A NEW OLD TOOL CADDY

Hello everyone!  Happy Saturday!

I've been wanting to find something to use for a new centerpiece for my dining table for a while, but

just hadn't been able to find the perfect piece... until now.  It had to be something that could easily be

moved from and to the table, as my kids use it often to do their homework and art projects on.  I

bought this wonderful French rustic tool caddy from Maria's lovely online shop (along with a few other

things, which I'll share in another post).  I love the way the pale pink of these delicate Heritage roses
look against the rustic wood of this caddy.

 I also ordered some antique French letters from Maria's shop, and she packaged them tucked inside

this fabulous vintage French book in the most wonderful shade of bluish-grey color.  Thank you

so much Maria!!  I love everything I ordered from your shop and this sweet book!! :-)

 

I used a green antique French canning jar that I also bought from Maria's shop to hold the roses and

tucked some white tapered candles in the caddy as well. 

 

 

 While I have turned off my comments and haven't been leaving comments out there in Blogland, I still

visit your lovely blogs from time to time to see what you've all been up to.  This is just a less time

consuming way for me to continue blogging. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

'Til next time...

~ Jo :-)

HOW I USED ROSES TO BRING SOME SPRING COLOR INTO MY HOME

 

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend with your loved ones.

I thought I'd share with you how I used roses to add some Easter color around my dining room and

kitchen.  We had our Easter dinner over at my mom's and her husband's home, but we had dessert at
our house.  We live right down the road from each other, so it makes it easy to do that sort of thing.  I
put together a simple display on our hutch and added roses from our garden here and there to add a
little Spring color to our home.

 

I used this orange juice tumbler that I bought from Target as a rose vase.

 

I like the casual look of just one type of rose in my bouquets.

 

  

Below, a bouquet of the French Lace roses that I've been sharing so many pictures of from our garden.

 

I used Iceberg roses and rosemary sprigs to display in this caddy of vintage milk bottles and added a
ribbon with the word "Family" printed on it to the handle.

 

 

 

   

Well, that's it... just a short post with lots of pictures.

Thanks so much for visiting... hope you all have a lovely week!

'Til next time...

~ Jo :-)

DELIGHTFUL BLOOMS... what I've been waiting for...

  

...and why I love gardening so much.  Whenever I feel stressed, angry, sad, etc., I go for a

stroll through the garden, and as I start to be further drawn into each flower... to all of the details

that make it so beautiful to me... I find myself forgetting what it was I was so upset about.  My garden

is my haven... my place to get away from the things that weigh heavily on my mind... my place to

breathe... my place to just be in the moment.

 

 

    

The Pink Jasmine is just about in full bloom right now.  The scent is so sweet and enjoyable.  My

oldest daughter and I went for a stroll through the garden last evening, just before it was getting

dark.  We went slowly from plant to plant, enjoying the different scents and beauty they had to offer.

This is something I've done with both of my daughters from time to time since they were little.  Those

moments with them will always hold a special place in my heart and bring back happy memories of

when they were little (they're 10 and 13 now... still lots of sweet memories to be made :)).

 

 

 

Queen Elizabeth rose

 

purple flowered ivy geranium

 

David Austin's French Lace roses... just can't stop taking pictures of this beauty :-)

 

Mexican Primrose ground cover -- self-propagates

I hope you guys aren't getting bored with all of the pictures that I'm sharing of my garden, but that's

really where my head and my heart is right now.

Have a wonderful day and a very happy Easter everyone!!

'Til next time...

~ Jo :-)

HAPPY EASTER!

David Austin French Lace roses

David Austin A Shropshire Lad roses and Dusty Miller

 

 

 

A purple flowered bush that I've forgotten the name of (not lavender) -- three bushes per mass .

David Austin's Heritage rose

White Bower Vine

    

I hope you all have a Happy Easter!

'Til next time...

~ Jo :-)

A SIMPLE AND PRETTY VIGNETTE

 

 

Hello everyone!  I hope you're all having a nice week so far.  I put together a simple vignette, so I

could have a little fun getting creative with my photography.  I brought some dusty miller in from

the garden.  The flowers are yellow (not my favorite flower color), so I prefer to cut them before the

flowers open.  I love the silver color of dusty miller... my substitution for lambs ear, which doesn't

perform well in the very hot summer climate we have here in Central California.  I'm really happy with

the way the pictures turned out... I hope you enjoy them, too. :-)

 

 

  

  

 

  

  

 

 

 Thanks so much for stopping by today and taking the time to leave your lovely comments.

I hope you have a great upcoming weekend!

'Til next time...

~ Jo :-)

 

THE FIRST ROSE... and more of the front garden

  

Hello everyone!  I hope you're all doing well.  I just wanted to share some pictures of the "first" rose

blooming in our garden this Spring.  That means the rest are soon to bloom, and I can't wait!  They're

absolutely my favorite plant in the garden... at least so far. :-)

Some day in the future these flower beds will be lush and full of beautiful plants, and there will be an

arbor with roses growing over it as an entrance into the front garden that leads to the front door of our

home.  We focused on getting the last of the Viburnum hedge fence planted across the front of the 

garden this year.  We're still working on getting all of the 32 bushes planted... getting close now.

  

 

A lot of you will remember the French Lace roses from our garden.  I shared them on my

blog often last year, both inside my home and in the garden.

Below, a view from the front porch looking out into the garden.

 

 

 

  

This Pink Jasmine is going to smell so heavenly when it's in full bloom.... mmm...

can't wait!

These pictures were taken this morning.  It's a BEAUTIFUL spring day... around 70 degrees.  My mom

and her husband are coming over to enjoy some BBQ this evening.  I just love this time of year. :-)

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend, too! !

'Til next time...

~ Jo :-)

ADDENDUM:  Thank you for your lovely comments!!  Here are a few rose care tips -- After I prune

the roses in late winter, my husband pours some rose food pellets at the base of each rose bush/vine.

Once the roses start sprouting new growth, we spray the roses with pesticide/fungicide to prevent bug

infestation (including Japanese beatles) and mold/mildew from appearing on the leaves.  We continue

these steps every 2-3 months throughout the growing season.