Friday, October 1, 2021

Garden And Yard/Fall 2021

Hi, Friends,
How are you doing? I sincerely hope you are well and encouraged. 
I've been busy in the yard this week. It was wonderful. The morning and evening temperatures are much lower than they were so it feels refreshing even though we are still in the 90s during the afternoon. 
It's bearable. 


We had so much rain this past spring and early summer that I didn't feel like I got to spend a lot of time in the garden before it got hot. It was time for some maintenance and I was in the mood to sprinkle some fall around the porch, yard, and deck. Last year, we were in the process of buying the house out in East Texas so I didn't do a lot. 
Is it just me or does anyone else feel like their memory is fuzzy concerning 2020?
I had to look at pictures to remember what I did. I think I did a pumpkin and a mum and that was all. 


I got out Monday morning and bought pumpkins, mums, winter vegetables, and some annual flowers. 


Our front beds get the worst roots from the trees. It's an intricate web directly under the surface of the soil. I haven't dug them up and removed them in a long time. It really needs to be done twice a year in order for the annuals to thrive and spread. My summer annuals didn't look abundant, so it wasn't painful to pull them out and replace them with dianthus. Dianthus will bloom now, remain green throughout the winter and re-bloom in the spring. 
Once that was completed, Bill helped me bring our concrete bench up from the bottom level of our back yard. It looks so adorable in the front yard and it will be fun to style seasonally. I think it needs a good cleaning with the power washer.
Bill said we are never moving it again. Haha. 


It led to my next big project. The oak leaf hydrangea had to be moved. It was way too big. 


I really had to talk myself into this but I'm so glad it's gone. 
Bill asked me if I would miss it. I might miss it around my birthday because that is when it bloomed, but the rest of the year, no.  I won't miss it. It was pretty in the fall but scraggly looking in the winter. 
We have three in the back yard so there will be plenty of blooms next spring. 
I've transplanted it and hopefully it will survive. 


There is so much more room for seasonal color and bulbs.

The new door color demanded a new wreath. 


Our fall decor was past it's prime so as soon as Hobby Lobby went 40% off with their decor, I stocked up and made a wreath for this house and one for our East Texas house. 


Orange really coordinates well with the new door color which is Coastal Plain by Sherwin Williams. 


The metal scarecrow was a Big Lots find ages ago. 
The Jack-o-'lantern came from Kroger years ago. Bill bought it for me. His cap broke last year but he's been recently repaired. The fall sign got a new paint job. 


The old lantern with the amber glass was a long ago garage sale find for $5.00. 
It's one of my favorite things to pull out each year. It will stay out until spring. 


The rock path needs some work. That's next on my list. 


Now for the back:
In an "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" scenario, the neighbor replaced the retaining wall, which caused me to move the greenhouse. Once the greenhouse was moved off of the deck, I noticed how bad the deck looked so I started refinishing it. I stained it gray in 2003 after Bill built it. At some point, I switched to a brown stain but the gray always showed through. It was time to strip it all back and redo it. 
 

There were some boards that needed to be replaced. That is Bill's wheelhouse.  
After he started, I wondered what it would be like if we took off the cantilevered steps. We needed the steps when we had children still in our home but we don't need them now, so he cut them off.  


If we had grandchildren we would install a railing but we don't need that at this point. 


It's given me a sunny spot for some additional plants. We have very little sun in our yard. 



The whisky barrels are full of lettuce and other winter vegetables. These came from Calloways and a local produce stand and nursery. 

I painted a new pumpkin pillow. 





We see this view out of the garden room window. It was fun to spruce up with a pumpkin and mums. 


Home Depot had some good mums. The pumpkins came from the same local produce place and nursery. 


Hello, Miss Bitters! 


That is about it for now. 
I'll be back with more of our fall decorations. 
I think that I should win "Yard Of The Month." 
What do you think? 
We don't have "Yard Of The Month" in our neighborhood but I think that I've won my self imposed contest. Haha. 
Have a good weekend. 
Katie 

5 comments :

  1. Hard work pays off! Your yard looks great.

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  2. I think everything looks so pretty! I love your backyard, it has so many nice area’s in it. I just bought an oak leaf hydrangea this past summer. I love how the flowers look. So far it’s doing well. Hugs,

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  3. I love seeing your joy in your Fall decorating! Every detail is absolutely wonderful and delightful!

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  4. You win! It's wonderful -- and so good to see you back on blog! I can tell how busy you've been and it is the epitome of autumn!

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