Where Bloggers Create

Karen of My Desert Cottage is hosting a big party on July 14! It's her fourth annual Where Bloggers Create - be sure to head over to view where your fellow bloggers create crafts, blog posts, etc.

A little about me, in case you've not visited before:

I'm Beth, I live in the midwest, and I am a mother of two and grandmother of one. I'm an RN but these days I'm enjoying life as a homemaker. I've been blogging 2.5 years, and I blog about my garden, tea, and life in general. This time of year, it's mainly the garden...

There are three places where I create.

This is my office. Initially it was my daughter's bedroom. After she moved out, it became a "computer room" and later a bonafide office when I worked out of my home for six years.

Jessica papered the walls with a floral wallpaper and she had matching curtains and comforter. The bed's gone, but the pretty wallpaper and curtains remain. The office is a good place to blog, read blogs, and surf the internet.


A second place where I create by using by computer to blog is in my living room. I sit on the loveseat with my laptop and blog away.

My view from the loveseat

On my mantel:  hydrangeas, grown in my garden (but of course!)

I don't have a studio; I don't need one. I do most of my creating here:

This is where I design and implement my plan, my plan for beautiful gardens!

 Lantana, an annual here in the midwest

 Cleome, a self-seeding annual

 Zinnias and phlox

 Prickly pear cactus - Karen, Ceekay, does this look familiar? We can grow cactus in our area too!

 Clematis 'Josephine'

 Lupines

 Peony

 Another clematis, name unknown; perhaps 'Niobe'

 What a unique flower! This is Nigella, a/k/a Love-in-a-mist. I entered this pic in a photography contest. (Winners have not yet been announced.)

 Gladiolas and lace

A parting shot of the lush and colorful place where I get to create every day

Care for a cuppa beebalm?

Now you know where this blogger creates! Head on over to My Desert Cottage to see where the other bloggers create.

My Lovely Purple Hydrangeas

This Endless Summer hydrangea had ZERO blooms last summer. But my, oh my, just take a look at it now.

I use aluminum sulfate to amend the color (trying for blues). You'll see several different colors all on this one bush.

Enjoy my hydrangea - I surely am!

Linking to Fertilizer Friday
Thanks for visiting! 
Beth

Here's how I spent my Saturday

A recent Saturday found me volunteering at the Polk County Master Gardeners' Tour. I was amongst much beauty and delight at Sherri's lovely garden. Here's a mini tour for you.

Sherri's lovely home with her gorgeous border beds. A closer look at the borders follows in the photos below.

 This bed is between the driveways of Sherri and her neighbor. Her neighbor also has fantastic gardens and his was on tour that day as well.


I didn't capture photos of her shady backyard garden. However, I did take photos of the delicious herbal cookies she offered.

Tour day went well, with over 1000 visitors attending the Garden Walk (7 homes).  I enjoyed volunteering, and I loved seeing the gardens. Hope you did too!


Linking to Fertilizer Friday


 

Tea in an Extraordinary Garden #2

As you know, I recently attended and volunteered at the Polk County Master Gardeners' Tour. Last week I posted about tea in Robby's extraordinary garden. Today, it's Rita's garden.

The theme of the garden tour was Extraordinary Gardens by Ordinary People - meaning doable by any determined gardener.

Enjoy Rita's garden, where she has set up tea for us.

Rita does vegetable gardening in containers. If you look closely, you will also see some purely decorative plants in this area.

Lettuce and carrots growing in plastic IKEA tubs

Creative use (repurposing) of a shiny coffee pot

Rita has several garden rooms. This area is called "The Bistro." This would be a great place to sit with a cup of tea.

Spent allium heads were spray painted in pastel colors.

The herb garden

Now we're approaching another garden room, the gazebo. This is where Rita has set up our tea.

The gazebo from another angle

A silver tea service with a lovely patina and two colorful (even "gardeny" looking) cups

Notice there are guests in the background of this photo - they are touring Rita's garden.

Hope you enjoyed seeing how Rita set up tea in the garden.

On another note: Did you hear about the VIRUS going around called Housework? If you feel the need to start housework - stop immediately! This virus affects your sleep and wipes out your social life. It causes you to be late for luncheons with friends and disrupts coffee get-togethers. It makes you grumpy and irritable. If you should come into contact with housework, go straight to the nearest store and get the only known antidote, which is called CHOCOLATE.

Linking to Tea Time Tuesday, Tuesday Cuppa Tea, and Tea in the garden

Thanks for visiting!
Beth