Tuesday, June 8, 2010

summer living


My honeysuckle plant is just starting to bloom. It is entwined through the wooden side slats of my deck and I love the way it looks, all tangled and wild. One of my plans this summer is to make my deck into a small oasis of calm and beauty. I've always had tomato plants and pots of growing stuff on it but they have been haphazard and standard. This year I am planning on doing things out there with a bit more thought towards asthetics and on a budget:) Fragrant flowers and herbs. Colour. I would love to have a water feature. Don't you just love the soft song of running water?

I bought some comfy new brown chairs at Costco ($15 each) and managed to snag a brown and green beach umbrella at Superstore which matches beautifully and does the job just as well as a regular table umbrella (at least for now). Our summers are gorgeous but short and I wish to spend as much time outside enjoying it as I can. Making my deck into a summer "room"will help:)

This weekend is the annual YMCA fundraiser Over the Garden Gate. A few wonderful private gardens are opened up to the public and we wander about soaking up inspiration and beauty. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, finished with a cup of tea somewhere:)

5 comments:

Sarah @ Mum In Bloom said...

Those photos are so beautiful. The hummingbirds must love those flowers. There's nothing like a peaceful patio area to sit and take in the world :)

The Words Crafter said...

How beautiful! Honeysuckle reminds me of my childhood-there was so much of it around us that the fragrance soaked into everything...*nostalgic sigh* I'm glad you're able to create an outside space to relax in...here in the south, outside isn't really the place to be...ick! Give me a rainy, cloudy, cool, crisp autumn day! Have a great week!

Mickey (Michel) Johnson said...

...i love having a "room" where the indoors becomes outdoors. it sounds like a lovely project and well worth the undertaking. have a great time at the garden show...i am sure you will find lots of inspiration...and have a cup o' tea for me...xoxo, mickey

carol gourley said...

Hi Alice, I'm taking the ecourse from Kelly Rae and thru you through the comments for yesterday. I love your art and todays blog is just where I'm at also. I love gardening and never get to spend the time on it. This year my goal is to beautify my back deck for a cosie place to blog all summer long, hehe.
carol

Suzie Ridler said...

Your garden is looking gorgeous! We are getting perfect weather for it, aren't we? I agree, having a water feature would be so nice, drown out the sound of traffic around here, that would be so nice.