I should clean my house!

and this really is how my life has been!

I have a few pics to share, I have been so busy in the yard.

We have had some glorious weather here in Oregon and my cottage gardens and roses are soooo happy!

This is late spring peak in the cottage garden. Can you believe I started with FOUR columbine plants, TWO geum plants, and and SIX foxglove? This garden is 16 years old and I still struggle with full summer color, mainly in August. The hollyhocks will be up be next.

Popcorn rose

It really does look like popcorn!

These dry really nice for potpourri

Peonies are in full bloom too! 

 

Refreshed and repaired, my old ladder sign is back in the flowerbed

Updated and refreshed metal patio bench!

The challenging flower bed

 For the last 10 summers we have lived in this house, I have had this little narrow flower bed on the back patio that has always been a challenge. Shady most of the day, but the late hot afternoon sun beats down on it. Nothing would grow well planted on the ground, so I started using it as my little garden decorating area and dress it up a little differently each each year....the pic below is the early spring when I set the "bones" for this little bed. I have changed things up a bit since then, always adding new finds!

 Here it is now a bit more filled out. 

 since nothing is growing "up" the trellis, I opted to have a few treasures falling "down"

 My favorite wood ladder I painted last summer, just positioned a little differently this season

 a new find this summer, a chippy cement bird. When my husband set him on the ground he said "the eagle has landed" LOL, maybe more fitting would be "the seagull has landed". Also note the ladybugs. That was a spring painting project with my little granddaughters. They had fun placing them in the garden as we painted several.

 More fun finds sprinkled. A broken china plate I glued back together still has life in the garden, a wheel from a broken wheel barrow planter, a rusty shovel and colander too.

 the trellis is probably my favorite piece. I have used this in many different places in the garden over the years.

this old wire chair is a perfect plant stand.

 Hope you enjoyed this little tour of the little challenge garden!