Musings From The Garden

Louise Brooks in her garden (c1925)
I am never dressed this pretty when out
in my garden, I like to get my hands dirty!!

I know it has been a while since I have posted. How did you like how our fireplace here at Muse Cottage turned out?? Did you see it ( check out Monday's Post) ... I think it will go lovely with the Robin's Egg Blue walls when I eventually have time to paint them.  The weather has just been far too lovely to stay inside and all projects that require my attention outside are seeming to call my name on a daily basis.  I do so love having a garden to plan, create, work in and then sit among the results and just relax here and there; it has been ever so long and I feel happiest when I am out getting dirty. I am a country girl at heart despite the amount of pearls and heels I may own. 

How I start each day at Muse Cottage, not much to look
at as the outdoors beckons me more than the in. 

Even Queen Bitty Kitty is drawn to the outdoors....

although, you never could get her to go past the doorway.

The week began with a chore in the garden that I truly have a love hate relationship with... or perhaps call it a hate / love relationship. Mowing. We have nothing but an old push mower, and that was fine when we owned our last cottage that had such a tiny yard and it was actually all grass and not a mix of weeds and grass.  Now we have a HUGE back yard, a side yard that faces a busy street and is ALL weeds full of burrs and screw weeds ( and I hate having all the drivers by stare at me.. though some do give me a thumbs up!) . The back is just massive, and is a mix of grass and weeds as well and it exhausts me to the fullest! My hubby, dear and sweet as he is, would do it on top of all the other chores and projects he has, but I want to take some burden off of him, so although it ups my pain factor for a day or so after, I "push" through it once a week. 

* I grabbed this off of google, it has a water
mark, and I tried to grab the link to the site,
and there was a glitch . If I get caught using it
well please know I will remove it post haste. 

It takes me a few hours to finish the back , the side and the front, I have to sit and rest quite a bit ... while I do so, thought I did so, thought I would snap off a few photos to give you a peek at our back yard here at Muse Cottage....

The view from our back patio.. from here you can see
one of the storage sheds, it was here when we
bought the house, along with the dog run.

This area one day, I hope, will be my rose garden full
with antique and English varieties... oh and I have plans
for a chicken coop here too... as you see there is plenty of room!

The other half of the yard... not entirely sure what we will
do with it. 

Where I take a break from the mowing when in the back,
tea and a good book and some bright sunshine does me a
world of good. 

So once I had gotten through the mowing of the back, and then the side yards, it was time to tackle the front... not so bad, as there is more grass than weeds, and one day it will be more plants than grass.  Of course regardless it required a break, and while doing so, I mapped out the garden that we planned to work on only a day or two later.

The odd shaped section near the drive is hard to mow as it
is part dirt, part roots sticking up and part weeds, plus
I do think it needs a path and some roses near the fence
don't you?? 

I also took the time, while sipping on yet another cup of tea , and before taking the mower in hand and continuing to sit and just relax and gaze out at the flower bed in front of our home , it is coming along very nicely, filling in and new flowers beginning to bloom.

Yes, those are orange peels you see. I have seven
neighborhood cats that deems our flower patch to be
their litter pan, the citrus smell keeps them out. I would
rather deal with gnats than poo!

I wish there was more color to show you... it is
all on the verge of blooming, so hopefully one day
I can get a more color filled photo to share.

As the week progressed, I was able to find time to take a stroll with my youngest daughter to my fav place for a cup of coffee.... iced this go around as it was in the 80's! While on our walk, as is my habit, I took a few photos of other peoples gardens.... As you will see, I have roses on the brain!

The roses next to where I sit on a regular basis when I
go for my coffee.

In a neighbors yard.. I just love the smokey hue.

Sweet Peas, in a yard I always stop and gaze at.
I hope that next season my garden will have them in
it too! 

Look at the size of this Hydrangea !!

The same neighbor with the Sweet Peas and the Hydrangea,
have created this secret sitting area out of jasmine and other vines,
I would love to have such a place in my back yard! 

Again, the same neighbor, this is a secret path leading
from the seating area and on behind the Hydrangea....
magical! 

Bird on a wire... I think it is a Scrub Jay, though
I can not recall right now. 

This IS however a Scrub Jay.

More roses... I can hardly wait to have mine get this
size along our front fence line. 

a close up of the Hydrangea 

Back home in my own front yard, I was able to snap
a photo of a humming bird in the tree above my head,
guess it is time to buy those feeders!

As mentioned, once a couple days had passed, it was time to get started on the new garden patch, and I hope that it will be close enough to being done to share on Monday's post, but until them... here is a tiny peek at what is going on with it... 

Mapping it all out.....please ignore my
pale skin... been a long time since the
shorts have come out of the drawer. 

You did not think I was going to spoil 

Monday's post did you??? You will

just have to come back.