Yard Swing

February 24, 2012 By

So… it’s not totally done in this picture, but it’s enough to get me excited! Actually it’s sitting in my basement awaiting a coat of white paint.

I plan to purchase two body pillows, one for the back rest of the swing and one for the seat. I want it to look very country. They have bed spreads at Walmart that look like a hand made quilt. It will be easy to cut  large pieces out to make pillow cases. The Wedding Ring design would be perfect, but I’ll use something else if I have too.

I found the design in 2×4 Projects for Outdoor Living by Stevie Henderson & Mark Baldwin. It gives you a materials list and instructions on how to put it together. My husband said he improved on the design in places! Lol (laugh out loud), all I know is it’s wonderful and I can’t wait to take the first swing.

We still have to put the header board up between the two trees that will hold my porch swing. This is supposed to be and easy fix… we’ll see. :~ My yard is starting to look so beautiful.

At our July Wedding…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did this turn out great! I have not yet worked on the pillow seats. The tree drips pitch so I’m not sure the pillow seat would be a good idea. I’d just have to remember to bring it out for special occasions I think.

Are you planning a Yard Swing for your backyard wedding?

Teri :~)

Filed Under: Backyard Landscaping Tagged With: ,

Wedding Backdrop ~ Pergola

February 22, 2012 By

This project was a rather big one. The wrong color of wood was brought home the first time so we had to return it and get the brown treated instead of the green treated wood. I did not want to paint this over the years. The brown treated wood looks very natural and won’t need any upkeep. Most lumber yards carry both colors but some only carry green.

The flower bed around the edge of the yard was planted with Diamond Grass. I think I got about 15 plants but will get more in the spring. The deer did not touch these! I had planted purple petunias in between them and the deer ate everyone! Ugh.

I love the deer but not when they eat my plants. Every year we learn what the deer don’t like, but wow, that is a lot of trial and error and plants are not cheep. I shouldn’t complain I guess we have a lot of plants given to us from friends and family.

We also purchased two of the Sweet Autum Clematis and put them at opposite ends of the pergola. These came as very tiny sprouts. The deer left them alone for awhile and then started munching on them. I used netting to try and protect them but our deer have grown smart. They just press the netting down and eat what they want anyway. I have to wait until spring to see if these clematis survived.

I think this is still a work in progress!

August a year later…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see from the picture the clematis survived the deer, and the winter! Also, I was able to brick under the pergola to make it level and give it a nice finished look. The Diamond grass has done very well. I really love the look now that it is all done. I have a 15 year old daughter and by the time she is ready to get married the yard will be all done… I think! :~)

What will you use as your backdrop for that outdoor wedding? Will you buy a removable yard piece or build one that is permanent?

Teri :~)

Filed Under: Backyard Landscaping Tagged With: , ,

Winding Down or was that Winding Up?

June 8, 2011 By

No post for weeks! And I have so much to say…and no time to get it in print.  I home-school and things are winding down, trying to get finished up on all our subjects. We will be doing a few things like math facts, journals and read books through the summer, so I’ve been getting that in place.

My husband and I just finished up planting the garden so I need to get grass clippings around all my plants to help keep the moisture in and the weeds out! And, my brother dropped off four loads of rocks  for finishing up the rock wall on the lower lawn and making a new one around our “someday barn area”.

Ah the barn… will it ever get started? We keep changing our minds on design and if we should do it ourselves as opposed to having it done. Oh, and the colors, now that has given me nightmares. I don’t want it to stand out but blend in with the landscape.  I look at it out my kitchen window so it can’t be yellow. There are only a few shades of yellow I like.

Picky? Um… yes. It  will be there forever. Should we even be doing this? What if my husband loses his job, which they keep saying could happen because of downsizing. However, we are starting a business and the barn is very important. We decided to keep on going.   The barn is in year one of our five year plan.

We believe this is the path that was set before us and we will press on.  I think Winding Up is about to happen. Oh… did I mention the bricks I have to put under the pergola, bark for flowerbeds, more furniture and order and hang mirrors for the bridal room of our wedding facility, work on my new website, you get the idea.

Writing will be hit and miss for the summer as I am working on all my projects. I am taking before and after pictures to share along the way. What does your summer plans look like?

Winding Up,

Teri :~)

Filed Under: Backyard Landscaping, Family, Keep Me Sane, Very Teri

My Favorite Garden Magazine – Spring Hill Nurseries

May 7, 2011 By

I just received my Spring Hill order! Every year I place an order for something new to put in my yard or get more of something that worked in the yard. One of the reasons I love Spring Hill is because underneath each plant discription it tells you the zone it grows in, whether it likes sun or shade and…my favorite part, whether it is deer resistant or not!

We have lots of deer and Spring Hill has been a great help in finding plants that will survive those beautiful but pesky animals.  Wonderful advice that is cost effective. We have been on this property, that we built on, for 7 years now and are finally figuring out what will be safe to grow.

This year I purchased more Diamond Grass to create a border to our lower lawn with  Flame Grass at each end.  I purchased some carpet Phlox and a Russian Sage for our very steep bank (very sunny area), an Amethyst Astilbe for under our tree,  and then I couldn’t resist a Maximilian Perennial Sunflower (to go in the flower bed by the driveway). I’ve also purchased an  Orange & Lemon Gaillardia for outside my bedroom window.

You can see in the picture the Diamond Grass that I planted last year.  It’s only the beginning of May so they should get pretty big this summer.  Everything I recieved this year is now planted, I just have to “wait and see”…how things will turn out for this years purchases.

If you would like check out Spring Hill Nursary it’s very worth it. I just called and asked them to send each of my daughters a catalogue. You can also do this on-line.

My daughters are both in their first home and are wanting to plant flowers and gardens. Oh how this blesses me! More things to keep us connected as a family.

I’m sure there are lots of ways to “stay connected” to our married children. I’d love to hear some of your stories…

Teri :~)

Filed Under: Backyard Landscaping, Family, Very Teri Tagged With: , , , , ,
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