side border...

My nice orderly, symmetrical loving husband had a beautiful idea for the side border that runs along our driveway.

He ripped out the tangled mess of old shrubs and rosebushes that were way past their prime.

His idea was to plant a neat row of these prolific white iceberg tree roses.

Now you know I just couldn't let all that nicely turned over soil go untouched.

so last fall I sowed some cosmo and zinnia seeds...

and they grew tall and beautiful...

and he loved them...

if you look closely their beautiful seedlings are returning already...

so this spring when the pansies, allysum and dianthus went in, he didn't fuss too much...

In fact, his only concern is that they're still so small...

I just may convert him yet.

Have a beautiful, sunny weekend,

Patty

I've linked up to Tootsietime, Fertilizer Friday...

strawberries...

I stopped by my local Goodwill last week looking for a vintagey looking glass for an arrangement I had in mind.  I found just what I was looking for and so much more...

These adorable strawberry soup mugs were .99 cents each...

They match the strawberry dessert plates I found a couple of years ago perfectly.  The little flower watering can is from Michaels.

I also found an orange juice pitcher and six orange juice glasses and yellow creamer in the perfect shade.   Sometimes you just get lucky...  ; )

Blessings,

Patty

I'm linked up to Tablescape Thursdays at Between Naps on the Porch and Treasures and Trinkets at My Cottage Charm...

front porch sittin...

I spent Sunday evening rocking on my front porch with my very tired tootsies resting on the ottoman. It was such a peaceful retreat after the day’s festivities. The weather was picture perfect for my grandson’s second birthday party…

but once everyone had gone home…

it was time to relax…

I finished my front porch just in time…

Wish you could feel the breeze…

And hear the birds…

mmm…sweet bliss.

Blessings,

Patty

I've linked up to Metamorphis Mondays  at Between Naps on the Porch and Tabletop Tuesdays at A Stroll thru Life...

Saturday morning... {D}

I've been doing some thinking, so my coffee is nice and strong this morning...

I've been pondering a conversation I had earlier in the week.  One I gave a quick response to but then it kinda gnawed at me awhile...like it wasn't quite through with me...like it was asking, "Are you sure about that?"  "Is that your final answer?"

The conversation had to do with facing opposition in your faith...

Do you ever feel like you're standing alone in your faith?

 In the workplace...with your family...in your circle of friends...maybe even in your church?

This was part of our discussion at bible study this week.  What do you do when you are livng in line with the Word and those around you are not?  Or worse yet, mock the fact that you are...

Do you let them pull you down?   Do you lose heart?

As God would have it, my devotional this week brought some clarity...

According to Oswald Chambers, in My Utmost for His Highest, "A servant of God must stand so much alone that he never knows he is alone.  In the first phases of Christian life disheartenments come, people who used to be lights flicker out, and those who used to stand with us pass away.  We have to get so used to it that we never know we are standing alone...Allow nothing to keep you from looking God sternly in the face about yourself and about your doctrine, and every time you preach see that you look God in the face about things first, then the glory will remain all through..."

While we may find those who believe as we do, they are not our barometer...they are not who we base our faith on.  For that we stand alone, one on one with Christ.  His is the face we seek glory in. 

"The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me.  Everyone abandoned me.  May it not be counted against them.  But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death."  2 Timothy 4:16-17

Do you feel like you are standing alone in your faith? 

Yes, but that is how it should be...the firmness of my faith is only as strong as the foundation and that rests squarely on the Cornerstone...my one on one relationship with Christ...

and that's my final answer.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Patty

These pretty flowers are what's blooming in my garden this month.  There are roses, columbine, pincushion flowers, scented geraniums, daisy's, statice and peruvian lillies.  Hope you've enjoyed them as much as I do.

I have linked up to Spiritual Sundays and AZ plant ladies Monthly Garden Bouquet.

hodge podge...

Please don't expect any ryhme or reason to this post...

I went out back and started snapping pictures of my rear perennial bed...

It's really just a hodge podge but I wanted to share it before I start editing it back some.

Right now everything is just a beautiful tangled mess...

the azaleas have just about finished blooming and now the foxglove have started reaching for the sky.  I need to divide the hardy geranium but I don't have the heart just yet...same with this leggy penstemon, it needs a good whacking...

While I wasn't looking my husband pulled out some over grown licorice plant which made room for some sweet lambs ear.

This Santa Barbara daisy is mixing well with this scabiosa pincushion flower...

and with this columbine...

This is last year's foxglove and a few new reseeds...

This mum has been trimmed to the ground a few times and it just keeps coming back...

I know some people find it annoying,  but I just love sweet alyssum...it can pop up wherever it wants in my garden.  The sweet smell and dainty white flowers just make me smile and it mixes well with anything including this charming dianthus.

I have several of these grocery store mini rose bushes in the garden.  They have all been named after the person who gifted it to me or the reason it was given.  This little pink Laura rose is one of my favorites.  It's flowers open nice and full and it just keeps reblooming. 

These peruvian lillies are just about ready to bloom...

I love how these little daisies are bullying these big rocks for their place in the garden.

This weeping pine was here when we moved in...I am learning to appreciate it's uniqueness and love the statement it makes in the middle of the garden.

I almost wish I hadn't taken these pictures...now I'm more attached then ever.  I guess I'll have to call in reinforcements, who only see the tangled mess and don't see the beauty. 

Wish me luck,

Patty

I'm linked up to Fertilizer Friday's...

a peek at the porch...

I've been getting the front porch ready for sitting and sipping...

I'm not ready to show it all to you yet, but I couldn't resist showing this cute little flag that I made to coordinate with the new pillows and seat cushions I made for the rockers.

I wanted to make a personalized flag as a gift for a special person.  I remembered using this printable fabric for other projects and I knew it would work perfectly for what I had in mind.  I haven't given the gift yet so I will share that one later but for mine, I printed the Lemon Avenue greeting on the transfer fabric and did strip piecing around it in they same fabrics that I used for the cushions.  It's totally machine washable and didn't cost me anything to make since I had everything in my fabric and lace stash at home, so I have no problem hanging it outside.  If it gets dirty I can wash it and once it fades, I'll be ready to replace it anyway. 

The best part is that it only took an evening to put together...

I'll be back tomorrow with more pictures of my porch and container plantings.  Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings,

Patty

I'm linked up to Treasures and Trinkets over at My Cottage Charm...go and check it out, she has a fantastic giveaway going on, too.

hide and seek...

I started this blog nearly a year ago just to keep my family updated on my life...

I never dreamed I would be sharing with anyone other than them...

so indulge me...

My family knows and I'm sure the rest of you have figured out, I love being outside in the garden...it was one of the first places I really felt a creative obsession.  We have moved three times in the last ten years and the thing I look forward to most, that really grounds me, is the excitement of starting a new garden.

My husband always indulges me and will move the big stuff and keep the lawn mowed but the creative part...the getting my hands dirty part...that is all me.

Until now...

it seems I have a shadow in the garden these days.

Do you see him there...digging in the dirt? 

If I'm out there, so is he...

picking rocks out to keep in his bucket...

sweeping up after me...

and showing me all kinds of creepy, crawly things.

This handsome little guy is my grandson...

He has his second birthday next week.

I can't even remember my life without him.

Blessings,

Patty

monday, monday...

Where did the weekend go to? 

I got lost in the garden and just found my way out...

I have at least eight new spider bites (edit* mosquitoes!!!) and am sore from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet but...

it is so worth it.

Wish you could come by and sit on the porch...

I just finished some new chair cushions...

that I'll share a little bit later but for now...

I am feeling very fortunate and thankful to God for creating such beauty and for letting me play in it..

Just thinking...

I'm so blessed,

Patty

I'm linked up to Show off your cottage Monday...

Saturday morning...{D}

Do you have your coffee poured, yet?  Cuz we're going for a stroll...

I've got mine...inhale deeply...mmm...

Oh yeah, even deeper sigh...

My columbines have begun to bloom...

aren't they beautiful?

 I remember when I brought them home.  They were a couple of six packs of the sorriest looking plants, certainly nothing special. 

But I knew what promise they held...

The flowers appear so fragile but they can survive whatever the winter throws at them...

and return even stronger in the spring.

Kind of like the heart of a Christ follower...

rather ordinary, nothing special to look at...

 until the bloom of Christ comes upon us.

It is then that our true beauty shines through...

with the strength to withstand whatever our personal winters might bring...

Are you going through a season of winter right now?  Hold on to the promise that it is only temporary...don't give up...cling to faith...seek beauty in the ordinary.

"That is why we never give up.  Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.  For our present troubles are small and won't last very long.  Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly out weighs them and will last forever!  So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.  For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."  2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Have a blessed weekend,

Patty

I've linked up to Spritual Sundays...