Yesterday was a wonderful day, a day off work greeted with a cuppa tea and a box gift from my husband all before getting dressed for the day. I opened the box and to my delight my husband had got me a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, I have wanted one for years and it has been worth the wait.
Then my son Kyle took me to the bookstore and treated me to a book of my choice from him and his family. I only browsed briefly through the book at the store but when I got home and looked at it closer I found that it was the perfect book for me.
Later in the day my son Ryan took me to a garden shop bought me from him and family gardening gloves and not just one but a few plants for my garden. My eldest grandchild Natalie came over for a visit as did my nephew. My daughters Pamela & Tanya and all family members will be over tomorrow when we shall be celebrating three birthdays and St. Patrick at our house.
What a day of spoiling...
Now that the winter months are coming to a close preparation for getting our pool area cleaned up for the coming months a head. This year there is an added bonus our eldest grandchild Natalie has taken me up on my request for her to paint a wall mural in our pool area.
Our Natalie texted me this morning to see if the time was good to start the mural in the pool area. We are both excited for her to get started on this project, we've discussing it for the past few months and the day has come for her to prep the wall so she can let her creativity come alive.
Above: Wall has been hosed down and is ready for Natalie to begin to put the first layer of paint on. The weather is just perfect for her to begin – nice,cool and dry; tomorrow rain showers are in the weather forecast.
Above: Natalie is ready to begin but is always to pose for a picture for Grandma. Below: First coat of paint done drying for the final.
Practice makes perfect – and my green-thumb definitely needs plenty of that!
The weekend now approaches I have set my mind to playing in the dirt on both Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully nothing will get in my way including laziness which is definitely the main culprit due to suffering with a bad back daily but I really want to get my backyard looking beautiful, a joyful vision to the eye and mind.
Once again hubby and I are back to having three dogs, our latest addition is a wonderful fella of supposedly six years and he is full of energy. With our happy motley pack of canines it has obviously taken a toll on the backyard over the winter and since we live in Florida the grass has now become littered with multiple dusty dirt paths. I put it down to the hazards of being a lover of animals especially dogs!
I have my work cut out for me and it is going to not only a big project but a long time in the transformation and finished state of just maintenance (weeding, watering etc). Some of the plants that I am considering to gradually to purchase are:
Jacobinia
Mimosa
Star Jasmine
Arrow root
I have already pruned the hibiscus shrub in the front bed but the front yard is my husband's domain and it is difficult to get him to let my creativity flow in that area so I've snagged the backyard as my domain and I am taking on the challenge of turning the yard into a garden of beauty. Even if my old man will think it is too busy, I know that he would just like to have grass and nothing else.
I am going to have to discipline myself in order to accomplish the end result that I picture in my mind. It is a little daunting since still after all the years of living in Florida I still don't understand the soil and I am going to have to be quite strict with my husband since most things that I get for home & garden end up in his stash of stuff which I never can find or get back for a brief time.
If anyone out there has any suggestions, thoughts or ideas that may be helpful, your replies are appreciated.
