Getting My Hands Dirty Once Again...

Good thing I no longer care about my manicure! 

Happy Friday! I thought with all the craziness that  is going on in Boston right now, down right tragic, saddening... heart breaking really and very scary as well for many, that you may need a respite from the non stop news of it all. I know we can not ignore it, but we can certainly take a short break. regroup and regain some peace, if only for a moment. My way of doing that is to garden... at least as the weather allows, and right now we are having beautiful weather. It is about 80 degrees, but there is a cool breeze and thus does not feel too hot and definitely makes for a perfect Spring day.  Oh PLEASE do not hate me! Before too long  I will be stuck inside, and it will be a hundred plus degrees outside, there will be save the air days, not safe for sensitive days.... as it is I just received the water restriction notification from the water company for the Summer months... it will be upon us before too long. BUT for now, I can enjoy can't I?? And Enjoying I have been doing. Not only my own garden, but all my neighbors as well. There are some beautiful yards, which I have covertly photographed and shared with you...yards that have years and years to develop, as most of my little pocket is made up of seniors, and then a few people such as myself who are new to the neighborhood and eager to spruce up their long ignored homes.

 I must say Muse Cottage is surely smiling with all the lovely flowers we have put around her thus far! Even our neighbors think so! They stop by and tell us so, when stopped at the stop light they shout it to us, and just yesterday, much to my delight, I received an compliment in the mail! It came with no return address,  and a single sheet of paper inside, but on that paper was typed out the sweetest note.....

I do believe I shall frame it and put it up on my wall! 

What it said...

To Whom it may concern

You are doing a terrific job on having your front yard look beautiful. The white, six foot fence with  the brown posts looks very good, gives a lot of character to the property. The newly poured concrete driveway looks very good. Just the other day, I saw the two of you working together in the yard around the small fence. I commend the both of you for working together, many times it is mostly one person doing the work alone.

I hope the other neighbors will see the time and effort you are putting in, to make our neighborhood look good and they will clean up their yard.

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your work.

Keep up the good work. ( there was a smiley face) 

Thank you

Signed 

Neighborhood Watch Committee 

Isn't that just the bees knees? I mean to have someone take the time to put it in print, put a stamp on it and mail it to us, so that we would have it for all time, really is such a kind thing to do! I nearly want to write down all the addresses of the yards that I admire and send them all notes too... pay it forward. I just may do that!  They all make me smile, perhaps I can make them smile too. I just wish I knew who the person was, it would be nice to meet more of my neighbors. Many of them wave to me, say hello, or if we cross paths strike up short conversations, always brightening my day when they do so, and I hope as I smile and say hello I do the same for them. They have so often taken a day, that was for me , long and lonely and often filled with pain on every level and erase it all because they decided to be friendly.... Anyway, this blog post was not totally about that... it was about working in my garden. 

Yes, as of late this has become a sort of gardening blog, and if you visit with me on my FB fan page ( find the link here on the side) it is all about gardening and flowers right now... but tis the season... I am sure once it becomes summer it will be more about seashells or something *giggle* ; no just kidding, it will be more about interior goings ons. However, for now it is about my obsession with my little cottage garden. So, back to the reason for the post. When last I posted, I shared the finished results of our latest bed, well I thought it was finished.. but it seemed to need a little more tweaking. Lucky for me, hubby likes to make me happy, and he agreed that could be one of the projects yesterday. 

First the gutters... EWWWWW, it was raining gunk from the sky as hubby decided he was going to use the leaf blower, crawl on the roof and power blow the leaves and such that had piled up for who knows how long in the gutters. The inspector never said how full they are, so I am thinking it was all from this past late Winter and early Spring! Again with the EWWWW! Then it was time to clean up the mess, and that took some time and worked up an appetizing idea.... lunch out! So off to Flame Grill, known in the area for the best burgers around, and it is just over a mile down our street! We both had messy and very delicious burgers and so-so fries ( I was once a fry queen when I worked at a deli for a time... so I am a tough critic) and then it was off to Home Depot for supplies. Oh it was so hard to just buy mulch and such and not buy more plants, but our other flower beds are not ready so that was exactly what I had to do, just buy mulch... and some fencing.  Oh well next time. Before I share the tweaks, I thought I would share a few close ups that I did not share the other day. 

My pale pink California Poppy has begun to bloom in the first
flower bed...so excited! 

Lookie, my Cecile Bruner climbing rose has new buds all over it!  And don't Daisies just make you smile? 

Carnations and Cosmos in the newest bed ( pre-mulch) 

Shades from lavender to pink

Speaking of Lavender, my Spiked Lavender is sure
perking up after a couple of deep waterings. 

Sweet Broom.. one day it will be a mini tree....
with a lot of work and trimming on my part, but I don't mind. 

This Sunset daisy, looks so lovely here, that was before we got high winds,
a down pour and the cats from next door sat on it, now it is only
two lonely stems! I hope one day, it gets back to this!

Sunshine on a plant!

Pink Lemonade of a different kind.... can not wait
till this honeysuckle climbs over the arch and welcomes
visitors with their heavenly scent!

This just may be my new header for my FB page! 

This is just so Alice in Wonderland!

Close up of the sweet broom... could not resist sharing again, it is
so very cheerful!

Close up of the Poppies... so delicate, yet so hardy!

Geraniums ... my plan is to let them spread like crazy!

Ok, ok, here is how the garden looks all tweaked...

first the shot from Monday's post, and then the 

tweaks...

TA  DA......

There is still a few last tweaks to make... more pea gravel between
the stepping stones. I plan to paint the stones with glow in the dark
spray paint, and then plant herbs between some of them....
oh and I very much want to add statuary and lights too!
All in good time. 

So what do you think?