Magpie Ethel

Backyard Party Time

This past weekend we celebrated a bunch of summer birthdays on my side of the family. I hosted it here and took some pre-party shots of my yard.  It gets to crazy once guests arrive to take photos.

This brick wall is the garage wall for the house behind me. It is a charming backdrop for a backyard.

The big galvanized tub behind the pink hydrangeas will hold ice and drinks.
I love the underside of this big vintage umbrella.  I want a  couple more floral umbrellas in maybe pinks and yellow.

I used my vintage jug style thermoses for flowers. I also love my bright colored chairs. The green chairs are vintage. The hot pink were an IKEA purchase a few years ago.

I blogged about this window box when I had it made it in last year.  It has held up well and filled in nicely.

I also used my favorite collection of patterned utensils.

I have hosted lots of outdoor parties over the years. I always am picking up items in certain color themes/patterns so I have lots of trays and such to pull out to use. I also use tablecloths from my vintage stash. It makes getting ready for a party easier.

A fun backyard to have a party in and I love it when it flowers are in full summer bloom.

A good day for a summer party.

 

$3 Pick Me Up

I am having one of those weeks.  Here is my answer for a pick me up.

Honor system payment, put money in slot.

I hope it does the trick...I need a little happy this week.

 

A Garden Surprise

Late last summer I planted a cup and saucer vine after hearing our local gardening guy talking about it on the radio.  The plant grew but never flowered.  I was under the assumption it was an annual, but mine wintered over and has been growing like gangbusters.  It is trained up a trellis and then into a small tree in the backyard.

I was surprised to find this bloom today.  I can spot about 8 more blooms ready to open. That is another bloom almost ready to pop behind the open one.

They are called cup and saucer vines because if you look at them upside down they look like a cup in a saucer. Rather than have blogland tip their heads to see it that way, I rotated this picture to give you the gist of it.

Neat huh?  Glad that this little fellow decided to bloom this year.  Can't wait to see what happens as the summer progresses.

 

More Dumpster Stalking

I mentioned before that the house next door to us is being flipped after my elderly neighbor died. I mentioned it here and here if you missed the details.

I have been looking at this in John's backyard this week.

Technically the pile of wood in the back is not in a dumpster. But it is all destined for the dumpster. This pile in the backyard was the wood framing for an old fiberglass panel covered patio that was on the back of the house.

I have lived next to this house for 16 years and NEVER noticed the scallop detail on the wood frame.

I decided to save the scallop detail.  It has a great original green paint on it as well. I went over with a crow bar and pulled off the scallop trim.

I had a project in mind.  This is my raised bed with my tiny garden.  Simple in construction.

I added the scallop to the top edge.

Love the tiny pop of color and the whimsy of the scallop.

Once again, it paid to do some dumpster stalking.

Spring Flower Holder

I was in a local antique mall and found this little gem. I love the color of the base and the base serves as a reservoir for water.

I have not seen a flower holder like it before.

Spring tulips + a new flower holder = a happy little windowsill arrangement.

Happy day!

Galvanized Window Box Love

You may remember last summer I talked about switching out my terra cotta pots in the backyard for an assortment of vintage galvanized containers.

This year my window box which Tom made a few years ago decided to rot out.  This is the third window box that has rotted out in our soggy climate in our 16 years in our house. It needed to be repainted and the right end of it was definitely ragged looking.

It fell apart when we lifted it off the supports. It was time for a new one.

I was going to have Tom build me another, but then I got the idea to see if I could have a galvanized one fabricated for me.  I had bought galvanized metal for table tops locally in the past, so I went to the same place, Montavilla Sheet Metal to see if they could do the project.

They could, and I love, love the results.

The top is folded over so no sharp edges and the corners are riveted.

I could not wait to replant it.  Now plants just need to grow and fill in.

A wonderful new addition.

I'll do another post later on the yard as plants fill in and grow with the season.  I love this time of year...and I love that window box!

Donkey, Hen and Chicks

Remember the donkey cart I got a few weeks ago at an estate sale?

The donkey and cart are actually pretty good sized (hard to tell in the photo).  The cart was PACKED with hen and chick plants.  I could not carry it when it was full of dirt and the plants.  I was thrilled to get the donkey, but also excited to get so many hen and chick plants as I had a project that I needed some for.

Here are the hen and chicks from the cart.

Add two old galvanized chick feeders.

Have husband hang them on a fence, which was super easy with just two screw eyes screwed into the fence.

Plant with hen and chicks from donkey cart.

I love it when a project like this falls into place. As a FYI, I did not drill holes in the feeders as they were old and not watertight. If they held water, I would have drilled holes for drainage.

Hee Haw, Cluck, Cluck and Happy Day!

A Wonderful Invitation

A girlfriend called me up and said they were going on vacation and while they were gone she would love it if I came and picked dahlias from her yard.  She knew that my infatuation with dahlias is quite strong and she told me she had some great ones just begging to be picked.

She did not have to tell me twice. She had two brick raised beds full of dahlias for me to choose from.

Dinner-plate dahlias as big as my hand!

I came home with enough dahlias to make up a few bouquets to sprinkle about the house on tables and windowsills.
Nothing better than a dahlia in their rainbow of colors and styles.

If you want to read more about my dahlia obsession...you may remember the dahlia/bee whisperer post, OR my summer ritual post, OR  the gorgeous dahlia that blooms in my yard (in full bloom this year as I type1).

Happy day...may you find yourself a bouquet of dahlias to brighten it up!

Summer Backyard and Studio Tour

Readers always ask where my studio is located.  It is in my backyard and today we are going on a tour back that direction. First you head down my driveway towards the garage which is behind my house (corner of house is on the left).

We resided and painted our garage last fall.  We got a new garage door that looks old-style and we just put the trellis up this year (a couple of clematis will climb up and across one of these days).

I have a screen made of a couple of old windows and a bunch of galvanized containers in the driveway that hide our giant yard debris and recycling bins (to the right).

A peek into the backyard.

This is looking from the driveway back into the yard.  My studio windows are on the right with the window box. I have a ton of wild sweet peas that will be blooming like crazy soon (I can't get rid of them if I wanted to). I also have false indigo, dahlias, daisies and a rose that live in the two flower beds behind the picket fence.  We are a little behind on our growing season this summer due to our damp spring and low summer temps so far.

Entering through the gate.  True confession: I did not sweep or weed for this post.

You can see my cluttered windowsill of the studio thru the window.

We had outdoor light fixtures installed when we redid our garage.  I love this barn-style light that I got from here.

This picnic table was my grandfathers and has been around since I was a little girl.  He had it the natural redwood color and I painted it turquoise.

We have a brick path and patio that we put in a few years ago. Here we are walking around the curve of it and now looking onto the back patio space.

I switched out all of my terracotta pots this year for a variety of galvanized containers.  I like all the shapes and sizes and the gray works with our gray house and fence. My studio doors are there on the right with the birdhouse sign overhead.

This is looking towards my studio french doors.

My favorite garden statue Bluebell.

This deer lives behind my boxwood row.

This was an old sandbox that I got at an estate sale a few years ago. Tom put legs on it and we added a galvanized top to make it a coffee table outside.

On our neighbors garage wall is the patchwork art that I did a few years ago.

The table back under the tree was my grandfather's old worktable that he had in his garage. I got it after he passed away and it has lived in the back yard ever since. I added a galvanized top and the stars to the front.

Pink flamingoes and a pair of ladders with great old paint. Part of my watering can collection live here.

I have a large row of hydrangeas that are great for cutting each year. If you head thru the gate at the end of the row you go to my side yard.

This is the side of my house and is my cutting garden.

I love this backyard and my studio space.  It really is a wonderful little spot in the world for me. We did quite a bit of work to make it the way it is, but I do so enjoy it. Makes me happy every time I head down the brick path...

Happy Day!

 

Quack Said The Duck

I have a collection of vintage pottery ducks that I display outside.  Each summer they seem to find a new spot to roost.  Last summer they lived in a galvanized tub with flowers...this year the flock grew and they now live in my window box.

This is the window box outside my studio window.  If you look very closely you can see my flock of vintage birds.

I think they are rather happy tucked in amongst the plants.

This pair seems to be hunting for bugs.

I really like the unexpected surprise they add in the window box and they have weathered well...this is their second summer outside.

I love this little feathered flock. They are just so tweet!