Iris are in Bloom

 

A mishmash of “found” iris are blooming in the yard.  Some were found at the back of the property.  We moved them up to a sunnier location so they could bloom; some were gifts and some were borrowed.

I am amazed at the number of large, bearded flowers blooming.  I fully expected smaller, more common flowers.  And while I love those old time, hearty stand-bys, it’s been great fun to be surprised by these big, handsome blooms.

Alas, poor Ryan has to work

It’s supposed to get to 91 degrees today.  I think the paper said the record was 80-something in the 1930s.  wow. 
Thus, while I should be working on my taxes today (I am so far behind this year), I will be out in the yard weeding and planting seeds and bulbs. But poor Ryan has to work, Tanner is at a campout for Boy Scouts and Harper is hanging with a friend.  nice!
Here’s what’s abloom and agrowing right now.
Hosta – We got several two years ago at Blue Ridge Nursery.  If you are in the area and even remotely like gardening, you should swing by. They have the largest selection of hostas in the KC area, and a fantastic garden. And some of the trees in that garden….just wow. It’s off Blue Ridge Boulevard in Raytown. 

My peonies are coming up!  I got these from my mom last year.  They came from my Granny’s garden in Parthenon, Arkansas.  My mom got them from my granny over 25 years ago.  To me, that’s just one of the coolest things ever.  (There’s also some variegated oregano growing in there, and I have no idea where that came from.)

Of course, the daffodils are blooming. I snatch these up when the bags of bulbs go on sale for under $1 or the spent plants are super cheap.  There have been years when I get the bulbs in the ground in February and still get a bloom from them.

The Hyacinths.  For me, second only in scent to the Lilac.

Can’t remember what these are called?  Teeny tiny bulbs with teeny tiny blue blooms…Starts with SC, maybe?  Scilla?  yep. I just googled it.  These were super cheap after season, too.

The Royal Star Magnolia in the front.  It’s really lovely.

And the other weekend we picked up this Spring Arrangement for the front door at Cameron’s.  I LOVE that place, and they have great prices!

And this lovely fella! We got a nice rain last night, and I’m hoping I can get these suckers out with the entire root intact.  That’s my favorite!

Happy Weekending!

My most favorite...about the bar

We redid the Family Room Bar this Winter/Spring.  Here are the Before and Afters and pictures of the "wine cellar" and oven HERE.

We are using this space much more than we imagined. We've even used the oven a ton. Here are some of my favorite things about it right now. 

First, the glass tile we chose as the back splash.  Can you see how it catches the light.  It's really lovely. I also love these corbels.  They were reclaimed from my Mother-in-Law's house when she pulled them out of a bathroom.  They sat in her flower shed for several years and were headed for the dumpster. They were dirty and had spider sacks on them.  We cleaned them up and held on to them for the perfect project.  Here, they simply got a new paint job and then were installed.

Now, one might argue that this is Ryan's favorite part. We built this for wine storage and to display different whiskeys and bourbons. ( I still don't know the difference between the two.)  It turned out just as we designed it. Below this is a cabinet and wine chiller.  This area is functional and attractive.

This is inside the bar area. It's the tiled area between the counter top and the bar bump-up.  We knew we wanted to tile it and had these really cool hand-made art tiles from Cuba. (Another hand-me-down from my MIL.)  She had these in a garage sale, but I snagged them.  I'd been looking for some neat way to use them and when we started this tile job--inspiration hit.  We used the black pencil liner tile on the bottom to eliminate the need to cut the glass tiles lengthwise, and it provides a neat accent.  And the 1x1 brown tiles are Emprador Dark Marble leftover from our kitchen and hearth room fireplace remodels. The addition of those tiles was a last minute decision as I was waiting for Ryan to cut some glass tiles for me with the saw.

I like this so much because it's such a neat surprise.  You won't ever see it unless you come behind the counter and look for it.

It's turned out to be such a great and useable space. I'm REALLLY glad we redid this one!  

If you didn't already, don't forget to check out the Before and Afters and pictures of the "wine cellar" and oven HERE.

Linked to Remodelaholic Friday.

Curb appeal doesn't include poison ivy

Really - this is the only before picture I have of the front of the house. It's from the realtor's online ad.
You cannot see the POISON IVY, the overgrown blue rug junipers, some dead barberries, a half dead spruce and a 3/4 dead japanese maple. Oh! And the weeds! LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of weeds! And lastly, don't forget the peeling paint and rotting wood! yummy!

After pulling all that stuff out, we drank beer. Then we replaced the red mulch with plush brown on the upper side, and on the lower side hauled rock from the back to the front. (We also painted, repaired, replaced, and got a new roof - but that's a tale for another day. Today - focusing on the landscaping.)

Here she is in early Spring, awaiting further transformation. See the Royal Star Magnolia getting ready to bloom! That tree makes me so happy!

We put in this berm over a weekend. Hot and dirty work, it's pretty simple. First, we outlined our space with a garden hose. Then we spray painted where to dig. Next, we tore out the turf with a garden spade. Next, using metal edging, we outlined the space. Then, hauled in a load of dirt, dumped it and shaped it. Then we put the mulch on top and got to planting.
On the lower side, where we had already ripped out overthing except for the River Birch and added the rock, we expanded the space. It was awkward and difficult to mow. Similar to the berm, we outlined with the garden hose, graffiti-ed then spaded the grass, and metal edged it all. Going from this

to this (SPOILER for Dirt Digger at ONG: Look away from the Knock Out Roses!)

And I believe the end result has some curb appeal!

Can you believe I have no good before picture of the front of the house? Sheesh! I mean, really?!?!?!