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

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? 

Evenings On The Deck

My favorite part of the day is when my long day in the office is over and I can head back home to my sweet country house. 

I often laugh at the expression "The Lazy Days Of Summer" as my summers are quite the opposite. My job is in high gear and the garden and property upkeep demand all my spare time. 

Lazy days? In what lifetime? 

The Garden, Then & Now

We got hit with a whopper of a storm this week, and the snow is still coming down. This evening the temperatures will plummet to -10 Fahrenheit, and will remain frigid for the next three days. 

Brrrrrrrr! It's only January and my daughter announced today that she's so OVER winter!

The Garden In Late June

Thank you for all of your sweet comments on my last post. It's amazing how this little blog has connected me with so many wonderful blog friends in the three years I've been writing it. I truly appreciate all of my loyal readers and your comments are so precious to me.

Entertaining on the Deck - Finally!

Wasn't it just the most glorious weekend? 

I'm sure you can understand why I wasn't attached to my laptop this weekend. 

As a matter of fact, I spent the entire weekend outside in the fresh mountain air - and nothing could have made me happier!

Some very wonderful things happened in my little world this weekend, in addition to the incredible weather. 

Bits & Bobs...And An Update

We are still waiting for spring to arrive to the mountain top...as a matter of fact just a few minutes ago it was snowing. 

Of course it was....that's because Mother Nature knows I wanted to get out in the garden tomorrow and get some spring cleanup done! 

Necessary Evils

There are things I don't really mind having to spend money on. They either give me great pleasure or they feed my body and/or soul. 

Like cheese. And chocolate. And wine. And gardening. And books. 

All good, nourishing things. Happy things. 

And then there are the necessary evils. 

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!

The Ice Storm

Hello again friends, and welcome to February! 

We had one heck of an ice storm last night, and I woke to a winter wonderland indeed! It's certainly beautiful to look out at it, but extremely dangerous for travel, and once more I am ever so grateful that I now work from home full time.  We had a layer of thick ice covered with sleet and there's more heading our way all day today. It's the perfect day to cozy up by the fire indeed. 

Spring Projects Galore!

It feels as if it's been taking a lifetime, but spring has almost arrived to the mountain top. 

Oh my gosh, I'm beyond excited! 

Along with the arrival of spring comes any amount of spring chores and projects. 

Get ready for an onslaught of pictures....grab a beverage and settle in! 

A Visit From Mama Bear & Her Cubs

I woke this morning to a strange sound....an odd scraping sound. 

I wasn't sure if it was just a lingering dream....or perhaps the horses next door? They often make weird sounds. 

The Things I Don't Show You

I have shared parts of my home, both indoors and out, in various blog posts but usually it's the 'pretty' side of my life. 

Today I'm sharing the utilitarian part of my deck. 

The Garden In Early May

I know many of you have been enjoying spring weather for quite some time now. 

Not up here on the mountain top, that's for sure....we had snow on Monday and have only had spring for 3 days now!

It almost seems too good to be true after all this time, but I'm delighted to finally be able to sit outside and feel the spring sunshine on my face. 

Heaven, pure heaven. 

Happiness

There are so many things right now that just make me want to do a happy dance - isn't that just the best feeling? 

Simple things that make me grab the camera and try to capture the moment forever. 

Walkabout, Part II

I had so much fun sharing my gardens with you yesterday! Today I'm going to take you on a tour of the property, so you can get a better idea of the space as a whole. 

Welcome to my home! I am so very fortunate to have this beautiful, private space to call my own. My house can't be seen from the road at this time of year with all the leaves on the trees, and when you pull up the driveway, this is the first view of the house. It's a Chalet style house, with the main living space on the second floor, and a secondary living space on the lower level. There is loads of parking for visitors and lots of space for the babies (of the furry variety!) to run about and chase critters. 

When you walk towards the house, this is the pathway that leads to the various areas. It's a rustic flagstone path that is crumbling away in a few spots but I love it. And yes, I have weeds. LOTS of weeds. I work full time so sometimes the weeds get out of control. It doesn't look so bad here, does it? That's because I was gardening in this area yesterday after work and yanked out a bazillion weeds. And planted a gazillion Hostas....more on that in another post!

Another view of the stone path. 

If you head to the left you will be in the front garden. There's a small lawn, some weeds (yup), a rescued bench that was destined for the dump before we rehabbed it, and some lovely shrubs against the front of the house. 

Including these incredible Hydrangeas, with blooms twice the size of my head!

There are also Lacecap Hydrangeas, Shasta Daisies, Lambsear, and a Burning Bush along the front of the house. In the center of the lawn there's a Dogwood tree that is destined for transplant - it is NOT happy on the mountain top. 

I'm researching ornamental trees for the Dogwood's replacement - it needs to be something with 4 season interest, that will thrive in our zone 4 climate. Any ideas?

When you walk past the house and look up the hill you can see my potting shed, which has been getting various repairs since I moved in back in April. I have big plans for that shed some day, when it's done with the structural repairs!

Here's a view of the front of the shed. It's truly a wonderful space, with windows on both sides, a skylight, and two sets of french doors. It's not finished off on the inside, but it's perfect for storing my garden tools, pots, soil, etc. And it has a workbench that is ideal for....potting up plants! How perfect is that for a potting shed? My daughter has dreams of making it her "tiny house" someday.

Those two metal chairs were also heading for the dump before I rescued and rehabbed them. Love those chairs - they remind me of my childhood!

Stay tuned in the future for updates on the shed as I turn it into my dream potting shed. 

Looking from the shed back to the house you can see the garage and veggie garden off to the left, and the mountain view beyond the house. I truly love it here and I'm so blessed to spend my days in this glorious space. 

Looking across the back garden from the potting shed is the other garden shed - I don't go in there much, it's dark and dusty and full of spider webs. but it's a great place to store things like snow tires and such. There's a nice wood fire pit here that will get christened during the housewarming party, whenever that may be. And the house backs up to hundreds of acres of woodland, which is incredible for both privacy and wildlife. The bears and the coyotes make me a little nervous....but I've been living in the mountains now for about 12 years so I have just learned to be cautious when walking around in the evenings. And the bird feeders have to come in at night or the bears will put my property on their nightly agenda!

At the back of the veggie garden, against the edge of the garage and across from the dark dusty garden shed is this little corner. This corner was in BAAAAADDDD shape when I moved in! It was where the previous owners used to get their mushroom dirt dumped for the veggie garden. There were rotting old tarps under dirt filled with GIGANTIC weeds. I found all sorts of other debris in this corner as well - it was truly an eyesore. I am very pleased with it now, it makes me happy to turn the corner and see this! More rescues from around the property were used....the center planter is an old, rusty rectangular metal box - I have no idea what it was used for in the past but I knew right away it was going to be a planter! The andirons were over by the firepit, in a jumble of weeds. The metal box now rests on the andirons and makes a perfect centerpiece for this garden. The two small whiskey barrel planters came with me from my old house. The weeds still try to pop up here and there in this corner despite a thick layer of cardboard topped by mulch, but I yank them out and hope I'll be the winner in this war. 

We head back around towards the front of the house now. The whiskey barrels here are very happy and blooming like mad!

Can you believe it's mid August and I still have happy Pansies? That's the cool mountain air right there!! It's a different kind of gardening on the mountain top than in the valley where I had my last real garden - the growing season is shorter, the nights are cooler, and the frost stays later and comes sooner. But we make do!

Back to the front path now, we've made a complete circle around the house! If you go to the right and then a quick left, there's a path to the lower deck, and the entrance to the lower level. That's my daughters' space, and a tour for another day. But here's a peek at their deck. They have a little sitting area with my favorite spot down there, a hammock swing!  :)

We head to the right now and up the garden stairs, towards the smaller of the two staircases that lead to the deck. 

And yes, those most definitely are weeds on the stairs. A project for the weekend. 

The perennials here are gorgeous. I've added quite a few things this spring but most of this was in place from the previous owners. How very fortunate for me!

Up the stairs now, and onto the deck. These stairs take you to the kitchen door. They shall be demolished soon, when construction begins to connect the house and the garage. Stay tuned for plans!

Looking back towards the path from the stairs

The view from the deck to the stone path. I love this view! The anal person inside me that loves symmetry and order appreciates these breaks in the chaos that is my country garden. 

The side deck, by the kitchen door. This side is more utilitarian than around the corner. This is where I grill and keep the watering can along with the plant food, etc. On the railing you can see the Morning Glories growing among the Gloriosa Lilies. 

The Morning Glories were particularly lovely this morning!

Around the corner is the entertaining portion of the deck. I absolutely love this place! Sorry - I didn't get it ready for "company" this morning when I snapped the photos - the cushions are tipped up against the dew, the umbrellas are down against the wind....but it's still gorgeous! I have my coffee and breakfast out here on weekends, and my cocktail out here in the evenings, around the fire pit. Heaven on earth, right here. 

Another view of my happy place. With a furry little photo-bomber!

And I had to take a photo of the container garden on the railing because it was all being dismantled this morning for repairs to the railing. Boooooo!!! But, safety first. Can't have the housewarming party until the railing is repaired!

The Jasmine opened a bloom just in time for your visit today. I can't wait to catch a whiff of that heady fragrance this evening!

Thanks for stopping by and taking a tour of the property - stay tuned for a peek at the inside of my happy home in the near future!

Winter Lingers On

Winter lingers on here on the Mountain Top, that's nothing new. 

We are in the midst of yet another snowstorm, with about 6 inches of snow expected. 

Not surprising as it's still February...winter isn't nearly done with us yet. 

Finding the Balance

My little mountain top house has been a busy one lately. 

For many, summer is a time to slow down and take it easy. The lazy days of summer. 

For me? Not so much. 

Cozy Nights At Home

Life is busy, no doubt. People talk of the lazy days of summer and I'm envious. 

Lazy days? You have got to be kidding me. In what lifetime?

Winter Lingers On....And A Very Close Call

All over blogland and Instagram I see lovely photos of flowers, sunshine, and spring. 

Meanwhile, here on the mountain top, we are still buried in snow and ice.