The Yard - during

as promised (to who? I've no idea if anyone ever reads my sporatic postings anymore!), here are the "during" pictures of the front curb and side yard.

Here's the front curb now:


here it is before (June 5th):
and here's a closeup of now (I am going to have to move some of these already!)


the side yard now:

here it is before (May 29th):

here it is up close - the fence is 4ft high and the sunflowers are almost there already!

Here are some photos from my front yard.

The peeing boy statue was my birthday present last year - you can't see him peeing since it's blocked by the delphinium.

One of my planted chairs. I love chairs in the yard. The whole front yard is purple, yellow, and white after my alma mater Nazareth College.
this is the succulent chair. It was a tad more full last year, but I lost a few over the winter. Behind it, the tall daisies are about to bloom...below it are the coreopsis, petunias (both grown from seed this year) and my lavender.
More yard pictures to come as things start blooming !

The Yard - before's

I have spent every single day working in the yard or greenhouse since March - not a whole lot of that reflected here, is there?

I thought I'd share a few before pictures from the end of May/beginning of June.
Tomorrow I'll share how they look now (I just love a good before and after, but since it's past midnight, the pictures would be a tad dark now, eh?)

I've spent lots of time looking at other people's garden photos, but most of them live where it was warm much earlier than upstate NY. We have had really odd weather this year with it being 80s for a bit in April then 40s end of May going to 90s in the beginning of June. This can be a bit exasperating, but I tend to plant heavy (and too close together!), so I don't worry much if a few things don't make it. This is the first year I've grown nearly all of the annuals in my yard. Anyhow....

Here's the front curb. I have always hated mowing it since it's just a bit larger than one pass with the mower and a real challenge around that tree. Now I put plants in it every year... there are a couple perennials, but normally I fill it with annuals since they stack the salty snow right there in the winter time.
Here's one side of the back yard- tantilizing view of the neighbor's parking area, isn't it? I can't put in a real/solid fence because there is a drain that runs directly under the property line and the village has an easement to access it.
Stay tuned for updated pictures tomorrow !

Spotlight on Sam

I thought I'd share a few more pictures of Sam.
He is the funniest dog, like a big dog trapped in a little dog body. He spends his days in the backyard burying his bone and then stealing Henry's !

here's a rare pose from the curious little guy:

Here he is wondering why I am calling him - he has things to do and discover !
Here he is in action. I love how his mouth looks in this picture even though my camera takes terrible action shots.
and here are the two best buddies together (awwww aren't they cute? they're just waiting for a treat or they'd never be still this long!)

My Peony

I have the coolest Peony... don't ask me what the variety is (but if you know, please leave a comment!). It is not the classic peony...only two layers of petals. It is gorgeous, but it only lasts 2 days, 3 tops since inevitably as soon as the blooms open, it rains.

Here's the proof:

Before

After

Plant Sale was...

a bust.
No one wants plants when it's over 90 :(
well, I shouldnt' say no one, but pretty much no one. So sad after all the time I spent getting ready for it it. I bet I melted off 20lbs sitting in the sun waiting for buyers though!
Here's one of the beautiful signs I painted (the other was a "sandwich board" kind of sign):

New Art

There was a minor plumbing err explosion in my studio and I'm still trying to get up there and clean when I can... it's too distracting to be up there and *just* clean and not make any art...

I actually finished this piece I started a while ago. It began with pages from a vintage book, texture and plain (black/white) eyes and turned into this - not sure what my mood was since I never use red !