I'm very happy to report that I am recommitted and back on track. I spent the last week of June digging in the gardens from 9 am to 4 pm ... give or take ... I have one small rearrangement of flowers and we're good to go. Here's a sampling of what I've been up to all spring. The deck has one coat of stain on ... Second coat goes on today... The floor of the deck will be done next weekend. And then we can finally relax. Biggest issue has been the rain during April, May and the first part of June.
This was part of the black mulch. Next spring ... the entire gardens will be blanketed with black mulch.
This clematis (I don't know the name of it) is as big as the palm of my hand ... so exciting!
These actually belong hanging around the pergola. But they really are pretty on the bench.
Various shots of the front gardens after the mulch.
The results of my hard work ....
Honeysuckle on the back of the house ... we had an ugly part of the foundation so we put up this lattice and planted 2 honeysuckles ... it looks awesome now ... this is at the back of the house.
This clematis is just spectacular. It goes around the right side of the fenced area.
This fence hides our garbage bins. Ingenious I think :)
This is the clematis on the inside of the garbage area.
Now I can focus my attention on my continuing quest for health and fitness. Last Sunday was Day of my 12 week challenge. So far ... not great. It started off amazing for 3 whole days and then I'm not sure what happened. Nutrition has been pretty inconsistent too. I missed this morning's workout because I woke up with a blinding headache, really weak and tired. We spent the day yesterday with family and had a great time but my food intake was all over the place, didn't drink enough water, had a few drinks but stopped when I started to feel unwell ... not drunk ... just unwell. We spent all day outside but I didn't have a shower when we got home so all the smoke, allergens, etc were still on us. Not a good thing. But I survived. I had my regular breakfast of Multi-Grain Cheerios, some fruit salad and scrambled eggs. And cappuccino. and LOTS of water. So I'm started to feel like myself again. Which is good because we've got a busy day ahead of us.
We're going to apply the second coat of stain to part of the deck, Barry's putting the lights back up and then tomorrow or Tuesday (depending on the weather), we're going to put the vines back up over the pergola and the brackets back up so my hanging baskets can hang again ... they've been sitting on potting bench for the past 2 weeks. And I've got weeding and a little planting to do. My kinda day :)
One benefit of all this gardening ... My strength has increased. Yay! Did I mention I moved 3 yards of mulch? Its the width of a single driveway, 3' high and about 2' wide. Give or take ... Me, a garden fork (not to be confused with a dinner fork lol), a shovel, a wheelbarrow and 6 hours. Barry spent the same time sanding the deck.
So even though this past week hasn't been greatest and I faltered in my workout this morning, I will focus on healthy eating today, activity won't be a problem, and tomorrow morning I will get up and work out and carry on ... never giving up.
My dear friend Sandy, it was so nice to see you had posted, when I logged onto the computer ... Your gardens look amazing!! You have such a green thumb! ... I need some of that magic.
ReplyDeleteI think the weather has had an affect on everyone... I too have been guilty of not eating properly (even though Mr. G, has been cooking up a storm and BBQ...) - I just haven't felt like eating and thus kept forgetting to actually eat.
But starting tomorrow ... we are back on meal planning and healthy foods. The ease of BBQ does not result in eating healthy all the time. I have kept up with Yoga .. but am doing only once per week ... no bikini for this girl yet :( ....
Have in there ... and Mr. G. and I hope you'll be out this way sometime soon... xo HHL
I am just ooohing and ahhhing over your gardening efforts. So lovely! And I love clematis!! We planted some in front of our house, climbing up trellis'. This is their second year, so hoping they really bloom nicely.
ReplyDeleteWe wanted colored ones, blue or purple, but the only ones that were perennials that would grow here in Oregon were white. But.. they are pretty, just not as dramatic as yours.
Thanks for a lovely visit pictorial visit at the end of a tough day. You gave me a smile. :-)