Monday, May 17, 2010

Productivity of a Different Kind

It doesn’t happen very often but all my energy this past week was devoted to working outdoors in my gardens.  Not one day was spent in the studio.  Springtime does that to me and I just can’t seem to get enough of watching everything come to life.  The days are getting warmer but the nights are still cool, so I’m holding off planting my containers and hanging baskets until later this week.  This weekend is a holiday weekend and traditionally, that is when seeds are sown and tender annuals are planted.

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I won this biscuit barrel at a country auction last winter and to me, it epitomizes our Spring garden.

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Daffodils and violets are among the first flowers that bloom in our gardens and these hand painted ones are beautifully done.  It sits on a tea cart in front of the patio doors that lead out into the back yard.

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Grab a cup of tea or coffee and join me on a tour.  Here’s how things looked this morning at around 7:45 a.m.  Let’s enter by the side gate, shall we?

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I won’t say too much more.  Let’s just walk about and breathe in the fresh air, take in the heady aroma of the lilacs and listen to the birds singing.

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The last photo above is of the front of our house.  Last Spring I planted the creeping phlox, thinking that it wouldn’t do very well but they are flourishing beyond belief so this past week I planted more in the other raised bed on the left.  The two black iron urns will look a bit more colorful later this week with the addition of some annuals.

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This week I hope to get a start on my mini Irish Chain quilt.  I recently joined a “Small Quilt Talk” list which I am thoroughly enjoying.  If you have an interest in small quilts, please visit Kathy’s blog, A Sentimental Quilter, for more details.  Kathy is the author of the small quilts book ‘Remembering Adelia’, amongst others.  And if you’d like to join the list, you may click on the button ‘Small Quilt Talk’ on my left sidebar.  There is also a link on Kathy’s blog.  The Irish Chain is the 9th Challenge Quilt that Kathy has designed for us.

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

25 comments:

Darlene said...

Thank you for the tour of your delightful outdoor oasis - beauties everywhere you look. Leaves me breathless.

I've been a member of Kathy's Yahoo group for a very long time but I'm just a lurker - tee hee - I love to see what everyone is doing.

Beckyjean said...

Karen~

Thanks for the garden tour. Everything is lovely. Have a great week.

Becky

Ingaredstoka said...

Thank you for having me walk in your garden!! Just love it!! I'm like you enjoying time in the garden as well in the sewingroom (studio).

Susanne

Sherry said...

I enjoyed my walk through your garden this morning. I have been doing my spring spruce up lately also but am not quite ready to post my pictures, have to plant some pots first. I enjoy your blog.

Abby and Stephanie said...

Every little detail is so pretty. Love the biscuit barrel. Where I live we have townships. I live in Violet Township. There is a festival each summer.

Sharon said...

Beautiful garden tour! I had 4 days off, including today....rain!!! I so wanted to work in my flower beds. I am getting it done between the monsoons!

Jocelyn said...

What a delightful walk. So much better then all that snow ;-)

Annette said...

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour, thank you so much. I could feel the fresh air and the soft lawn under my feet as we walked. I even heard a few birds singing. Your gardens are beautiful and so peaceful! You are as talented in gardening as you are in stitching.

Deb said...

Your gardens look beautiful Kaaren. I love this time of the year too. I spent all weekend clearing out everything and putting mulch down. My back is killing me, but everything looks so fresh and new. I'm hoping to get some flowers in this weekend too - it's been a little too cool to do it before now.

Kimberly said...

Kaaren, your yard is just gorgeous! Thanks for the great tour!

...and I really love the your scale!

Hugs, Kimberly

Julie said...

looking good kaaren. nice and colourful. mind you, i just can't imagine spring right now. mr jack frost has been visiting me lately.

looking forward to more photos soon.
julie xox

paulette said...

Thanks for taking me down the garden path...enjoyed it!!
Paulette

Lulubells Creative Studios said...

Your garden is very beautiful. We are just entering into winter in Australia, now i have all this inspiration and not the best weather to go out into the garden. We have been in a drought where i live for quite some time so my gardens have been overtaken by our grass looking for water. I just have to get past the weeds. Thanks again for a look into your beautiful garden.
Bless you
Lyndel

Kim D. said...

What a lovely garden and a lovely brick home. I love gardening as well.

Barbara J said...

Shall we spread out a lap quilt and enjoy the fruits of your labour in the shades :p And read Jane Austen's books out loud. I'll bring a flask of masala chai if you promise to make some sandwiches!

Allie said...

I love your garden - and I love your gate! So pretty. My yard is producing copious amounts of mud at the moment. I'd much rather look at yours!

Janet said...

After the winters you have over there, you need to make the most of the nice weather and gardening is such a rewarding pastime. Apart from stitching that is. The biscuit barrell does have a lovely image on it.

Diane H said...

It is so lovely to see someone elses gardens where one can enjoy all the beauty and not just think of all the work to be done. I would love to know the name of some of your plants that I don't recognise and please tell me the secret to creeping phlox, mine is splindly with about four flowers on each plant. Whew, I sound I overtired this morning, LOL. Thanks for the tour, looking forward to more blooms as they appear.

Sherri said...

Everything is gorgeous...thanks so much for sharing all of the beauty!

Kiwifruit-Shiree said...

thnak you for a wonderful tour Kaaren, it all looks very peaceful and serene, what a lovely garden. I have just put mine to bed for the winter...

Cathi said...

Thank you for the tour of your garden! It's quite lovely!!
I adore the tea cart! I remember my mother had one but hav eno idea what happened to it. It was one of my favourite pieces.

Anonymous said...

I love your teacart! And thanks for a wonderful garden tour, Kaaren! You've done a lovely job with land/flower-scaping.

Oh, and I have Kathy's first book in my library! I even chose a pattern... just haven't gotten to it yet. :-o

One of these days.... ~Karen

Rumi said...

Lovely! I envy those with a green thumb.

Siobhán said...

What a lovely garden tour, Kaaren! Your fingers produce flowers of many different kinds--plant, fabric, and paint. ;) Beautiful!

Sue from Ky. said...

Your gardens are so neat and beautiful. We visited one of the hospitals in Louisville yesterday, and I spent a little time viewing the wonderful landscaped gardens and flower beds. I love seeing how others decorate their yards and gardens. Living in rural Ky., it is hard to have gardens looking that neat, but it gives me such pleasure to see the neatly landscaped beds of others.