We’ve had an incredibly beautiful day here today, so I was finally able to get my annuals planted. Better late than never — it’s been so cold here this spring and combine that with the wedding last weekend, I’m pretty late planting this year. We have quite a few trees in our yard, so it’s hard to get very many flowers to grow. I still try every year anyway, and usually with the same ol’ thing.
In the front yard I always plant impatiens.
Begonias in the back yard.
Some pretty gerbera daisies in the pot on my patio table. I’ve never planted these before, but I love them, so I had to give them a try. I hope I don’t kill them, but they’re in a pot, so their chances probably aren’t great.
Just outside the patio door, I have a small herb garden. The chives, tarragon, and thyme are perennials. Today I added sage, rosemary, oregano and two parsley plants (’cause one just isn’t enough!)
And lest you think it’s all fun and flowers around here, here’s what you’ll see if you look up. A new and special treat just this spring on the south-facing roofs: curling shingles.
Apparently, the roof didn’t get the house memo issued 5 years ago. We’re still in tuition hell for another year so nothing is allowed to “break” or find itself in need of replacement. The other day I told someone that this house is only 15 years old and how could it need a new roof already? They said, gee, those must be 15-year shingles. What??? Who knew there was such a thing? I thought roofs were supposed to last 20 to 25 years. You learn something new every day. And sometimes painfully. Any chance those icky shingles will last another year? Fifteen year shingles that last 16 years? Anyone? Junie-Lou???
XOXO,
Anna
P.S. I’ll bet you thought I said everything that could possibly be said about those wedding cupcakes on my last post. But noooo…I forgot a few things:
- I know I sound like a Food Network cook getting a cut on vanilla sales, but be sure and use a good (translation: expensive) vanilla. I used to think this was a joke, but just smell a bottle of expensive vanilla next to the grocery store variety. BIG difference. I ask for good vanilla for gifts when someone needs a suggestion.
- The kids got me an awesome cupcake pan for Christmas last year. It’s heavy, it holds 24 cupcakes, and it fills up my oven. It’s available at Williams Sonoma, but they don’t show a link for it on their website.
- If you’re going to make paper picks for cupcakes you should think about laminating them. I was worried that the fat from the frosting would bleed onto the paper. That didn’t happen, but the moisture from the frosting did cause the ink in the pictures to bleed just a little bit.
I did the flower planting thing last weekend. You know when it was over 100 degrees here. Should have waited till this weekend when it’s cold and rainy!!! Boo’s here and it’s just plain old ugly out. Sorta like those curling shingles of yours. LOL!!! Sorry about that. It’s always something isn’t it?
Gerbera’s are such lovely flowers. Great in flower arranging
Those are lovely flowers…I’m planning on getting some planting done this week too…weather permitting.
Your shingles reminded me how different roof treatments are from country to country. Here in Britain we have proper tiles on the roofs…the ones on my house are original (69 years old!) Must have something to do with all the rain we get.
I was going to say, (like Sharon), I like the looks of the curly shingles. Kinda gives them personality. As far as the Herb Garden goes, you know you are my inspiration for mine. Mine looks pretty good too. (If I may say so myself) In my next life I want a knot garden though. And a young good looking gardener to tend to it. xoxo PS hope Peter Rabbit doesn’t eat all the your Daisies. Mine were leveled last year.
Stuff on our house is always going bad at the wrong time. Just about the time that we think we have fixed everything, something unhheard of breaks. I feel for you, I do. I just paid for my master’s degree, and understand the sacrifices one must make for college payments. I bet some Lily of the Valley would thrive in your shaded yard. :)
Oh man, that roof looks bad. Yikes.
I have so much sun that I can’t grow things like impatiens or begonias unless they are potted and in the shade of our porch. Yours look so pretty.
I am still “unplanted” and will likely be unplanted until after the wedding. But up North, we’re still fairly chilly and the first week of June is not too late.
About that roof….I think it looks very shabby chic! I now know about the 15 year shingles and the 25 year shingles because we recently replaced ours due to a hail storm a year or so ago. Thankfully, insurance covered most of that. Maybe you could get a strong wind or hail storm to blow a few off and then call the insurance co.? I totally understand being in “tuition hell” and this year a wedding (although we are under budget! Yay!)
Loved your pics and I look forward to the photos when it’s all maturing and in FULL Force!
jody
Love your flowers! I never plant flowers. I just don’t have a green thumb. My husband does all the yard work. I have had a battle just keeping a few plants that were my mama’s or that my mama had given me alive since she died. My husband did give me a violet about 3 years ago for valentines day and I have managed to keep it alive and did some cuttings from it and one my mama had! I am so proud of that!
Have a Blessed Day,
Diane
Love the flowers – gorgeous garden.
Anna: I’m glad you are able to do something relaxing like working in the yard. Impatiens are my favorite! I had no luck with Gerbera Daisys until I read their needs and put them in the sun rather than the pure shade. The one I have now is in a pot in dappled sun and she came back from last year. I had planned on working in the yard yesterday. You know the heat we had? Well it went down to the 70’s and rained all day and is overcast and threatening to rain today. Go figure.
We have a wood shake roof on a two story house and the roof is quite pitched in the back so there is lots of roof. We’ve been here for twenty years so you do the math! I wasn’t concerned too much until I found out how much it’s going to cost us. Holy Moly! Why didn’t we buy a house with a tile roof? So we’re eaking it through as long as we can. Yuck. There are lots of things I’d rather spend my money on than a roof!!!
Hey with your roof – like Roseana Dana from Saturday Night Live used to say “it’s always something”. There’s just no getting ahead sister. Pretty flowers – I’m hoping for mine next week. Isn’t it great – a brain shut down for the weekend – no wedding stuff running through it. Enjoy sweetie :)
Hugs – Karen
basil?
how’re you going to make pesto w/o basil????
i have a killer pesto recipe that i’ve tweeked over the years. plant basil, basil, and more basil. and when it’s growing out of your ears, you can freeze pesto in icecube trays for wintertime, when you need the taste of summer!! or make chicken panini sandwiches with buffalo mozzarella, sundried tomatoes and your HOMEMADE PESTO!! your friends will want you to come over more frequently, and casually mention to bring some pesto while you’re at it. you’ll be infinitely more popular, i promise.
totally worked for me.
i’m nearly famous now.
got mentioned in a blog about cupcakes the other day.
That’s exactly what the boys and I did yesterday!
Got most of the annuals done and the pots on the porch and deck. Also got the boys to weed the beds in front and re-do the mulch. Now for the back beds………if only we could have more days like that, weather-wise!!
Your flowers look beautiful! I bet your yard is a delight to see. What a shame about the shingles, something I will need to be conscious of when we leave Tucson as we have a tile roof here. I don’t know enough (actually I know nothing) about tile roofs so I’m afraid I haven’t any constructive ideas to offer that would be helpful.
Pretty pictures. And I’ve loved the posts about the wedding. So elegant. Now enjoy some R&R. You deserve it!
I love having annuals in my yard, usually the kids plant some for me for mother’s day but it was such a cool month we didn’t get to it. I’m still showing those pics of your cupcakes to people. Amazing.
The gerberas are so pretty, I must admit that I rarely plant annuals in my garden, it’s almost all perennials and shrubs. Thanks for your comment on my blog, glad you enjoyed it. The wells were the only water source for the people in the villages until the late 1900s and in some cases until the early 20th century.
Hi Anna! I love the idea of an herb garden. That’s something we haven’t planted here…herbs. Maybe next year.
Sorry about your shingles. Not sure if they’ll last another year. We replaced a roof once when we lived near Philly. It wasn’t that expensive ($4k), but we had a very small house. And there was a rubber roof involved, in addition to a conventional one, so that probably cut down on the cost. Anyway, I wish you the best with whatever you decide.
Thanks for telling about the difference in vanilla. I’ve always wondered why someone would pay $15 for a tiny bottle of vanilla in the grocery store. I’m glad to know there is a reason.
Your flowers are lovely.
XO
Oh, bummer! So sorry about your roof. We had to replace our water heater this weekend. Still, being able to go out and dig in your very own yard does make up for a lot :).
Yikes on the shingles. We had 15 year shingles too. Our roof started leaking before we realized we needed a new roof. We now have 35 year shingles.
Love the garden and all the pretty flowers. I used to have a great vegetable and herb garden. We planted too many trees and now have too much shade and tree roots to have a successful garden.
Haven’t planted anything this year. My big plans this weekend were to weed and plant a few plants. It’s been cold and rainy all weekend so I did house decor projects instead. I even got my husband to help me hang a new chandelier in the guest room. He thinks I’m crazy but I loooove it. So romantic! A few more touches and I’ll be done with that room. I like it so much, I might make my husband move down there with me and pretend we are on vacation in France. ;)
Love YOU!
Isn’t it good to get some flowers into the garden. Mind you the snails eat them as fast as I plant them. I love gerberas too, they’re so bright and cheery!
Kimx
I’ve heard the moaning from my daughter in Ohio about how slow winter is in coming! Hope the flowers take—they all look lovely!
You’re not the last to get your annuals in…I haven’t even purchased them yet. The colors you have are just stunning!
Hugs,
Susan
40-year shingles. Always buy the really thick ones. Plus, they come in cute shapes (like my “octagons”) and if you have your roof installed in the summer, there is a good chance you’ll have at least a few hot guys on your roof *snark* Hoping to see you soon! Cami
Here I am enoying the loverly photos of the flowers you’ve planted and your herb garden, and I come to a screeching halt at the sad photo of your roof! Yikes! We have 15 year shingles on our house, too (it was cheaper), and since our house is only 10 years old, the shingles still look good….for the most part, that is. At least your roof doesn’t have moss like ours does! We had it cleaned 2 years ago, too. It’s always somethin’, isn’t it?
I must get a 24 hole cupcake pan! Awesome, Anna! Thanks for sharing.
Maybe we could start up a “re-shingle Anna’s roof” fund! What do you think? LOL!!