Peonies

Peonies.

 

I love peonies.

 

Can I share a peony story with you today?  I think you'll enjoy it.

♥♥♥

 

When I was a kid, my parents had a very long driveway.  Along this driveway, were peonies...red, white & pink.  There must have been 15 bushes all in a row.  

 

Not once do I recall, in all my childhood, seeing a vase of peonies in our house.  My mom HATED the ants that swarmed the blooms and wanted no part of them.

 

One day, my dad & brother decided to get rid of all the peonies along the driveway.  (To this day, neither my mom, nor my siblings seem to recall why they did this.)  Tragic?  Yes, but what did I know?  I was young and never gave the flowers a thought. 

 

Forward ahead 20+ years, while visiting my in-laws.  I entered their home and immediately my nose caught the whiff of something very pleasant.  It was a scent that I recognized, yet I had no idea what it was or why I recognized it.

 

I quickly asked my mother-in-law what it was I was smelling.  She told me it was her peonies.  She had them in a vase on the kitchen island.

 

I ran over to them and took in their heavenly scent.  I froze on the spot.

 

Oh my goodness!  I couldn't believe it! 

 

Wasn't that the scent that I remember permeating the outside air while I played outside as a kid?

Wasn't that the scent I smelled while riding my bike, playing hopscotch, and jumping rope?

Wasn't that the scent I remembered while playing hide n' seek &  roller skating too?

 

It was the scent of my childhood, yet until that moment, I didn't realize it. 

 

It astounded me that a scent could bring me back 20+ years and give me such happy thoughts.

 

So after all these years, I finally have my own peonies in our yard.   

 

 

 

I may not have 15 bushes of them, but cut & placed in a pitcher on the table, I can have the same beautiful scent that takes me back to my childhood in an instant.

 

So tell me,  can you relate?  Do you have a scent that takes you back to another time & place?

 



The Year in Review 2012- Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my 2012 Year in Review.
Part 1 can be found here. 

 

Let's get started, shall we?

 

In May 2012,

 

I did a little restyling.

 

 

I gave my Easter burlap rag wreath

a new look.

 

I got to spend some time in the kitchen too.

 

 

Yummy...Strawberry Pretzel Squares.

 

In June 2012,

 

I revealed my next completed project.

 

 

I painted my stairs.

 It was a huge undertaking, but oh so worth it!

 

I took my dining room hutch

from black,

 

 

to Annie Sloan's Old White.

 

In July 2013,

 

with some old windows found in the trash,

 

 

 

I created this gallery wall for my family room.

There's a cute story about finding the windows in the

trash if you'd like to click on the link to read it.

 

I had a little fun outdoors too.

 

 

The mister & I created this crooked planter

to fill an empty space in our landscaping.

 

In August 2012,

 

 

I played with my dishes and created a

French Country Tablescape.

 

I also took on a project that I never thought I'd

be able to pull off.

 

 

I painted & reupholstered a chair! 

Click on the link if you'd like to see the

awful before picture. 

 

 That's all for today folks.

Stay tuned for my Year in Review 2012- Part 3!

 

 

Filling a Vacancy (Crooked Planter)

When we landscaped our front yard some 10 years ago, 

we planted a blue cypress tree that did not fair well over the winter months. 

So much snow falling off the roof damaged it beyond repair,

so we had to remove it.

The spot where said tree was located has remained vacant for quite a few years. 

I don't know why, but we never replanted anything there.

Every summer, I would add a large pot of flowers, but nothing ever really

showed up well in that spot for some reason.   

So, I did what every other self-respecting Pinteresting blogger does...I found

something I liked and wanted to copy.  

Oh I can hear the remarks from my husband still ringing in my ears....  

"There is no way this is going to work."

"It'll never hold up without falling down."

"How are they going to stay like that with nothing holding them in place?"

Blah, blah, blah!   

I love that man, but sometimes he can be a kill joy!

He did help me with the project though.

 Or maybe I should be truthful and say, he did all the work and I just

supervised him.  Now I'm not sure if his help was genuine or he was

just waiting to say, "I told you so." 

So far so good.

Just the thing to fill that empty spot!

My husband was surprised it actually worked and what's

even better is that he really likes it. 

I had to laugh when he & I were out in public last week 

and an old friend of ours remarked how much he loved our crooked pots. 

Ha!  I promptly thanked him for saying

just the right thing in front of just the right person!

Don't you love it when that happens?

Joining the girls...Debbie & Shannon

for Pin The Tail on the Bloggy.

and Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday

Sweetest Scent

I can officially say that we are finally getting some pretty blooms in our yard.

I know, I know, blooms are old news to you Southern belles,

but is it ok if this Northerner shares?

Sunday was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining,
the temperature was in the low 80s,

and there was the slightest breeze. 

As I walked around my yard to inspect the progress of my 

soon-to-be-blooming garden,

 the slight breeze sent a swirl of the sweetest scent around me.

  I knew immediately then that my Lilies of the Valley were ready to greet me!

Every year, when my Lilies of the Valley bloom,

I just stand in my yard and take in the scent. 

I love the sweet, delicate scent so much.

This year, I thought, why not cut a few flowers to bring indoors?

After all, it seems as though I catch the lovely scent one day

and before I know it, these sweet little flowers are gone

away for another year. 

You know, it's silly sometimes when I think about how

something so simple can give me such joy. 

Why in the world have I never thought to bring a few of these

blooms indoors before?  

Hoping your day is a beautiful one!

Excuse Me, Mr. Parsley Lover

Recently, with a pot of homemade sauce simmering away on the stove, I set out to make meatballs.

I love summer because I am able to grow my own Italian flat leaf parsley & just hop out my back door for fresh parsley whenever I wish.

On this particular day, as I grabbed a handful of the herb, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw this:



I am no bug lover so upon closer examination (yet with one foot ready to run should he attack me) it appears that this fellow enjoys eating parsley. He has eaten all the leaves off that stem.



Honestly now. Do all caterpillars eat parsley or have I discovered the only one who finds a feast in Italian parsley? I've been checking for him for several days now & he is still hanging out on that same spot of parsley. Weird.

Since he obviously loves parsley, of the Italian flat leaf variety, perhaps I should name him Carmine? Carmine the Caterpillar, mio amico. Si?

A Flower Mosaic

Just thought I would share a collage of some of the pretty flowers that have bloomed in our yard this summer.



Everything has really flourished this year, especially my hydrangeas. I have never had so many blooms on that bush in all the 11 years I've owned it.

Today, my daughter & I are going to spend the day shopping. Just we two girls. We're both looking forward to it. I can't help but wonder how many more years before she no longer looks forward to shopping with her mother.

You know what?

I don't want to even think about it. I'll just cherish the moment now.

A pleasant weekend to all..and if you are in the path of Hurricane Irene...I pray that you will be safe.

The Little Pear Tree that Could

When I was growing up, we had a HUGE pear tree in our yard. That pear tree always served as home plate when we played ball or home base for tag.

I remember my father would give all the pears he harvested to my uncle because we very seldom ever ate them. (Hmmmm....why didn't we eat them?)

When I was in high school, my father & brother decided to chop down the pear tree. I honestly don't know why they did this. (Maybe it was too much of a hassle dealing with so many pears?)

When we bought our home 11 years ago, there was a small pear tree in the yard. You cannot imagine my delight at seeing that tree! I guess all the childhood memories came back to me of playing in the yard & always having a pear tree standing tall alongside us.

About 7-8 years ago, in early fall, there was a wicked thunderstorm that split our poor little tree in half. My husband wanted to take it down, but I refused. No way was he taking out my little pear tree!

Somehow, this little tree still managed to thrive & bear fruit. Delicious, juicy fruit at that. Somehow, over the past years, without our even knowing it, it has grown a new tree alongside what is left of the old one.



Can you see that the trunk looks old to the left, yet new to the right?



Lots of sweet, juicy pears.



I think we're just about ready to start picking. I am so grateful that we didn't tear this tree down after that thunderstorm. It's kinda funny, but it has become the "little pear tree that could" and I cannot wait to enjoy its bounty!

The Jumbo Rhododendron

We have a large rhododendron that blooms every year in late May. It was here when we bought the house back in 2000. The house was built in 1933 & I'm so curious as to when it was originally planted. Wouldn't it be cool if it was as old as the house?

My husband always wants to prune it, but I'm afraid to have him touch it, so it's kind of taken on a life of its own. Here she is one week ago:



This baby is huge...over 6 feet tall, and over 9 feet wide from front to back. It's beautiful & the flowers are so lovely, but do you think it should be trimmed? I've had so many people compliment us on it & when I mention pruning it, they tell me to just leave it alone.

Any thoughts/suggestions from the green thumbs out there?

Signs of Life

For all my friends who have shared their beautiful blooms with me this Spring, this one's for you:



Hee hee hee! I've titled it...Signs of Life from a Rose Bush. What do you think?

I know, I know. I've made every one of you jealous, right? LOL

Happy Blooms

Finally we are seeing full bloomage (is that a word?) of our spring perennials. I know so many of you have already been enjoying this for a few months now, but it's finally our turn to enjoy here in New York.

Believe me, I'm no green thumb. As a matter of fact, I'm more the type that gives the orders (plant that here, trim that, move that, etc.) and my poor, but wonderful, husband just follows along like he's the paid gardener. (How does he put up with me?) I will plant flowers as long as they're going in a flowerpot. The minute I have to dig in the ground, I am so far outta there! I'm afraid of anything creepy crawly.

So here we have my azaleas:


It is so hard to capture the color of them, no matter how hard I try. To me, they almost seem fluorescent, the color is that vivid and bright.

I adore my orange azaleas as well. Although, they were fading away here. The color is gorgeous!



Not the best photo, but my lillies of the valley. Oh the scent of these...I especially love how I can smell them inside the house when there's a breeze and the windows are open.



I love these purple flowers. I have no idea what they are called, they were planted by the previous owner.



And last but not least, my giant rhododendron. This was also planted by the previous home owner and might I say that in the last ten years since we've lived here, this thing has grown by leaps and bounds. It's easily 6-7 feet tall. I know I need to have the gardener, er hubby, trim this, but I'm afraid. I think if we do it wrong, it'll never bloom like this again.



Here's a close up of the rhododendron's flower clusters:


That's all I have for now. The weather here has been beautiful. We've been in the pool several times already which is kind of unusual for us in New York, but we're not complaining, believe me.

I'm off to relax with a nice, cold glass of lemonade. You should grab a glass too. I'll be back to post the winner of my cottage giveaway on Saturday...good luck!