Spring On The Mountaintop

 It seems that spring has at long last made its way to the mountaintop - happy days indeed! We are not out of the woods yet, but our last snowfall has melted and soon the trees will be leafing out. Is there ever a more beautiful sight than the soft green flush of trees in springtime? 

The Deck Garden in July

Well....nearly TWO MONTHS since I was here with an update.....what's up with that? I've missed all of you, and thanks to those of you who have reached out to me on Instagram to let me know you've missed my blog posts!

Signs of Spring

Yesterday was a glorious day on the mountain top! The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and best of all......are you ready?? 

Drumroll please.....

Where Have I Been?

I seriously can't believe it's been over a month since I managed to get a post written.

Thank you to all of you who reached out to see if I'm ok.....Yes, I'm ok....Summer's just ridiculously busy for me!

The Garden (Jungle!) On This Summer Solstice

Like much of the country, we have had rain, rain, and more rain! 

It's better than drought conditions, for sure.....and the gardens appreciate it. 

July 4th On The Mountain Top

It's been unbearably hot on the mountain top for the past 5 days. We are not used to this heat and humidity, especially not for extended periods like this. 

Growing Fruit in Containers

I've been doing some research on the best fruits to grow in containers. It's tough in my region, unless you have a heated sunroom in which to overwinter them, to grow things like citrus. 

Weekend To-Do List

There are never enough hours in the day. And most definitely, not enough hours in the weekend. 

If I have any hope of remembering all the things I need to do on any given weekend I must write them down. 

If anyone is free this weekend and wants to come by to help.....here's what we'll be doing. 

That is, if the rain everrrrrrrrr stops. 

Sigh. 

Creating a Patio Herb Garden

Remember I told you yesterday that I had a very productive and wonderful weekend?  And that I'm very, very sore ever since? Yup. Getting old. How did that happen? Well, part of what made me so happy....and so incredibly sore....was creating my new herb garden up on my deck.  I did think about putting the herb garden down on the stone patio, but I really wanted the herbs right outside the kitchen door. It just makes the most sense - after all, that's where the magic happens, right?  And now I look out my kitchen window and I feel all fancy, like I have a potager in Provence.  Via Ok, it's hardly a true potager, but let me have my dream.... Anyway, here's how it all went down.  On Saturday the weather was just perfect to be working outside. I was puttering around the house and gardens doing this & that...and Sweetie came to my house and spent time on the deck putting together my two new herb boxes.  I was so excited!!  I know, don't judge....I'm pretty lame, no doubt.  To make the boxes more practical, I bought 12 casters so Sweetie could put 6 on each box. This way they can be moved for cleaning, deck painting, etc.  As soon as they were all assembled I used my superhuman strength to carry two huge bags of peat moss up a flight of stairs to dump in as the first level of soil.  Peat moss is great as a bottom layer in a large planter like this. It's lightweight, helps keep the nutrients in the soil, is relatively inexpensive for the amount that you get, and of course it's organic.  To find out more about peat moss's wonderful uses in the garden, check out this article.  The next layer in the planter boxes was the beautiful compost my sweetie brought over in 5 gallon buckets.  Another heavy load to carry up the stairs! For the top layer, I had to run to our local Ace Hardware and pick up some organic potting soil. I bought everything they had left in stock.  I'm pretty sure that all the staff members at Ace are convinced by now that I'm crazy.  It may or may not be true. I'm not saying.  Anyway, once I had all the layers in the boxes I used my Garden Weasel to mix it all up.  I truly love that garden toy. Remember I told you all about it in this post?  When the soil was ready to go, I headed over to the veggie garden to dig up all the perennial herbs and re-plant them in the new boxes. I'm still not sure what's going to come back after those cold nights we had, but I'll find out soon.  I also added some herbs I picked up when I was off the mountain .  Box number one has Lavender, Purple Sage, French Tarragon, Lemon Thyme, and Italian Oregano. And I seeded some Dill in the back.  Box number two has Rosemary, Greek Oregano, Garden Sage, Sweet Marjoram, German Thyme, and Dill seeded in the back.  I still need to add Basil and Parsley after the danger of frost....and who knows what else. Possibly some Savory or Chervil.  The Mojito Mint is in a separate planter so it doesn't take over the world. Same with the Chives - I dug them all out of the veggie garden and potted them up.  The herb garden is right outside the kitchen door, on the other side of my L-shaped deck from the dining and firepit seating areas.  There is some additional seating on this side of the deck, along with the barbecue and the hose.  At the corner of the L, by the tall staircase leading to the stone path and parking area, is my deck swing.  Not to be confused with the swing by the garden cottage, which is new this year. I am so blessed, no doubt.  The deck swing has been in 3 homes with me so far and I love it.  This swing faces the dining table and firepit area, as well as the bird feeders. It's a fantastic place for morning coffee.  Looking back towards the kitchen door, smaller staircase, and garage you can see the herb boxes on the right.  I just love my new herb garden and can't wait until the herbs really start filling in those boxes! I have plans to add a vertical element to the herb garden as well....stay tuned for more on that.  The large red container in the corner will be planted with colorful annuals, with something tall in the center. I have two more large red containers, and all three get planted the same for continuity.  While I was at it, I did another very, very smart thing, that I should have done ages ago - I added wheeled saucers under all the planters on the deck.  It will make things so much easier when trying to clean up the deck because these red planters seriously weigh a ton! But do you want to know what the real star of the show was this weekend? This little guy. Oh my, he saved my back! I sat on this little stool and did all the planting in the herb boxes, scooting from one box to the other like I was in a race car! My sweetie gave me this little stool a few years back as one of my Christmas gifts. I didn't quite know why he would be giving me a mechanic's wheeled stool....until he explained it was for me to use when working on my deck planters.  Did I ever tell you how smart my sweetie is?  Pure genius, I tell you.  But don't tell him I said that. I wouldn't want it to go to his head.  Shhhhhhh...... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sharing at: §  Bernideens Tea Time §  Best of the Weekend §  Foodie Friday and Everything Else §  Inspire Me Tuesday §  Share Your Cup Thursday §  Simple Saturdays §  The Maple Hill Hop §  Thoughts Of Home On Thursday §  Thursday Favorite Things §  Tuesdays at Our Home §  Tweak It Tuesday

Creating an Outdoor Entertaining Space

Our weather is all over the place these days with sunshine and blue skies one day followed by freezing rain and snow the next. 

Thankfully, we know it won't last forever and I'm really excited to get my deck ready for another great summer season in the mountains. 

Me vs Mother Nature

It's a cold, blustery, damp, miserable day today...nothing like the unseasonably balmy temps we enjoyed this weekend. 

And it's my fault. 

I did this. 

I angered Mother Nature. 

I tried to rush Spring. 

In my defense, it's not really my fault. 

After all, so many of the spring birds have returned - even the grackles. 

My blueberry bush is budding. 

My garlic is growing again. 

The spring bulbs are coming up all over the place. I found so many that I thought had been eaten by the critters when I cleaned out the perennial beds on either side of the garden steps this weekend. A very welcome discovery, indeed!

The roses I am training up the new obelisks are starting to bud. 

So how is it that our nighttime temps are going to be back in the teens next week?

That's not good. 

What will this do to the awakening gardens? 

And the budding trees? They are just starting to bloom on our road. 

And what will happen to these: 

I cheated. 

I brought pansies and violas back from New Jersey, which is 2 hours south of here. 

And obviously in a warmer gardening zone. 

We're not quite ready for pansies up here yet. 

But I couldn't wait. 

I just had to. 

And now Mother Nature is mad at me. 

She's going to punish me by pushing spring off just a little bit longer. 

But I can outsmart her!

I put my pansies in pots. 

Which means I can put them in my trusty wheelbarrow and push them into my little garden cottage if things get rough around here. 

And I've got my trusty little helper to lend a hand....or a paw. 

Bring it on, Mother Nature!

You will not win. 

Spring is coming....no matter what you do!

Early Spring Container Gardens

Many of us are itching for spring at this point and can't wait to get a jump on gardening season. 

I'm anxious to get planting, without a doubt. But I know our last frost is a long way off. Typically in my Zone 5A garden the last frost date is somewhere around Mothers' Day. 

That's like....a million weeks away!