WELCOME TO OUR HOME--THE LAVENDER BOUQUET SPRING 2014 OUTDOOR TOUR

Good Morning Wednesday my friends!

I am so pleased and humbled that The Lavender Bouquet is being shared and viewed by so many new friends!! WELCOME TO ALL OF YOU, and THANK YOU to the many friends that have been with me since The Lavender Bouquet became more than a dream in June 2013!

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I am feeling pretty accomplished this morning. Over the weekend the hubby and I worked outside getting things in shape for Spring. Then on Monday, I finished up all of the loose ends, getting the pots planted and plants in the ground. I even had enough energy to clean my house from top to bottom yesterday. Looking back, I have no idea where that energy came from. I fell into bed last night and didn't remember anything until I woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning! 

Sharing the fruits of our labor with you........

I love our yard in the Spring. It has taken nearly 3 years to get it to this point. The neighbors told us it used to be quite a sea of dandelions and now it's lush and beautiful. Thank you Tru-Green!

When we bought the house there were no landscaping beds in the backyard at all. Hubby, poor guy, carved three new beds for me so that we could add a bit of color to the otherwise green scape. In all fairness to the previous owners, our deer problem makes it quite difficult to plant anything and have it last! Everyone in our area, uses the RUTGERS Landscape guide as their bible......hence why I made the choices that I did for plants. Time will tell if they are correct!

In the first bed I planted Janie Deep Orange Marigolds, Black Knight and Royal Red Butterfly bushes, and a plume grass, Miscanthus sinesis Silberfeder. It will have these striking flower plumes of copper and then turns a beautiful silver color. It grows 6-8 feet so it, along with the butterfly bushes will fill the bed in nicely.

The center photo is the Boston ferns that just thrive on our patio. They will at least triple in size by the end of summer.

In the third photo is the other new garden that hubby made for me. We have two HUGE beautiful evergreens that provide us afternoon shade and privacy. By adding the garden in the forefront we will now have a bit of purple from the Midnight Salvia (perennial) and yellow from the Janie Primrose Marigolds. I tried these plants last year in the front of the house and the bunnies and deer left them alone.

I was trying to explain to my mother what color flowers I was using on the patio this year. The first thing that came to mind was, Mexican Fiesta! Because I have black and white stripe patio throw pillows for my chairs, I wanted to open up the colors to a more vibrant palette. Last year I had the deep purples, pinks and yellows. I wanted to try something new and I really wanted a certain color red to be the primary.

I headed to my favorite neighborhood landscape store, Kales, and sure enough RED MADNESS Petunias jumped out at me. They are very large blooms and grow a bit taller than

I have had before, so it should get a nice pop of red.  Continuing on with my bright new palette, I added Blue Superbells (which are really deep purple), Coconut (white) Sunsatia, and Janie Deep Orange Marigolds. In some pots I changed up the lime color this year by adding Creeping Jenny instead of my tried and true Sweet Potato vine that I had used for years. In the planter near the new garden I used Coleus and more Red Madness.

                   MY MEXICAN FIESTA COLLECTION

Last, but not least..........the BLUE bench vignette.  Last year hubby installed this beautiful arbor for me and this year it just got better. He added hooks for me to hang my Boston ferns on each side. I added colorful pansies to the Boxwood planters. Of course the addition of the transformed blue bench cannot be complete without a cute little Pink Boot Planter. 

A little history on the planter........hubby and I were at Cracker Barrel having breakfast and of course I had to peruse the gift shop. I found these plastic formed  planter boots.  I had to have them, AND I had  to buy my MOM some too! I wasn't keen on the Army green that they were painted, no offense to our soldiers in the Army, so keeping my blue bench in mind, PINK came to mind. I know you are surprised! 

I spray painted them in a Valspar Bubble Gum Gloss.  I love them!! I am a sucker for whimsy things like this. Just a touch goes a long way in my book. In the meantime, my Mom got her Mother's Day package, loved it and called me to tell me she was painting hers pink!!! Genetics! 

Well, that about wraps up what's been going on at my house. Whew, a lot of work but so satisfying. As every year passes, I feel our house is transforming to be what I envisioned when we bought it. 

I hope that I have inspired your creative side, and would love to hear about some of your Spring ideas that bring your home to life!

Don't forget to stop back on Foodie Friday for another delish dish....another easy dish that would be great for a picnic OR a nice addition to your dinner menu!

                                                                Kathleen