veggie patch 'garden arch' inspiration..2014

Does anyone else like looking at photos of veggie patch gardens.. I do! Well I got this idea from pinterest to create an arch where I can let my beans and cucumbers climb up and over and where I can walk through the centre in between the rows. I'll show you the inspiration photos first...

Well mine isn't as pretty as these but it will do the job. The frame was originally an (el cheapo) greenhouse with very thin plastic. Just 2 days after we set it up we had strong winds here and ripped all the plastic off! (which I somehow just KNEW would happen), and so it sat like that for a while 'till I thought to use it as the arch for my veggie patch.

I got hubby to help me attach  chicken wire to it .. ofcourse he ended up doing most of the work!

I'm so glad I didn't throw this frame away..

.

beans starting to climb up already.. can't wait till they reach the top..

This is the view from the back of the veggie patch.. it looks more like a jungle right now..which I love.

 

The pumpkin, which self seeds every year from my compost heap..is feeling the heat..

I have an abundance of tomatoes this year.. so lot's of pasta sauce to come..!

and meet the girls... i have 5 in all, the white one is a chinese silkie and is just like a ball of fluff walking around. They belonged to a friend who was down sizing and I was more than happy to take them off her hands.. 

loving the fresh eggs!

take care, 

Maryann xxx

another wardrobe for Lisa..

I  have been a little preoccupied lately working on a new wardrobe for Lisa. The one she had was way too small so I managed to pick one up on ebay (that wasn't too far for Fred to fetch for me) not long ago. It's still not finished but here is a peek...

since painting it the doors have sagged a little and now won't shut properly! So I have to wait for Fred to take them off and shave a bit off the bottoms.. 

fabric paneled inside doors .. 

and no these are not cookies.. they're furniture appliques I had been waiting on from the U.S They were 50% off so I went a little overboard and bought enough to embellish a lot of my furniture!!

Here is the before..

and what about Christmas you might say.. well I still have to do my shopping ..yeah I'm a leave it 'till the last minute kinda gal.. and decorations are kept to the minimum this year.. I did put the tree up though which is something. 

and I couldn't resist showing you my Flamingo rose... so if I don't post again  before Christmas I will leave you now with the warmest wishes for the holiday season and please stay safe!

take care, Maryann

farmhouse cabinet redo.. redone ...

Well sometimes, most of the time really, when I'm not 100% happy with something I will keep changing it and changing it around 'till I am. As is the case with this cabinet. I first blogged about it here and was quite happy with it but got sick of looking at my tablecloths through the wire doors as they weren't always this nice and tidy.



So here it is as it sits today and have had it like this for a while 'cause now I'm happy with it. (for now)

I have this lovely cotton lace panel that I tried to attach to the inside of the doors but you think I could get a nail or screw into that wood?? NO WAY.. it's as hard as a rock, hubby couldn't even do it, it took him an hour to get of those teeny tiny screw hooks in and with 7 more to go I told him to forget it!

So for now the lace panel just sits gathered on top of the closed doors...

I added some porcelain floral handles I already had and to the top, vintage salt and pepper shakers and a butter dish along with a metal wire dome I bought a while ago.

Filled the inside with some of my favourite vintage dishes and bowls...

I thought after a few posts of boring you with my garden I'd show you what I've been up to inside!

as always take care,

Maryann

time to smell the roses..

I don't know why but for the last few months I have been TOTALLY obsessed with roses... first buying them, then planting them and now finally watching them bloom. I felt like a mom waiting for her babies to be born. It has also been quite hot lately and I've been putting in a lot of energy just to keep them alive... but thankfully the weather has turned and it's been raining for the last 2 days.

Anyway here are some pics if you are into roses like me..

I just adore my climbing Jasmina...

 

 

and these are just a few ....
bye for now and take care,.. Maryann

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