Sometimes I find myself wondering when Blogger is going to give me the big boot because I use up so much bandwidth with all my pics. Oh well. Until that day comes, I'll keep posting photos, because I can't help myself.
First up, my new Rose of Sharon from my friend Jennifer. Birthday gift. I've got great friends, don't I? It's all white, and I'm thinking a supporting white garden is in order. What do you think?
This is an almost-after shot of my new-to-me rattan furniture. The seats are covered in a stripe that matches the floral on the couch, but I still need to cover all the back cushions (which I bought ready-made for $10 each, because I can't make them for that) in the floral, which was back-ordered and which I have finally received.
The stripe that's on the seat of the chair above, will then be going on these back cushions on the sofa below. Did you hear me when I told you I got the couch, two chairs, and the ottoman for $50? Bargain! I think I paid a total of $110 or so on fabric, and $50 on those back cushions, so all told, I got comfy new outdoor furniture for $210. Not bad!
I can't get over how tall my coneflower is this year! It's so pretty, and obviously VERY happy where it is!
I finally potted the little trees that I left in their original pots for a year. It's a miracle they survived, and I love them flanking my front door in those pots from Lowe's.
This is my new Japanese maple, which was a birthday present from my friend Pat. I love it SO much I can hardly contain myself. My plan for the front yard is to put up a fence along the top edge of the hill to enclose a little cottage garden, so I planted the tree on what would be the outside corner of the fenced in area. I hope I can get that fence up this year. 
So here's what you've been waiting for, Diane! My new patio pics! I wet the stones, so that you could get the full effect of how awesome it all is. I'm so happy. I spend a LOT of time out there now.
When I took my sad little pine trees out of these tall planters, I inserted a reasonably sized square planter inside them so that I could actually plant them this year. I'm happy with the way they came out. The lilies were burgundy when they were blooming, and were lovely. I'm going to transfer them to a garden bed, and plant the begonias in their place now.
Here's what I have so far at the back of the house. I basically threw in some plants that I hadn't put in the ground last year, so it's a little sad. I also haven't curved it out or edged it with anything. All things in time, right?
Here's a fountain that I fashioned from what I think was supposed to be some sort of floor vase. I bought it at a garage sale for $5. I then filled it with pea gravel and a pump, and voila! Instant fountain! :) When I told the lady at the garage sale my plan, I could see her disappointment that she hadn't thought of it first! Ha! C'est la vie!
These are some pics for Rose. This one below of The Kiss is unretouched. I took it through the lens of my polarized sunglasses:
I did manipulate this one, but I think it looks REALLY cool like this:
I did this next one in b&w too, because it just felt right:
And here is the sailboat pic that I manipulated on my last blog post. This is the original shot, pretty much. I think I did some vignetting on it, but you get the idea:
...and here is the original shot of the kiss photo that I went crazy with on my last post. It too is a nice shot, but I like having fun with Photoshop too! :)
Thanks for looking, y'all! I just got back from the library, where I picked up another four books! I tell ya', I'm on a roll! I'm in the middle of "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Steig Larsson. I saw the movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" a few months ago, and this is book two in the series. I like it! Is anybody else out there reading? What's on your book list?
8 comments:
I wish I could add a comment on each and every pic! Yummy deliciousness! Major score on the rattan furniture, woman. Great eye for a value. Love the plantings and the birthday plants. Your front porch is just the sweetest; love the shape and moldings on the top, the steps up. I'd love to sit on porch steps like those and have coffee in the morning perusing the "estate" - lol! Your new fountain is AWESOME! Where do you have it located? It's sooooo pretty!
Thank you so much for adding the pics for me. I love 'em! Photoshop is wonderful for making creative, artistic looks, isn't it? Great to have choices. You got The Kiss at just the right moment of sunset! (I'd love to have someone bend me over and kiss me like that - lol!) Love the b/w buildings pics; the graphicness of the buildings and windows is so well-suited to b/w, don't you think?
Thanks for your enthusiasm, Rose! I like when people enjoy my photos!
The fountain is out back in my little "grotto" as I like to call it. It's just an "L" shape where the kitchen juts out, and I have the church pew back there with a table--I had my birthday dinner there last year. The fountain is just tucked in next to the steps.
I like my front stoop too. I wish it were bigger, and an actual porch, but we do sit out there quite a bit, because it's a nice perch! I painted those stairs right before I went to California. They were a dull gray before, and the risers and treads were all one color. I painted the risers white, and the treads "Gatehouse Gray" by Sherwin Williams. I love them. Of course, now I'm REALLY motivated to get my shutters painted. *sigh* It's always SOMEthing, isn't it? I didn't plant my window boxes this year because I want to paint them, and here we are in July, and no painting has taken place yet! It's been too darn hot to breathe around here. That's my excuse, and I'm stickin' to it! :)
You are too good to me, Sharon! I love seeing everything that you do and watching your whole "homestead" there evolve. You had such a touch with everything and create some of the best outdoor spaces ever. Yours are creative, lovely, and elegant yet down to earth and comfy. I envy your ability, and the wonderful space that you have to work with there. Don't get me wrong, I love our place, and we've got a fair sized yard but we have no flat lawn surfaces as we are on a hill, plus I have DH to deal with. Some of my ideas just plain never get past him and never will. I've learned to make the best out of what I can get by with and take it one foot at a time. ;-) Simply love it all, girlie, and thank you again for sharing the pics with us!
My gosh, Sharon...those photos are amazing. I see nothing wrong with manipulating phots, one way or other.:-)
Loving your home pics. Gorgeous!
Aw, Diane, it's too bad your DH has a say! BF doesn't get much of a say around here...lol. If I want to do a project, I just start doing it. If wants to help, I let him, but he has never prevented me from doing anything. THAT'LL be the day! LOL! (I know, I'm a bitch!)
Hi Pat! Thanks for stopping by!
Your patio is perfect, Sharon! What a great spot to hang out in the nice weather! Love the front porch and plantings...so inviting. Great color choices for the steps and risers, too. I'm just about to cover the stairs in the Albany house...(yes, yes, photos to come - I promise!).
Leslie
I dont read much, because im not very litirete (see)? Make sure you check out the movie The Invention of Lying, without reading about it before hand, as it has some real surprises. It has an underlying theme that I think you'll find interesting.
I've put it in my Netflix queue, Anon. Thanks. So are you going to sell me that "extra" Olympus or what?
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