Spring in Living Color

Hi Dreamer Friends! How colorful is your world?  I hope it is like mine and bursting with new color everyday.  I just adore color, don't you?  Understandably,  I've never really been able to do the grey or monochromatic look.  It's just not me.  I live and breath most happily in a colorful world!  

Today I am sharing a few colors that are bursting onto the scenery in my yard.  Some are new colors that I have added in a few pots and some of the color you will see are return visitors every year.  

Be fore warned, there is still so much more planting to do and you will see a few empty pots here and there.  We are just in the beginning stages of outdoor plantings here at our house.    I enjoy taking my time and mulling over what to add to here and there.    

Since I am at home now my potting table is sure to get quite a workout this year.

I've started adding some flowers to  a few of my pots as I see what I like when I'm out and about.  The red Ivy style Geraniums are from Walmart and the hot pink Verbena I found at Home Depot.  I have also added tons of Kimberly Queen ferns all around.  I found these smaller ones, but not too small, at Home Depot and was so excited. I like the smaller ones because I can buy loads of them.    I have such good luck with Kimberly Queens where I live.  They always grow so rapidly and abundantly.  I have even had several that have wintered over like the one below.

I like having ferns everywhere! Especially on the front porch area as well.

I also have several different types of Ivy scattered here and there throughout my yard.  This pretty variegated Ivy by the back steps used to be under a tree that we took down in this spot.  It has grown like crazy here spreading so wonderfully.  I feel like I'd like to have a fountain here as well eventually.

Over on the other side of the top deck you can see my knockout rose that is nothing short of full fledged tree in my opinion.  It is massive!  As you can see here its already so tall that it towers over the railing and this is a raised deck as you will see in the last picture of this post.

 This is the only rose I have had such great success with.  I basically just leave it alone and let it do it's thing.  LOL!

My Snowball tree, Virburnum Opulus, is again blooming green.  I am wondering if I may need to amend the soil as you do with Hydrangeas to get it's color back to white.  

The Tiger Lillys have popped up and filled in nicely along the walkway.  No blooms yet because it's still too early.  It's still too early for the Iris's too.  I do hope they will give me a good show this year.  They haven't given me many blooms over the last few years but I am hoping with all the rains we had last summer that this year will bring a beautiful display.  I will share them if it happens.

I am spotting little blooms here and there on some of the other bushes though like my Rosemary in the front yard and the Lavender in the back yard.

No blooms on this red wisteria vine or my Oakleaf Hydrangea below though I do see some bulbs.  It's so exciting!

I also see some small fruit beginning to grow on my fig tree as well.

The Dogwoods are blooming everywhere now too.  I thought you'd like to see both of the photos.  They are the same exact shot but each with a different focus.  Pretty cool huh?

I have only one azalea blooming right now.  Isn't it gorgeous?  This is the azalea given to me by my husbands family when my sister passed away 13 years ago.  It is so special to me and I am always so amazed at how well it has survived.  When I got this bush we did not live here yet and were in the process of selling our old house and moving into a rental.  I kept this bush in a container for about a year or more before we bought this house and I finally decided where to plant it.  It is such a beautiful reminder to me of all that was beautiful about my sister.

I am in the process of adding a few new things to the back this year.

I am trying out a few of these Lantana topiary style bushes along the fence.  They will stay in pots here as I have not previously had good luck in the past with Lantana in the back.  I am hoping it will thrive here by the fence where there is full sun.  

And finally, we have decided to go ahead and plant a palm tree here on the corner of the fence.  What you may not be able to see is that our yard slopes quite a bit from this corner going down towards the woods.  The whole pool area had to be built up because of the big slope we have.  We are going to have to do some more landscaping on the backside of this fence to build a retainer wall on the corner now that we have decided to level out the slope and add a tree here.  We have been going back and forth on what to do with this corner for several years now and finally decided to go with this palm.  I think it's going to be great!

Yeah, it's going to be a busy summer!

There is new color popping up all around outside and new colors are making their way around inside the house as well.  Living in color is so refreshing.  Thank you Lord!

And thank you so much for stopping in today.  I hope you enjoyed the outside tour.  

Until next time my sweet friends,

Hugs and Waves!

It's an Eggstra Special Easter Tablescape

Psst!  I have a confession.  I wasn't going to do an Easter tablescape this year.  I really wasn't, I even told myself you don't have to do one.  I wasn't going to because I am not hosting Easter here at my house, instead we are going out to dinner.  In fact, I've not even done very much Easter decorating this year.  Horrible I know!  One reason is that I have been so enjoyably busy with Spring cleaning, repainting and practicing my embroidery that Easter decorating has been on the back burner of my priorities.  Another reason is that I didn't want to get pollen all over my outdoor spring and Easter decor.  It's been wickedly dusty here this spring and it's everywhere!

I finally talked myself into doing a tablescape anyway for my own enjoyment and for all of you as well my fellow tablescapers, at:

 Tablescape Thursday.

  I decided I wanted to have at least something a little more Eastery around here to look at inside.  Then, I decided to start with making some more embroidered napkins.  

So, I got busy on my machine and stitched up four different designs of Eggs.  These are called Mendi Eggs from Designs by JuJu.  Much like last weeks four leaf clovers these designs come with 12 different patterns of eggs.  So fun!

I found the yellow napkins at Ollies, have you ever been there?  It's a retail chain that buys closeouts in all kinds of things.  It's very fun to go in there and see what you can find.  These napkins were originally marked at $1.47 for the Ollies price but were on further discount and I only paid .47 cents each.  I know, that was a steal.  I would have bought more then four but that was it for the yellows.  I had to dig and dig to find the fouth yellow napkin.  They had other colors so you can bet I will be going back real soon!  They are a very nice quality weave and stitched up really nicely!

This morning I got busy and put together my Eggstra Special Easter tablescape in the kitchen.  There are very few new items that I used for my setting other then the napkins.  I will fill you in on what's new.  Everything else I already had on hand.

Much like last week, I am using some similar and some different elements to create a more relaxed tablescape.  I started with woven placemats again, this time in a round straw weave.  Then I used my Lenox Butlers Pantry dinnerware again, this time using the Buffet patterned dinner plates.  I just love this whole collection of Butlers Pantry.  It is so versatile and goes so well with so many other patterns.  I would love to add more serving pieces to my collection.

Then I topped off my dinner plate with these yellow checked salad plates.  I have had these for a few years now.  I had hoped to find some adorable Easter plates this year and actually saw quite a few I liked very early into the season.  I waited and guess what...they all disappeared really quick!  Oh well, I can't complain though, because perhaps the plates would have been to much of a distraction from my Eggstra Special napkins.  LOL!  Here they all are again shown with the place settings and each one is set in a different colored polka dot egg napkin ring because they are eggstra special too. 

 For my silverware I chose this bubbly looking hammered stainless pattern from Gibson.  I thought it would be a nice compliment to my new glassware.  Ladies, I can't tell you how excited I was to finally be able to get these clear seeded glass goblets.  I have wanted them for years and have kept my eyes open for sales on them for years too.  I even almost bought some a few years back online but they ran out before I could place my order.  I got these about a month ago at Dillards.  They are a substantial weight and very well made from Art Land.  Shortly after Christmas I saw them go on sale for $4.97 each.  They also had the colored seeded glasses on sale as well.  I wanted them that day but was already buying other things so I decided to wait.  I waited and waited and then one day I decided I was going back to see if they still had them.  I told myself if they did I would get them but I would be good and only get four since I really didn't need them, just wanted them.  Well when I walked in and saw they did, and realized they were also having a 50 percent off clearance sale, I was thrilled!  Not only did I get my glasses but I got a set of eight for what I was going to pay for four.  Whoohoo, it was my lucky day because that was all that was left in the clear.  Don't you love when that happens?  It's like it was meant to be!

  I paired them with my pink wine glasses for a little more pop of pastel color.

 Each place setting has an egg holder and small plates green plates that actually have apple names on them.  Yeah, I'm giving away all my secrets today, aren't I?

The hurricane candles are back with small glittered eggs, very easy transition here.

 For my centerpiece I brought out my porcelain bunny and added bits of faux greenery and flowers.

These cute little Easter tins came from Targets dollar bins.  Inside each tin is a burlap wrapped faux lavender from dollar tree.  

And because we are all about the eggs this year, I brought out my little salt and pepper hen from Cracker Barrel.

I wasn't planning on doing anything to my side table either but then it looked so neglected I decided it really needed something fun too.  

I came up the idea to use my Salt and Pepper roosters on each plate and add my marble eggs to make nesting plates.  Sooo cute!!! Now can anyone tell me what's wrong with this picture?

It's an Easter quiz to see who's really paying attention. 

Wink! Wink!

There you are my dreamer friends!  I hope you enjoyed this peek at my Easter tablescape this year.  The one we will not be using but the one that just had to be done because it is

Eggstra Special!

Thank you so much for the visit and I do enjoy your comments too!

Most importantly, I would also like to take this time to wish each and every one of you a very Happy and Very Blessed Easter!  

Wherever you are may you enjoy and know the blessing of our Lord and Savior, 

Jesus Christ!

Hugs and Waves!