Cherry Red Stones

Last weekend I did several paint projects, I painted my tired old plant stands a lovely bright shade of lime green which perked them up and added a pop of color to my dull looking patio.  The second project was spray painting several decorative stone tiles, they started out one color, which faded over time in the strong sun, and ended up a pale shadow of what they were.  The original colors were great at our former home but didn’t work at this new one; a change in color was definitely called for.

This once cute little decorative garden stone had been stepped on and broken in two pieces, it also became very faded from a rich green to a washed out pale green. I really loved the little animals; they were just so darling I wanted to save them; I glued it together and gave it a good cleaning to see if I could revive the stone with a vibrant new color.

The crack and chalky faded green color pretty much disappeared with a couple of quick coats of KRYLON Interior-Exterior spray paint in a high gloss finish, Cherry Red; it dries in 12 minutes or less.  This is my favorite paint to use on projects which are not metal or rusted; it does not run or drip and goes on super smooth.  For my rod-iron art pieces, plant stands and patio furniture I use RUST-OLEUM, it blocks rust and leaves a nice clean glossy finish.

My final piece was a hanging decorative tile which also started its life a dark green color it faded to an awful pale green.  I used the same process of cleaning it and giving it several coats of, Cherry Red, KRYLON spray paint to protect it from the sun and rain, it hangs on the fence at the top of the hill giving the fence and yard  extra color when the roses are not in bloom.  I could have bought two new pieces but decided to upcycle them with fresh color and use them in my yard instead of putting more stuff in the landfill. Think about looking around at what you have and ask yourself what you can do to use it in a new and different way, you will be surprised at how much fun it is to make something old new again, give it a try and let me know what you did, I would love to hear about it.  For more projects and ideas take a peak at this fun website; www.projectsinacan.com created by KRYLON spray paints.

Thanks for letting me share my Cherry Red painting project with you, I hope it really does inspire you to pick up a can of spray paint and get to work on some of those old garden pieces making them into pretty new show pieces for your yard or home.

See you soon.

Laurette

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Rose Rescue

This weekend I had great plans for transforming some outdated and rusted patio plant stands and a wooden park bench into bright, colorful accents for my patio makeover. Sometimes things just don’t go as planned due to time constraints or a lack of communication with my spouse, which is exactly what happened this weekend. (Sigh…) Oh well, such is my life sometimes, total frustration, anyway….. I did manage to get a much needed yard work project completed.  It was time to trim up all the hedges, trees and prune the roses up on the hill.  It takes a full day to manicure the whole backyard because it includes trimming, pruning, raking, adding new soil around all the plants, weeding, deadheading the flowers, fertilizing and watering all the plants and lawns, almost forgot, there was a ton of cleanup from all the clippings, cuttings and leaves as well.  By the time 5pm came around we were completely worn out but very happy at the tailored/manicured look of the front and backyard. 

All the hard work with the roses last year and this year is finally paying off big; we are actually getting a second blooming of roses already and it is only May. We only had one partial  round of blooms out of the roses early last spring, then nothing the rest of the growing season. I did not even know what colors were up there until this spring and I was very pleasantly surprised to see lavender roses and some really stunning yellow/orange striped roses which have a touch of peach/salmon in some of the blooms. I love these they are so happy looking and really make me smile.

I have been asked what I use on my roses, here is a photo of the container, I use Bayer Advanced Rose & Flower Care which feeds and protects the flowers for up to 8 weeks, sometimes longer depending on the placement of your plants.  I absolutely swear by this rose food and recommend it to anyone who has roses and wants to reverse any kind of neglect or add more blooms.  I usually buy it at Lowes or Ace Hardware or at any good garden center, it is well worth the money and lasts a long time, unless you have dozens of rose bushes, you might need a second container before the end of the growing season.  Give it a try and watch healthy roses bloom all season long.

Thanks for letting me share my Rose Rescue with you; I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  I guess I am going to have to try to start those paint projects in the next day or two, watch for those to appear on my blog in the next couple of weeks.

See you soon.

Laurette

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Spring Has Sprung

As you can tell my theme is “Spring” right now, probably because, here in Hollister, California, we really did not have much of a winter, at least we had little to no rain compared to last year at this time.  We did have lots of freezing cold days which put frost on the ground and froze the bird baths and fountains but not much else.  Most of the plants and tress kept right on blooming right up to December and began an early bloom in January with unusually warm weather.  This past week we soared up to a warm 80 degrees, so strange for this time of year.  Because of the early warm weather my plants and trees are already blooming beautiful spring flowers.  I know many of you are still stuck in deep winter waiting for your spring to arrive so I thought I would share some of mine with you until you get it in your area.  Here’s hoping it lifts your spirits and brings a smile to your faces.

So far, every year the first thing to bloom in my garden is my yellow roses, I have one full blown rose and one rose bud.  The other colors are following behind with some buds beginning to form. I have no idea why the yellow one is always first, but I really enjoy seeing its bright sunny color on our terraced hill.

Some of these beautiful blooms are set in pots around the yard and some are growing up on the terraced hill.  Aren't they lovely with all their spring colors showing?  I think I love spring time almost as much as fall with all the bright colors and wonderful scents floating through the air.

Thanks for letting me share my lovely California spring with you, I hope it lifted your spirits just a little bit and made you smile.  See you soon.  Laurette