distress it 'cause it's looking a little too new for me.

 So for the last couple of days I have been ripping my hair out mucking around in this room deciding whether to leave it a 4 poster or not.

Once I have some stuff up on the walls and the final look I'll let you know..

take care,... Maryann xx

ps.. oh yeah and in all that mucking around.... I broke one of my favorite mirrors!! 

Tomorrow.. the first day of spring 2013!

They said on the news that we had a very mild winter this year and I totally agree. Normally around this time of year it's still pretty cold, but there have been days over the last couple of weeks where I have been working in my garden with just a singlet top on!  I'm not complaining of course as a lot of the bulbs I planted weeks ago are now popping their heads!

my pretty tulips that I just love looking at everyday.. some of the hyacinths have come and gone already..

Iceberg king daffodils.. will definitely have to get more for next year.. they have a frilly centre that start off a buttery yellow then fade to an icy pale yellow.. just gorgeous and rightly named!

Most of my time these days are spent in the garden. I planted 20 new roses already and have 10 more to go! I literally cannot wait for them all to flower and look forward to all the beautiful bouquets I will have.

I have been working on this new garden bed which is an extension to where I have my new arch. This is along the fence line and now joins up to my veggie patch at the far back. I have blue bells planted in the metal tub, which is bottom less btw, so ideal for the roots to roam free.

Where you see the lattice along the fence line I had planted a climbing Jasmina (rose) last year and hope to put in 2 more roses, one either side.
OK, so lets take a walk up the driveway to the very front of my yard.. just under those big pine trees..

 I haven't been able to show much before as the plants were and still are a bit small but you can see all the daffodils I planted in winter, about 200 of them!...this would be a stretch of about 40 mtrs long. I also planted a few in the wheelbarrow that haven't flowered yet. I picked up that wheelbarrow at a kerbside clean up just round the corner from where I live. I think some pansies would look lovely in there.. must get some next time I go out..

this photo below is looking back towards the driveway.. and you can see my neighbour's orchard.. his fruit trees are coming into flower.. which is a pretty sight!

can you see the space between the hedge and the front gate posts? I have a row of pink camelias planted there and a climber with huge white trumpet flowers right on the end.. which are also still small at this stage.

can you tell I love my tulips?

 can't wait for the other varieties to flower.! bring on spring!!

till next time.. take care, Maryann