Posies, Pigs and Pop Corn ...

Even Vera the Mouse knows how fun it is
to get her hands dirty and plant a garden. 

As promised yesterday, I am ready to unveil the new flower bed that has been added to the front yard of Muse Cottage. But let me take you back to Thursday and through the week that lead up to the completion.  So grab that cuppa and sit down and get comfy and come on a gardening journey with me.

The journey started Thursday morning as mentioned above. Hubbies day off. We as is our habit, went out to eat, this go around was Denny's ... those that follow my facebook fan page know I was craving biscuits and gravy, lucky me, I got it. Then it was time to head to Home Depot. The project for the day, get started on the new flower bed. I was very excited. The section that we were to work on had been a thorn in my side since we started sprucing up the front of Muse Cottage. It was a mix of dry, cracked soil, roots sticking up, weeds and mini patches of grass. All was left overs from when our drive was put in. Hubby said that before he possibly has to get started on an apartment build in our garage for our daughter, he would devote his days off to putting this bed in for me.

First stop when at Home Depot... The Lavender Plants...
I bought two types of Spanish Lavender, as well as a Spiked
Lavender. 

The haul for the day... Sunsprite yellow
roses, Pink Lemonade Honeysuckle, Star Jasmine,
Confederate Jasmine, Sweet Broom, Lavenders,
and carnations. 

The area to be worked on... not real pretty as seen
from the street, or our front porch/ window. 

Hubby had me map it out, so yellow yard paint in hand,
I did just that. I wanted to keep small patches of
what was actual grass, and have areas for paths. 

Fast forward, about half way there. Hubby dug out the grass and weeds
and my job was countless times of racking the dirt, getting all
the weeds, grass clumps, snipped tree roots and rocks out of the dirt.
We worked all day long and still did not get the whole section cleaned out!

80% there, and plants and what stepping stones we had,
were laid out to get a feel for what we had, and what we needed. 

Cheers! to what we accomplished. 

The next morning I was up bright and early planting all the
lovely posies to see what else I needed to fill in blanks. 

Could not plant these until hubby finished
clearing out the bed of all the grass and
tree roots. 

 With not being able to push forward that day with my planting, I decided to go back to the hardware store and buy more plants. I stopped back by Home Depot, and bought more roses, and carnations, as well as another Star Jasmine... oh and some Rosemary, and some Sedum ground cover.  Then I decided to seek out ACE Hardware. I had driven by the ACE a few times, but had never popped in, now was a very good reason. I thought I would share my latest discovery.

Would seem that many had the same idea. 

Having actually forgotten to eat, I was quite glad to see
this little hot dog stand. 

YUM! Ketchup and BBQ sauce!  

Let's go in!

So this is where our neighbors have bought their yard art!

Piggies! One day I just may have to get a purple
pig.... I am kidding.. it would have to be the rooster!

I found a really nifty daisy plant that has the colors of the Sunrise, and
no dead heading needed. Pink Geraniums also found their way into
my cart. I had to stop there as I ran out of money. 

 Even though my wallet was now empty, I decided to continue exploring the store. I just am totally in love with the gardening department. There was pretty much everything you could think of to put in your garden or even in your home, if you like house plants.......

Gnomes! All sizes and types! 

Beautiful house plants, lush, green and very tropical feeling.
They even had the sounds of bird song playing in the
background. I almost did not wish to leave.

Along with the lushness from the house plants and the sounds of
birds, you could hear water flowing and bubbling...this was why!
A full size fountain with a waterfall and pond!

AND FISH! 

This may have to come home with me one day!

As I was walking through the store, I could smell
yummy buttery pop corn on the air.... I had to have some.
Sodium and Salt be damned that day!

Tasty!

Back out in the car, I added in my new plants from ACE with the ones I had bought
earlier at Home Depot. Back to the cottage to get to work!

More plants laid out and ready to plant, but it would have to wait for
another day...I was tuckered out and I already had three
mosquito bites!

So the second day of gardening was full of new places to frequent, new posies, some popcorn and even a piggy or two. There was still another day to come of hard work and playing in the dirt. Yesterday, another day off, so to say, for hubby, we headed out for breakfast, this time to a doughnut shop for breakfast sandwiches and coffee, and to plan out the day... then of course back to Home Depot...we are there a lot! We needed mulch, more stepping stones, a new hose, for a future project, we needed grass seed and feed.... yep, we spend a lot of time and money at the hardware store.  Once back home, we got right to work. Hubby digging, myself raking the dirt and clearing out the clumps of weeds, roots and grass, just as before, and many hours later ( with an ice cream break in between... a Sunday tradition when working hard in the yard) , we had managed to get the rest of the bed planted, the paths finished, and even put a stretch of picket fencing in. It was a lot of work, but it was very worth it, and as the clouds started to move in, and the wind picked up, we finished just before the mosquitoes came out and were quite pleased with the new flower bed at Muse cottage.  

The Reveal....

*Please ignore the SUV..... one day I will have a photo of the front that does not include it. 

Like many new flower beds, it looks sparse.... but I am hopeful as it fills in, it will be quite lovely.....

One day, the yellow roses will cover the front fence line, the honeysuckle in shades of pink and yellow
will climb over the arch, stretching over the front walk. Jasmine will climb and crawl the supports, creating a natural and fragrant fence line along the drive. The lavenders will mound and spill out onto the walk, and the sweet broom will be guided into a tree form with ground cover spreading underneath. It will be a flower bed filled to the brim with scent and texture.  One day it will be a show stopper. 

This is how my garden grows ....

Stay Tuned ....

I am hopeful that very soon, we will have clear skies again, and I can get some bright and sunny

photos... ones that show off the colors better. I am not the greatest photographer , just a lady very proud of her little posie patches and her Muse Cottage and wishing to share with those that care