Spring Storms & My Vintage Yard.

As we all know by now, the south has been plagued by torrential storms over the past week. Fortunately we survived the storms in East Texas without any damage. We had strong storms Tuesday night and the local weatherman was on the air for over 5 hours straight as the storms passed through. Texas has been under severe drought and the rains have been a blessing. Saturday afternoon we heard the continuous rumbling and thunder rolling to the west of us for well over an hour. Three possible tornadoes passed west and north of us with this picture being part of the storms passing just north of us. We only got a few sprinkles at our house. 

 

Tonight (Sunday), another storm was brewing just to the south of us. We did get another good rain and the storms went to the east of our house. We are so very fortunate to receive the rain without the damage. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has been devastated by the storms this week.

Now...on to happier subjects! The rain has been wonderful for the yard and abundent blooms are bursting forth. I made a resolution to not buy new pots this year for my yard and to not have as many planters, instead focusing on more creative options and having a more vintage theme for the yard.

I planted this old wash tub, that was resqued from my uncles trash ditch with 4 seperate pots. This allows me to switch out plants during the seasons and minimized the amout of potting soil required to fill the tub. Mulch around the top of the plants hides the fact that 4 plastic, mismatched pots compose this selection.

 Farmall man was moving a storage building for someone a couple months ago and I stopped by to take him a cherry limeaid. This old chair was in the building and headed for the trash. It was in good shape, other than it was missing a seat and it was painted royal blue! I immediately said Yes I wanted it as I could see the potential! A coat of white spray paint, a piece of sand paper to give it a vintage feel and I plopped this pot of orangano right into it. The herb is cascading over the chair and within the next few weeks the plastic pot will be hidden under the greenery.

 Blue Salvia is blooming in front of my greenhouse.

My daylilies are starting to bloom beautifully!

 Roses are blooming on my arbor.

 Our catalpa trees are blooming, which can only mean its getting close to fishin' time! We had a few worms on the trees this week, but the elements seemed to have brought their demise.

 Larkspur is my favorite flower! I love its personality and how it rambles among the garden.

 This old bicycle adds more vintage flair to the  yard. A cocunut lined basket sits in place of the missing seat and holds purple petunias. I wired an old gym locker basket to the handle bars and a clay pot with a kaloncho plant rest in the basket.

 More larkspur...

 More daylilies...

 This persalane basket hanging on the entrance to our gazebo has been bright and pretty...

 The snapdragons have returned for their yearly visit...

and so has this little frog in the greenhouse! I've heard the frogs with their nightly chorus and finally today this little fella showed his face. Ever since I found a frog in my shirt at work, a collection of frog memorabilia has been showered upon me and I look foward to seeing my new found friends when I am working in the yard.

Well thats whats happening around here. Overtime was abundant at work last week due to many funerals and this coming week will be our second busiest week of the year at the flower shop because of Mothers Day (second to Valentine's week). My horoscope (not that I put faith in it though) said I should be looking to get overtime in the near future - looks like that won't be a problem for us this week, as we could work many 12 to 18 hour shifts.

We have had several tradgic deaths in our town over the past few weeks and I beg of you, IF YOU DRINK, PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE. Drinking and driving is one of the most selfish things you can do and affects more than just you. The heartache of the families dealing with the loss of a loved one who has been killed by alcohol is so hard to witness.