Monday, June 19, 2017

Weekend Fun!

Jeff brought me home loads of baby roses - he chose this color because it was closest to peach, which was our wedding color.  I had enough for two big vases, plus a tiny arrangement.

We started the fun on Friday, which was our anniversary - Jeff came home from work early and we set out to buy some plants for the yard.  We hit the jackpot at both of the Lowe's in our area - the markdown racks had just been stocked with some great plants; usually by the time we see them after we've run on Saturday they are picked over and all that remains are massively heat-stressed plants, but we got a bunch that were originally $10 for $3 each - we ended up spending $27 and were quite pleased with our haul. 

Then we went out to dinner - Jeff had a hankering for steak, while I was all about the ribs...and they were delicious:
Paco also enjoyed some rib bones, so everyone was happy!

We got everything planted, and the yard is looking so fresh and cheerful:
Front - I bought a metal plant stand to raise up the asparagus fern, plus we moved the bougainvillea to this side of the house in hopes that it might start blooming again (it's in the blue pot). 

Jeff liked this pink plant in the markdown section, so we bought it and plunked it into the pot of iceplant cuttings:
When the ice plant blooms, it will be pink, so this might look pretty cute soon.
The riot of color with this one makes me happy every day!

We bought three six-packs of this ground cover:
Blue Daze - I took a picture of the tag, which is the only reason why I know the name.  Supposed to bloom spring/summer/fall.
Planted it here and also in front of the windows on the other side of the front yard.
My new summer flag - I may not be at the beach, but I can pretend...

The backyard:
 
Another new metal plant stand, for the ice plant.  Plus we loaded up the former succulent garden bowl (RIP most of those succulents) with yellow portulaca, which is so pretty!  We also bought a bigger clay pot for the ornamental purple pepper on the right.
The vibrant purple mixed with the green on this plant makes it one of my favorites, and now that it's in a bigger pot, it looks much better!
 Portulaca.  Loves the sun, so it should do well.
More portulaca next to a plant that we thought had died over the winter, but it came back two-fold!  We also planted even more of the portulaca in the front yard bed...we bought three six-packs of this, so we had plenty to spread around.
 
Another $3 find - it's supposed to like the sun and I think it's a perennial.  Might be a salvia, if I remember correctly.
Enjoying the view of our new plants in the backyard.  Also sweating like fiends.  I think we need to get an oscillating fan to bring outside when we want to sit out there - even in the shade, it was still super hot.

Because we just can't seem to get enough of being outside and sweating, yesterday we met up with our fellow Renegades and went to a twilight farmer's market just south of town.  It started at 5:00 and while it was still very hot, there was a breeze, so we managed to stay outside for an hour.  The farmer's market was lacking in vendors, but we all visited the sno-cone truck:
Pina colada for me - yum!

And we found a Frisbee, so we had fun tossing it around:
Jimmymeow
Jeff
Brian 
Me - flamingo pose firmly in place with every throw, LOL
The gang, afterward.
We ended the evening with a round of salads for dinner and got to see this pretty sky when we left the restaurant.  It was a great way to finish out the weekend!

17 comments:

  1. Sounds like a pretty darn good weekend to me. You kill me with the sitting and sweating and then you go throw a frisbee hahahaha!

    We have an oscillating fan stand that we bring outside to the patio if it's hot and the air isn't moving. Plus it blows the bugs away.

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    1. I've heard that a fan helps with the bugs - might make it tolerable at that point!

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  2. Sounds like a great weekend! Your plants and your yard are beautiful!

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  3. I bet your yard is beautiful (as always). A twilight farmers market sounds fun. Too bad there weren't many vendors. Is this the first time they held it?

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    1. No, it wasn't the first time, and our farmer's markets are never very big, but this was pretty sad - no fresh fruits or vegetables, no plants, pretty much a letdown. Maybe because it was on Father's Day, or maybe because it was later in the day, but dang...were it not for the Frisbee fun, it would have been a total bust to drive all the way out there for that.

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  4. Wow, that WAS a fun weekend! I am in love with that ornamental purple pepper. I've never seen it out here, but now I'll be on the lookout for it! You and Jeff are becoming quite the gardeners. I admire you, because I remember how hard it was to garden in Texas. And the roses are just beautiful. And I think its sweet that Jeff remembered that your wedding color was peach.

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    1. Thanks - we are trying a little bit to make our yard look somewhat interesting...you are right, though - it's a challenge in Texas (compared to California, anyway).

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  5. What a great weekend and total steal on those plants! I like the idea of putting them in pots in the front yard instead of in the ground. Way easier and looks cute.

    Were there less vendors at the market because of the heat?!

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    1. I think the height of the plants in the pots, vs in the ground, gives them an instant boost.

      Might have been because of the holiday - they have a farmer's market every weekend somewhere in town, so the heat is always there.

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  6. I love all your new plants and flowers.

    And he deserves lots of brownie points for bringing home those roses! Happy anniversary.

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  7. Happy Anniversary, and sounds like a fantastic weekend!

    Your garden looks amazing, and how cool is it that you got such a deal on all those plants?

    Stay cool and hope every weekend is just as fun! (Kinda overcast and gloomy on the Cape so far this year, so we'd like to borrow SOME of your sun. Not the whole thing, maybe just a sliver.)

    --Crabby

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  8. You are becoming quite the gardener! I love all your pots.

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  9. Those roses are so romantic!! Love your plant pix. I wish I had the time to garden. Work, running, boating...no time yet!!

    What a fun weekend. Happy anniversary.

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  10. What a wonderful sounding weekend!!!!!!! Your flowers look fantastic!!!

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