Viewing Gardening

We’ve had several gray days in a row where I live and I’m craving sunshine. And with the news being bleak at the same time, my guess is that all of us could use a little bright spot in our day. So today I’m re-sharing a beautiful country garden in upstate New York. I hope…

Whenever I move into a house, one of the first things I do is add flower boxes under the front windows. It’s a feature I’ve always loved and is a must-have for me. Here are seven tips for creating beautiful window box ideas to amp up your home’s curb appeal.   1. Sunny Location: Choose…

A few years ago we replaced our rickety old picket fence with a new one. While I held a certain endearment for our “charming” fence, a lot of the pickets were rotting and we simply couldn’t let it go any longer. I’ve always loved a picket fence and am happy to share some quaint picket…

Have you ever forced spring bulbs indoors? It’s a wonderful way to scratch your gardening itch and enjoy spring flowers in your house before they appear outside in your garden. See how easy it is to force fragrant hyacinth bulbs indoors. (This post contains affiliate links.)   Hyacinth bulbs – and any spring bulb for…

Is it too soon in the year to talk about gardening? Because I want to share the beauty of messy flowers that are the signature look of a cottage garden.   What is it about messy flowers that pulls at my heart string? My mother’s garden was always very tidy with perfect groupings of flowers…

Is there anything more quaint and nostalgic than a country garden? The image conjures up scenes from the past when America was a young and growing. Old fashioned flowers, heirloom vegetables, corn bins, and simple farm animals all come to mind.   I think this is the last post about my trip to Door County,…

Have you ever visited a winery? We enjoyed a trip to the beautiful gardens of Stone’s Throw Winery in Door County, Wisconsin.   A couple of weeks ago my entire family and I were vacationing in Baileys Harbor and drove past a pretty winery and decided to make sure we took a trip there before…

Walking through pretty neighborhoods to look at landscaping is how I get most of my ideas and inspiration for garden spaces. On occasion, I stumble across a beautiful garden tour online like this charming cottage garden with a unique fountain. Photo by Mom’s Design Build   When designing garden spaces, it’s always helpful when the…

Many of you know that we got a new pond last summer, and little did I know how much that would change my world! My backyard went from drab to fab and that led to sprucing up and creating new garden spaces in my yard.   The above garden pond photo was taken before the…

Summer is my favorite season but the one thing I don’t like about it is – mosquitoes! Rather than use chemicals or sprays to keep them away, I prefer a more natural method, like this list of 10 mosquito repelling plants! Basil. Did you know that basil essential oil is deadly to mosquito larvae? The…

Ever since I moved into my humble home I’ve toyed with the idea of adding a picket fence for front yard curb appeal. I love the idea of a quaint little fence defining the landscape with an element of charm. Photo by Dan Nelson, Designs Northwest Architects Once the fence is up, garden areas can…

Every spring I always wish I had planted more tulips in the fall. So last fall I did indeed plant more tulips – but I fear it’s not enough. I adore masses of these spring beauties in the landscape and decided to share tulip garden ideas on the blog today.   Organize clusters of tulips…