I am a Victorian Soul, who lives in a small townhouse that was built in the mid 1970's, not a huge Mega Mansion!! I just recently lost my Hubby Joe, who was a Retired Letter Carrier. I worked night shift as an RN on a Hospital based Rehabilitation( Physical Medicine) Unit for 37 years before I had Knee Replacement Surgery and officially Retired in 2019 after 41 years working in Direct Patient Care ... I am so glad that we retired at 62 years of age and got to spend that time together before he passed....I still do love Retirement!!!!

I DABBLE IN A BIT OF THIS AND THAT!!!!

" IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN"
George Eliot
George Eliot was actually a pen name for a woman named Mary Anne Evans......

BLOGGING FOR FUN AND FRIENDSHIP!!!!!!

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Been Busy, Been Buying and a Sunset!!

Welcome to Debbie-Dabble Blog!!
I am so happy you decided to stop by!!

I was going to share my china cupboard in the Den and how I added a few Americana decorations to it and the surrounding area for the Summer today..........
But I am going to put that off until my next post.......

This post will be in place of my personal notes that I have been starting each post off with because I really have quite a bit to share.......

I have been very busy..........

We had some really hot, and I mean hot, weather.....

Broke a record high of 90 with 93 degrees in the beginning of the week!!

Definitely not my cup of tea!!

Because of my auto immune disease, I do not do well in the heat and Sun of the Summer......

In my last few posts, I shared that I was able to plant the annuals in all my pots on our front porch  before Memorial Day......
  Click HERE   if you missed that post.....

And also planted the annuals in the pots in the front flower beds.......
 Click HERE if you missed that post.....

 I kept the red, orange and yellow color theme as I did other years since it makes it so much easier to transition into Fall.....

Joe bought me all the flowers for the front yard at Lowe's because it is 5 minutes from our house......

We are directly in back of Lowe's and can see the roof of Lowe's from our front porch......

Joe continued to pick up flowers for me......

Whether I needed them or even wanted them!!!!!

LOL!!

That man does love to shop!!

So I ended up with all my annuals and never left the house!!

I planted my pots in the back yard and in the patio......
In the pot that is inside this vintage coal bucket, I planted a purple mounding petunia that is supposed to spread 10 - 12 inches in width......
 Joe bought this in Wegman's and I also have what looks to be petunias that reseeded themselves from last year growing in this pot so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.....

Also on the table, I have 2 solar lanterns that no longer work that I did not want to get rid of.....
  And a vintage Kitchen Strainer that I planted last year with hens and chicks, placing some of them in Dollar Tree small clay pots.....
I use the chairs to this 3 piece wrought iron set that I bought several years ago in Big Lot's as plant stands.......
 Joe bought 2 red Gerber Daisies in Wegman's so I planted them in these pots on the chairs.....
 Underneath the table is a small clay pot planted with one purple impatien......

In the corner of the yard, I planted a mix of Wild Flower Seeds and Forget Me Not Seeds that Joe got through the mail for free in the yellow beverage tub that was once used for my Gnome Fairy Garden.............
In the pot on top of the pedestal, I planted marigold seeds that I saved from my marigolds last year.....

Today, I will be planting 11 impatiens in each of these hanging bags that I bought many years ago on clearance at the end of the Season for only $3 each, fully planted......
I have been planting them myself ever since.....

I also planted marigold seeds in the pot on top of the milk can.....
In the long planter box , I planted 5 impatiens......

I have learned over the years not to over plant pots and planters......

My one neighbor insists on throwing whole bags of peanuts out into his yard to feed the squirrels even though he has been told by our Home Owner's Association not to, and then the squirrels come into my yard and bury them in my pots!!!!!!

I caught this culprit on 2 different occasions trying to do so......
 Until I chased him and sent him running for his life!!!
 I also planted marigold seeds in this red vintage watering can........
 A striped mounding petunia was planted in this pot in an Ice Cream Parlor chair in the yard........
 Perennials to be transplanted are in the galvanized bucket next to the pot in the plant stand with another mounding petunia planted in it......
 This was originally a water fountain and when it stopped working, I converted it in to a bird bath.....
 Last year when the bottom cracked, I placed weed block fabric in the bottom and filled it with dirt and made it into a planter.......
 Last year, I planted all impatiens in it including the pot at the top.....
This year, I decided to plant 2 marigolds in the pot instead......

At the edge of the patio, I planted one new guinea impatien that Joe bought at Wegman's in the smaller pot and petunias in the larger pot.......
I also planted marigold seeds in the pot with the Dwarf Alberta Spruce planted in it......

On the plant stand on the side of the patio, is one pot planted with 1 impatiens, one pot of hens and chicks and one pot with 1 marigold in it.....
In the corner of the patio....
2 Impatiens in this bright green pot......
And 1 in this one......
3 impatiens in this spot in this Ice Cream Parlor chair......
In this corner of the patio......
Since all these pots are under the awning of the patio, I planted shade loving annuals in them......
3 impatiens in the hanging pot......
1 marigold in the pink pot.....
And a purple impatien in the green pot.....

And 2 in this vintage watering can.....
At the edge of the Patio on this side......
Marigold seeds in the pot with the other Dwarf Alberta Spruce in it, a white new guinea impatien in the pot in the corner.......
 And 1 marigold in the pink pot.....
I had planned to really be frugal when buying all my annuals this year as I have in excess of up to $250 in past years buying them for our small yard.......

I plant all my own pots and no longer buy any already planted as they cost so much more...

This year, I had hoped to keep it under $100 and defray the cost with planting seeds.....

But with Joe buying the annuals whether I needed them or not, that went right out the window....

But not too badly......

He has spent $112.49 so far for the flowers in the front and back yards, patio and porch.....

I am done now until I see how these seeds do......

Then I may have to buy more.....

Our back Patio and back yard Cottage Garden is very bright, colorful and whimsical and filled with what I call Junk Garden Art and Pieces.........

Where on the other hand, our Front Porch is a bit more refined......

I packed away all the Patriotic decorations and will re-decorate the front for the July 4th Holiday in Patriotic decor about a week before the Holiday.....

This is how the Front Porch looks now in the red, orange and yellow color theme that seems to work really well out here.......
I decided to add a bit more flowers to the wreath that I made for the front door several years ago.....
I found a rather large bush of red roses in my stash that I had bought at Ollie's last year for $1.00!!!!
Since there is now red pillows and a red rug on the front porch, I wanted a bit more red in the Wreath......
The sun hits this wreath from 4 pm on until it sets and tends to fade out the red flowers......
This brightened it up a bit.......
I decided to add a planter box to the railing with brackets that I used years ago for a much larger box.....
I planted 2 salmon colored impatiens in it.....
View from the porch.....
The azaleas are starting to lose their blooms but my Rhododendron is starting to bloom......
We trimmed it quite a bit last year so there are not too many blooms on it this year......
I will be keeping you posted on how the flowers in all my pots are growing through out the Season.....

Last year, they did exceptionally well......

I hope that will be the case this Season.....

Our son, Joey, had put off getting a hair cut long enough and was dying to get it done.....
 Our DIL Danielle has been cutting our son Jim's hair for about 9 years now so Joey asked her to do his.......
She did a great job and he feels so much better now......
 Joe, on the other hand, is waiting until he can wear his in a pony tail, I think!!

Joey moved back to his apartment last week and stays there during the week, coming here for dinner and to spend time in the evenings and is staying here on the weekends when he does not have work.....

We have enjoyed every minute of our time with him and continue to do so which is something that would have never happened if it wasn't for this health crisis.....

For that we are forever grateful!!!

I am not an Amazon Shopper and do not even have an Amazon acct.....

I like to see what I buy first so I would much rather shop in brick and mortar stores......

However, I am always thrilled when our son, Joey, gives me an amazon Gift Card as a gift.....

I still had my Birthday Gift card from January and one from Mother's Day so I figured since things have been opening up in our state, I would cash them both in.....

This is what I got from Amazon with my gift cards......

With my Birthday Gift Card, I bought this vintage style Coffee tin sign for my Kitchen......
I thought it was perfect for my Beverage Bar area......
It goes well with the other vintage styled tins and other things that I have in this area....
 I am very happy with how my Beverage Bar area looks now.....
From my Mother's Day Gift Card, I ordered this Cardinal Wind Chime for the back yard.....
"When Cardinals Appear".....
"Angels are Near".....
Cardinals are a thing in my family......

I am sure you have heard the Saying that....."When a Cardinal Appears in your Yard, It is a visitor from Heaven"......
And I also got this.......
A Spray Shelter......
I saw this on another Blog and thought it would be perfect for me because I used to spray paint in my neighbor Elly's yard but now I can't do that and I really have no place to spray paint...

So I thought it would be perfect for me as I do love to change things by spray painting them....

Joe calls me the "Queen of Spray Paint"......

Can't wait to try it out!!!

And I will finish this post with a beautiful Sunset, watched from our Front Porch........
It's going to be a more pleasant week with lower humidity and temps.
That's good because I have lots on my To Do List to cross off......

So I hope you will stop by to visit again soon!!

Stay safe, healthy and happy!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


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11 comments:

  1. Miss MerryMay 31, 2020 at 9:24 AM

    You sure have been busy planting! And I love your Amazon purchases. Aren't gift cards fun?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Terra May 31, 2020 at 11:59 AM

    Your home looks so cheery, I like all the plantings and decor. You have created an oasis to enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. mamasmercantileMay 31, 2020 at 1:39 PM

    My goodness so much to look at and admire. A true feast for the eyes, some great planting. Love all your Amazon buys. So nice that something good as come out of this pandemic, a lovely bonus that you see your son so much more.

    ReplyDelete
  4. NinaMay 31, 2020 at 1:40 PM

    I just LOVE all deathly have done!!!! And I am going to get a pop-up paint shelter!!!
    We had a squirrel plant plant peanuts in our walk-way...and we had peanut plants...they made great ground cover and had the cutest yellownclowers! We liked them so much that We harvested the peanuts...and we planted them ourselves in the walkway and in pots!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble ChristmasJune 3, 2020 at 8:38 AM

      Nina,
      I never thought of what peanut plants would even look like...The squirrels will dig out and then throw my flowers out of my pots to bury the peanuts so i am not happy with them ad do not want them in our yard, destroying all my hard work...I did put some bird seed out for the birds.
      Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and for letting me know that you did by leaving a comment!! Stay safe, healthy and happy!!
      Hugs,
      Debbie

      Delete
  5. AllysonMay 31, 2020 at 7:16 PM

    Wonderful new annuals everywhere! That's a lot of work potting that many plants. Sorry to say, but I'd be the neighbor feeding the squirrels, too lol. If fact, we made a run to Tractor and Supply today to buy a 50 lb bag of corn to feed them, along with a 40 lb bag of dog food to feed the raccoons and possums! Beautiful sunset!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Julie's Creative LifestyleMay 31, 2020 at 7:37 PM

    Wow you’ve had some really hot weather Debbie. We have had weather in the 70’s. The front and back yard look great and the flowers are nice. Have a nice week Debbie.

    ReplyDelete
  7. BetsyJune 1, 2020 at 2:42 PM

    Plants are expensive now it seems. Petunias used to be pretty reasonable but Home Depot has gone up on their plants it seems, hard finding any in the six pak cells.
    Love wreath, so cheery and love the bright colors.
    betsy

    ReplyDelete
  8. JeanieJune 3, 2020 at 7:17 PM

    Debbie, you should open your house as a store with all those cute things. Loved the squirrel and sunsets, too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnnJune 6, 2020 at 8:04 PM

    Everything is lovely, Debbie. I feel your pain with the squirrels - I refer to them as 'rats with fluffy tails'! I also must tell you you will love the spray shelter - we have one. Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ's!

    ReplyDelete
  10. My thrift store addictionJune 7, 2020 at 4:57 PM

    Debbie, you HAVE been busy, and what a lovely sunset! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

    ReplyDelete

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