COLORS OF THE SOUTH

June is our month in Florida that provides us with frequent rains and hot humid weather. I actually look forward to these rains. (most days) It provides us with extra water along with our sprinkler system to maintain our vegetation, and gives everything a big boost of growth and color.

IT'S TIME FOR FALL DECOR

Good Morning TLB friends,

Welcome back to TLB and our "fresh new look!" I couldn't have done 

this without the help of my savy daughter!

Today's blog has been a long time coming! The past year has been like a blur as I look back, and I've missed hearing from all of you! So here I am 

back in the "saddle again!" 

Yes, this is our finished home......well kind of finished! We are still contemplating adding a Nantucket stacked stone on the bottom of our porch posts, and black shutters.

We hired a landscaper to offer suggestions on how we could enhance the   

front landscaping package that the builder provided. I believe in using what is included with the build, and enhancing it by adding some of our own favorites. He suggested a Holley hedge in the back row, and Ixora's with bright orange flowers in the second row. The forefront plants are a perennial plant called "Blue My Mind." Ron and I both admired them in other yards we had seen and we just love the pop of blue against the dark mulch. (which we had the landscaper add)

 

The close-up below is the front left side of the driveway. Our landscaper planted three Gardenia bushes among the palms that were provided in the builder package. Ron and I are both fans of these gorgeous blooms with their beautiful scent, and they are more beautiful with the Blue My Mind ground cover in front of the white Gardenia blooms.

The photo below is the left side of the porch landscaping.The Beauclaire planters in front of the porch posts are from Ballard Designs. We had a bare spot in front of the porch posts and these planters came to mind! I've always LOVED them! They're classic shield crest is timeless and they'll look great decorated for Christmas too!

I added some touches of Fall with my "go to pumpkin" that I painted 

for theTexas house, and decided it looked great at the Florida house too!

 

Below is just a snipet of my Fall porch decor. It's still a work in progress....

Last year I purchased this planter from https://www.studio-m.com/

I am not sure if it is still available this year or not.

Lots of hours of planning. Some of the building went well, some we are still contending with, but all in all "it's beginning to look like the "forever" home we had imagined!"

I hope I've inspired you a bit to start dusting off those Fall decorations and have some fun!

        Have a wonderful week!

                               Kathleen

  ***Sorry that my images appear a bit blurry, I'm working on fixing this.
 

LANDSCAPING TEXAS STYLE

Hello TLB friends!

I hope you have all been well and are ready to enjoy the beautiful Springtime weather!

I was able to spend some time at our Florida home for a while, but now I'm back in Texas 

with SPRING landscaping on the brain!

The builder's landscaping package is usually less than stellar, and ours was no different. 

The photo below reflects some of the plants that were spread throughout our front landscape beds. In the foreground is Indian Hawthorne, which is heat tolerant, requires little maintenance, and will have pink flowers on it. The shrubs closest to the house foundation are called Nellie Stevens Holley, and they will make a beautiful hedge under the garage windows and are great for privacy in areas as well. They also have Nellie Stevens Holley trees that are quite beautiful and hardy.

After determining what shrubs to keep, I dug up the Holly and the Hawthorne and strategically spaced them so that similar items were next to each other in a pattern giving them the space that would allow the growth they required as they matured.

(Front right side)

Below, in the back row starting at the left, is my husband's choice, a Teddy Bear Magnolia Tree. We have "3" that will anchor each side of the front beds, and one that will be planted in the center. These trees will grow approximately 20 feet high and 12 feet wide and will flower from May-November. There is nothing like the fragrance of a Magnolia!

Along the foundation are Needlepoint Holly's. We will eventually trim these into a hedge

under the study window.

In the center of the bed is a shrub that our landscaper recommended as being quite hardy,

Cherry Blast Loropetalum. It is a compact burgundy shrub that will have bright red fringe like flowers in the Spring and stands up against the heat of the Texas summers. 

In the front row is another shrub I salvaged from the builders selections. It is called

Dwarf Yaupon Holly. It is a dwarf compact holly with tiny shiny leaves. We will keep these trimmed into small mounds at the front of the beds. 

(Left side front of house) 

In the photo below right, is a Crepe Myrtle tree that I salvaged from the builder collection. Just a little trimming keeps the shape compact. It will blossom with white flowers in May.

Below is a drip line that is buried in all of our landscaping beds controlled at our Irrigation box.  I call it my God send." Who knew a perforated copper pipe could make life so much easier? My Mom and sister would LOVE this!

We chose black mulch to compliment the black wrought iron accents on the house, columns, fence and front door design.

 

The two red rose bushes in the background below are Knock Out roses that bloom profusely through the heat. They will grow into about a 4 foot diameter of color. In the background, are "2" urns on each side of the single car garage. In each urn is a red Hibiscus topiary adding a pop of color to the otherwise dull concrete driveway.

The columns were a vision I had....have you ever had one of those? One Sunday after mass I had hubby driving around subdivisions looking for ideas......he was such a good sport about it.  What we found was that the columns we saw had stone that matched the front of the homes. So we added the wrought iron pattern to tie in the Juliet balcony's on our second level and a very traditional wrought iron lantern light. 

It dressed up the front of our home, creating an elegant inviting appearance.  Inspiration can come from just about anywhere.....and it is so rewarding! You don't have to have a large double door entry or porch to create a beautiful entrance....just get creative!

I chose simple white petunias to line the walk way to the front door and added a touches of Lobelia (Riviera) as a low ground cover of accent color. The petunias will grow together and present a sea of white color as the season progresses and the added touch of the deep purple Lobelia will be stunning.

The porch urn has a tiny red Petunia vine and a white lacey plant that is new to me, called Diamond Delight. It resembles the softness of Alyssum, but in a mound form that spills over the urn edge. Also a new plant to me is the center plant in the urn. I usually plant a green spike plant of some kind, but the gentlemen at the Flower Barn recommended this new red and green.....that will grow taller and give the urn the height I need in the corner. I'm excited to see it unfold. Trying something new can be so fun!

I found myself using black and white throughout the whole front of the house scheme this year quite by accident,  I even brought out the black and white stripe pillows from the New Jersey house to add a little warmth to the bench on the porch.

  The bench is from Grandin Road and the lantern from Pottery Barn.

This project was a labor of love and so rewarding! I actually need to replace my planting kneeling pad!  I hope you enjoyed following along today. 

Don't forget TLB will be back every Tuesday and Friday. This week I've got an awesome salad recipe that you won't want to miss!

Thanks for joining me today..........

                         

                             Fondly,

                            Kathleen

                                                      

TLB'S BACKYARD STYLE!

It's been so warm here since Summer hit us officially. Is it hot where you live too? I've been working on photo shoots of the patio and front of the house and today it's sweltering. 

This year I mentioned changing up the color combinations and type of flowers that I am using in patio pots. Remember my "Fiesta Colors?" Well, they are in full bloom and providing just the right color I envisioned on the patios. A little Miracle Grow and WOW color explosion!

Take a look and tell me what you think. This is our top patio off the family room. I love outdoor spaces.

Below is part of the lower patio where we added a small flower bed corner this year. We planted Butterfly bushes, Plume grass (slowly growing in the back) and golden Marigolds. No hummingbirds yet. Last year they loved the Lantana...I may have to get some yet this year. They are such a beautiful delicate bird and so fun to watch.

Loungers are ready for this weekend!

Last weeks DIY Grilling Cart is ready for some BBQ'ing!

I'm so pleased with the gorgeous colors. Just what I had envisioned. What do you think? What colors are you using this year?

(Below) This year I added a new cozy vignette for two to our patio. Both patios are so large I decided to start by anchoring the area with an outdoor rug. A new purchase this year is the small table from World Market. By adding just the two chairs and an umbrella it keeps the vignette small and cozy. Just about the size of the tables on the sidewalks in Paris!  

The palms, flowers and lime green lantern give it a bit of color and texture. The red seat cushions are a nice strong add to the look. I took my cue from the red petunias that I just love!

(Below) Under the market umbrella is a place to escape the sun. Notice the DIY napkin/silverware caddy from the blog two weeks ago? The Frontgate round rug is a new add this year also. I love the round shape. It's such a large space, the rug helps to anchor the dining area on the patio.

The lime tablescape blends with all of the green surroundings creating a soft, airy setting.

Thanks for taking a tour of our patios. I hope you enjoyed your visit! Please feel free to leave us a comment.

Have a wonderful day!

Kathleen

P.S. Thanks so much for stopping by. We would love to hear from you!