The Storm Before the Calm!

This is a "BEFORE" post. I hope you'll come back in a month or so to see the "AFTER" photos. 

I know it's barren now but I invite you to use your imagination to see lots of flowers.

***

After a "historic" snowstorm in Denver, the sun came out and melted all that snow, 

making the grass greener than usual with bulbs popping up everywhere like this Siberian Iris. 

Yep, I have spring fever and I've got the sore muscles to prove it.

These tiny Squill bulbs are one my early favorites. 

Before I can do anything fun in the garden, 

I'm taking advantage of our 70 degree weather to do some garden clean up.

First, I have to rake up all the wet leaves and dead plants and bag them for garbage pickup.

We decided to remove a sand cherry that had messy berries and suckers throughout the garden.

It was a job but will be worth it when I plant this area.

Thanks to Ron for tackling this monster root.

Beginner's Tip:  It's a good idea to cut down your ornamental grasses and lavender stems 

to make room for new growth. 

This little tool makes quick work of trimming grasses and it's fun to use.

One of the first things I like to do in the spring is re-imagine my small patio.

At one end of my patio is a vintage fireplace grate that will hold red geraniums, 

some taller plants in the pots and flowers in the galvanized tub.

Watch out for my little photo bomber!

I picture the metal structure wrapped in battery-powered twinkly lights.

You know in Paris how they have tall planter boxes on the sidewalk to define the cafes?

I'm going to try something like a bench lined with lanterns and flickering candles. 

Or maybe I'll ad a small arborvitae in a big clay pot or a flower stand.

Oh no, now they're saying we're going to get snow this weekend.

That's Colorado for you.

Argg!

***

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French Country Patio Reveal!

It seems like I've been waiting for months to show you my French Country patio.
And, even though Colorado skies are still leaden and drippy, I say enough already!
I can't wait another minute. It is June after all. 

Please come on in!

Although the patio is small, it's inviting and comfortable,
a place we spend a lot of time in warm weather.
I'm embracing a black and white palette this year, a classic French look.

This rusty arch came over from the front yard garden to the flagstone patio 

to transform the patio's appearance. 

Now the patio has a more defined boundary and a more formal entry point into the garden. 

Two big ceramic pots planted with boxwood and white alyssum flank the arch.

Here's how it looked before moving the arch.

We purchased these copper solar string lights this year from Home Depot to wrap around the arch after squirrels devoured out heavy-duty lights last year. 

We've since learned that those thick strings contain soy and 

apparently are quite delicious to hungry squirrels. So far, they have left the copper strings alone.

The delicate lights have a blue cast and look magical in the evening.

Since I moved the bistro table and chairs to another location in the garden, 

I brought my old black patio set back to the main patio. 

Ron says these chairs are more comfortable and the table holds more food and drinks.
Love that these cushions from WalMart are reversible. 

I'm looking for a small black or off-white patio umbrella but they're all too big for this small space. 

Patio accessories include black lanterns, concrete urns, and lots of pink and white flowers 

in terracotta pots. (The plants are still small; please check back to see them grow.) 

The wooden trellises give the patio a French flavor with plants winding through them. 

A few touches of rusty metal objects add a sense of age.

These Bonne Maman preserve jars are just right for votive candles on the fence.

A baker's rack alley find provides a perfect stage for my growing collection
of galvanized watering cans and buckets.

A tall fence ensures privacy with a peek at the garden in a curvy mirror.

It almost looks like there's a hole in the fence.

A trickling recirculating fountain next to the patio provides a soothing natural sound, 

masking traffic noises and creating a calm setting in the city.

The patio has a quiet ambience of being connected to nature
where I almost feel I should whisper.

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Cafe' Bleu Reveal

There's a little corner in my back yard that's kind of wasted space. 

It's too small to sit comfortably, too shady to grow anything, too boring
to want to spend time there. It was barely big enough to accommodate my bistro set.

Here's the "before" picture.
Tiny, but I could see the potential. 

Except for a lilac bush, a nice shade tree, and a cottage garden 

on two sides, the corner itself wasn't much to look at. 

Although my little dog liked to explore the raised area behind the table, 

we didn't make much use of this space.

That's when I decided to make some changes. 

The first thing I did was look at the space for a long, long time. 

This appeared to be a back-breaking project and I debated if I really wanted to take it on.

Several years ago, I'd built a low brick wall defining this small corner 

but it merely took up valuable space. When you live in the city, every inch counts. 

So I took a deep breath and decided to dig in, so to speak.

I removed all those bricks, every single one, down to the ground level, stacking them
in little towers. Then I outlined a new edge with an ax and started digging. 

I chopped off a bunch of dirt from the raised area and threw it in my wheelbarrow,
pushing back the wall about a foot.
A foot may not seem like much but it made such a difference in the available space.

Next I relaid the brick wall in a semi-circle under the tree and topped it with a paver capstone. 

A layer of fresh gravel gave it a French feeling underfoot
and some river rocks expanded the existing dry stream bed on one side.

After all that work rebuilding the brick wall, it seemed a shame to cover it up.

But when I snugged a weathered garden bench up against it,
I still had space for a small bench that I could put my feet up on. Yippee!

Then came the fun part. 

Blue cushions, an old quilt, a farm chair I spray painted blue,
a blue enamel bowl on the fence, and a few shade-loving plants.

I couldn't believe my luck when I found a vintage, circa 1960s, blue bicycle
at an estate sale this weekend. Just what I'd been looking for and only $10!
We removed the shiny metal gears and wiring and added some daisies in a basket
(also found at another yard sale).

I hung a faded blue cafe sign on an old ladder against the tree . . . 

and christened the space
Cafe՜ Bleu.

Now I have a cool private corner where I can retreat during the heat of the day 

or sip a glass of wine in the evening.
From this quiet space, I can watch the birds visiting the feeders and birdbath,



or admire the garden as it explodes in a Spring frenzy.

Definitely worth the effort.

Come on over and put your feet up.

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Spring Garden Transformations

This giant allium is one of the first bulbs to bloom in the spring,
tempting me to visit the nursery and come home laden with annuals.
But I know it's too early, the ground too cold,
and so I look for some fun garden projects while I wait.

For now, three DIY garden transformation projects await!

This metal salesman's sample of a headboard was painted silver when I bought it at a yard sale. 

It's a scaled-down bed measuring about three feet high by one foot deep.

These small salesman's samples were made to scale and appearance

so customers could envision what they would look like in their home . . .

and they were probably a lot easier for the salesman to carry. 

 Here's the "before" picture.

Last year, I painted it white and displayed it on the front porch.

I thought about putting it in this year's yard sale; I didn't really have room for it on the porch.

Then I realized it would look nice in the garden but the white was just too glaring. 

So I spray painted it Stone Gray by Rustoleum. The softer aged look looks perfect in the garden.

The base has a one-foot open area (for a teeny tiny mattress?). 

I positioned the headboard so the bleeding hearts would grow up through that open space.

I'm so glad I didn't put it in the upcoming yard sale pile. It's a keeper.

***

Another garden accessory I've been transforming is this cast iron lion fountain. 

It was painted a bright creamy yellow color which I thought looked too new.

So I painted it the same Stone Gray paint.

Then I mixed the gray paint with a little black 

and dabbed it on with a terrycloth rag to give it a weathered look. 

  

I also used an artist's brush with the black paint to highlight a few areas

like the edges of the fountain and the raised areas on the lion's head. 

It's now about the same color as the stone of the house so it feels like it's always been there. 

***

The last project I've been working on is transforming this little bricked space by our storage shed.

I dug out about a foot of the dirt surrounding the ash tree 

and replaced the space with old bricks found in the alley.
I like using old bricks because 1) it keeps them out of a landfill and
2) the aged appearance complements an old house. 

We made a brick border by cutting bricks in two and laying them lengthwise along the edge.
We used a brick chisel and a shop hammer to make the cuts.
Sweeping dirt over the bricks filled in the spaces between the bricks.

I also moved some rocks from the garden to make a border around the tree.
This gives us a little more room to access the shed and it looks nicer too.
Hopefully, the vinca transplants will fill in the space.
So far, so good.

Apparently, it 's dog-tested and dog-approved.

So, what's on your garden to-do list this spring while you're waiting for the ground to warm up?

***

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