My husband loves his 'man cave', which isn't very cave-like at all, but in keeping with the times, it's called a Man Cave. :)
He has his workout equipment up there as well as a couch where he can spend time reading. He decided he would like a desk up there too as he works on the computer at home quite often in the evenings. Well, it doesn't take him long between deciding he would like a new piece of furniture to completing something.
He started with alder boards.
It took him two weekends to design and build it.
(If you're wondering what those ugly green things are stapled to the wall, they are foam pieces that protect my car doors from hitting the wall. They are ugly, but they work!)
I think he did an absolutely beautiful job. It is so pretty in person. :)
He still needs to get a chair and some accessories. I'm sure that will happen this weekend!
I hate to admit it, but sometimes it's just too hot to eat outside here during the summer. When it is, we eat in the dining room. I love anything with birds or garden themes, so it was fun to put this tablescape together.
I used a birdcage, some plants and several cast iron birds in the center.
I found these adorable garden plates and bowls at The Dollar Tree several years ago. I only bought four of each and am now so disappointed that I didn't buy more. A friend gave me the little napkin holder pots and napkins. I think they are so cute! I got the placemats at Kohl's. I love the texture of them.
I was in Pottery Barn last week and they had these bird nest place card holders for $1.87 for four. I bought the last two sets. I'm not sure if I'll keep all eight as place card holders or maybe just use some as bird nests.
I am looking forward to serving dinner in here tonight!
Last summer we doubled the size of our patio to accommodate our fire pit and table and chairs. You can read about that HERE.
This summer, we've just been sitting back and relaxing in this area. After a long, wet winter, the hot weather is much appreciated!! We have a great view of the pond we installed last summer. You can read about that HERE. I love the sound of water and the great variety of birds that come in our yard now. I had a group of friends over last weekend and we sure enjoyed being out here. Once it started cooling off, the fire felt great!
In the evenings, the adirondack chairs are in the shade. They are so comfortable!
The lupine that I posted about a couple of weeks ago is now in full bloom. I counted 49 spires of blooms on it!! (My husband thinks I must have too much time on my hands to have counted them.) :)
My Mom's favorite flowers were peonies. It's so special to me to see them bloom!
I love the darker pink color of this lupine.
My pots are starting to get very colorful.
I spend several months a year (very impatiently) waiting for the good weather. I am so very happy when it finally warms up and I can be out in my yard everyday!
I am so happy to report that we finally got nice weather this weekend! And it wasn't a minute too soon! This was the rainiest May on record in our area. We even had snow on Memorial Day! Where's that Dislike button??
So I'll take you on a stroll through my yard. Many things are not blooming yet, but some are and after trying to be patient for so long, I had to show some pictures. I'm sure once things are blooming like crazy, I'll be taking you on another stroll. :)
These tulips were in bloom a couple of weeks ago. They were just beautiful.
These pansies were in full bloom a few weeks ago. I went out one morning and they were all eaten by the deer. But, they've come back nicely. I had to get a picture before the deer figured out that they are available again.
A friend gave me the burlap bag. I love it and love the smell of lavendar by the front door.
The columbine seems to be doing ok in a hanging pot. I know it won't last for long, but right now it's looking good!
The snapdragons, cosmos and candytuft are starting to bloom.
There's a nest in this birdhouse and the cutest birds making their home in it!
I love lupine! Here is a plant that is ready to explode with blooms. I can't wait!
I'm pretty happy with the pond area. We just put it in last year, so the perennials are still fairly new. The sweet william are about the only thing blooming right now. Daisies, coneflowers, daylilies, peonies, salvia, and rose of sharon will be flowering soon.
Here's another view of the pond. The thyme is starting to fill in nicely between the flagstone. The mesh across the pond is to keep our dog in his shallow area and not where the koi are. It works. :)
The people who lived here before us did an excellent job of planting ground covers all around the rocks. I love the look of it cascading down.
Since we moved in to this house almost two years ago, we've added a lot more plants and trees. There is a vinyl fence around much of the backyard which is very nice for privacy, but vinyl fencing is kind of ugly and harsh to look at! I knew it needed to be softened up with some plantings.
This picture was taken in early spring of 2010 before I'd planted anything new in the backyard. It also shows how horrendous bare things can look in the winter! :)
So off I went to Home Depot to get several arborviteas. I was happy with the look of them, but knew I needed some edging to keep the grass out. The rest of the yard was edged in curbing. I called several places and the minimum for any of them was $150. That was certainly more than I wanted to spend for 30 feet of edging! I originally used some extra pavers, but the mower would hit them and move them around. It wasn't the long term look I was going for.
So last weekend, in the middle of all of our daughter's Graduation activities, (yes, we are crazy!) we decided to tackle the curbing job. We used bender board that my husband cut into four inch strips for the back and three inch strips for the front. We had to be careful not to make the planter too wide, as there's a wall on the other side and needed room for the lawnmower to fit through.
We needed to make sure to keep the width consistent, so used these pieces of wood as guides before screwing the stakes to the bender board.
Those 80 pound bags of concrete mix were lifted into the wheelbarrow and mixed by me. Yes, that's why there aren't any pictures of me doing this project. I was the 'brawn'. I can't wait for a project where I get to be the brains! haha
Lots and lots of smoothing of the concrete.
And it's done. It really transitions well with the old curbing. I mowed yesterday and there's enough room to get the mower through there. I consider the job a big success, especially since it cost us $30 instead of $150!
