Side Yard Shuffle

Last Thursday the sun came out of hiding, and though chilly, it was the perfect day to cut back the liriope , rake out the garden beds, and spruce up the side yard.




There was quite a bit of shuffling going on.

The house being flipped next door will soon be on the market so I thought cleaning that nasty area facing its master bedroom would be a nice gesture.

I do wish I had taken a before photo to show the debris and leaves piled here.

Along with a bunch, no, a herd of rusty things.

It is an area only seen by us and whoever may be living next door.

The electrical lines come in on this side as well as the telephone cables and cable TV.

I started by moving the old green shutter down to the back fence for the clematis to climb.

There are bunches of liriope and lilies here - high enough to cover the cables.

While sorting through the rusty treasures, I found the bottomless bucket and the white iron wheel to go at the other end.

That stick in front is my nandina bush which was crushed during the ice storm.

I am giving it another chance.

I know it looks pathetic.

I have faith in its ability to recover.

This was my pile of maybe's.

The screen I use to line wire baskets before adding potting soil.

A great deal at Habitat at fifty cents a screen.




Some things will stay, and some will be cleaned for the booth.

I only had three broken pots and a bent bucket.

The vintage patio set is the one Mr. Flipper wanted me to throw in his dumpster.

<No comment.>

I am thinking of sanding the set  (two chairs and a glider) to repaint.

The metal plant stand is made from welded pipe pieces.

The guy at the flea market had quite a tale about a sailor making it for his wife.

Really?

All of this needs cleaning and sprucing.

The big pot I was using to hold potting soil - it will get a bunch of annuals when the time comes.





Homemade animal trap under the chair will go to the store. 

They are great for creeping plants - a square of plant!

I did buy lantanna, speedwell, and salvia - I knew these would hold up to whatever weather is coming the next few weeks.

I also dumped several pots of stonecrop and sawed them into quarters.

I scattered leftover seeds from last year in the bed and the containers.

There are underground electrical wires running through this bed to the shed and pool. 

I put the table there to remind me not to dig more than a few inches.

Yes, it is a leaner.

It has been a great outside table for years.




Concrete planter of stonecrop and some annuals yet to be purchased.

On the other side of the gate from the green shutter is a ladder birdhouse where I attached a wire basket, lined it with screen and planted more stonecrop.

The casement window has a hanger for a future planter and an old metal mesh record stand holding a wire basket.

This is where my impatiens will go.

The other junk is just strategically placed for now.

My footless angel stands in the middle of the bed.

She is a bit distressed - I love her.

I am a patient gardener.





I do not mind waiting for the full effect of tall, bushy plants blooming.

It all looks bare now, but it will fill in.




The white birdcage sits on my paint frame.

Keep or sell?

I usually plant a sweet potato vine in it.

Can't decide.

Could not find a place for it here in the side yard.

It just refused to do the shuffle -

It was a bit like musical chairs.

If something did not find a place, it will have to find a new home.

Tough love.

My motto for the garden plants?

Live dry or die!

I only water when they are putting out roots.

After weed-eating 300 feet of liriope, raking seven carts of leaves, hauling bags of potting soil and mulch, and making tough decisions, this is how we both felt.

 
Shaky, but still standing after the side yard shuffle.

When it turns beautiful, I promise to show you.

See y'all!

Use this discount code to receive 10% off your purchase at the Distressed Donna Etsy store:

DISTRESSEDDONNA14

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Knick of Time Tuesday #131 Vintage Inspiration Party 
Share Your Cup #97 

Blanket, Books, and Baskets

 A few thrifty finds from last week - nothing to clutter up the house that I am gradually clearing out.

These finds will be loved for a time here then travel to the booth.

I can never pass up one of these blankets.  I love those bold beautiful stripes.  They look great rolled or folded on a blanket chest or in a wardrobe.

This one has one tiny rust spot and the label was cut off.  (Why?)

 Next up are two wire baskets.  One is a fake of an old locker basket in chrome and the other is a white wire with a handle.

Yes, they will be painted and properly distressed.

Can't have anything looking so new and bright, can I?

 I fell into deep lust over this fabric on the pillow.  I do not know if it is vintage or not.  Love the blue birds and the raspberry floral print.  If you recognize it, please let me know.

The book is by the Antoinette Pope School. - simply titled Candy Book.  It contains wonderful vintage candy recipes.

 Several recipes called for a molasses cocoanut mixture and sounded delicious to me.

I have never mixed molasses and coconut.  (Excuse me, cocoanut!)
















 More dictionaries.  I now have untold numbers of them, but can never find one to use!  The red and tan is a two volume set.  I found one in one section of the thrift shop and was lucky to find the second volume in a different section. 

Another blue edition Webster's

The Last Time I Saw Paris.

Green Mansions.

The last two books I have not read in several years and need to read them again.  I don't know how many times I have read Green Mansions, but it was a favorite as a teen.

The last find was not a blanket, a basket, or a book, but I stuck it in here anyway.

I finally found some more five-foot vintage screens - a stack of them.  I hope there is some left when I get to return to the secret place I found them!

No, they were not free, but the price was reasonable.

These look great hinged together for a screen (of screens!) for a patio or porch.

The screens are already clean and distressed and need nothing more than to dry out.

Yes, this is the forty-fifth day of rain here.  Even Noah only had to put up with forty!

See y'all!