Bicycle Centerpiece on Deck

Had a little fun today making this new centerpiece for the deck coffee table:

Retirement Life is Good

This morning I spent three hours digging weeds in my main garden. What a chore! I have let it go for a long time and now I must the price to get it looking decent again. DH and I have been working on it for weeks now. 

This is one area that we have completely dug out and replanted.

We still have a long way to go.


I am spending the rest of the afternoon sitting on my deck reading a culinary murder mystery book that my son sent to me (for Christmas) and sipping an icy cold glass of Chardonnay.  Life doesn’t get much better!

While sitting there, I took a few pics of the deck today.

The pink flowers are Zephranthes or rain lilies that my blog friend Pati sent me from her Missouri home.  I can't remember how many years ago...maybe  8?? They are not winter hardy in Michigan, so I have to store them every winter.

 This flowers stay very short and I love them as a centerpiece on my deck coffee table.

I almost lost these black/yellow lilies called Lionheart Tango Lilies (from Breck's).  I had only one left in my garden, so two years ago I dug it up and planted it in a barrel on my deck.  Look how it has multiplied!  I think it likes its new home.

Yesterday I bought some Coneflower 'Sombrero Hot Coral'.  I don't have much luck with coneflowers in my garden, so I put these three in another barrel on the deck.  They should stay less than 2 feet tall. I hope they acclimate and come back next year!

Yellow Explosion at Entrance to Deck

Milkweed.

Yellow Calla Lilies and Marigolds

I love the salmon color of these geraniums with the aqua milk can.

A Few Early Summer Blooms in the Main Gardens

Oat Grass (I love this grass--wish I could find a few more of them).  Peony bushes and Royal  Purple
Smoke tree (which is 15 years old).

I painted those bowling balls over five years ago.  I leave them in that exact spot all year long.  It's amazing how well they hold up through our Michigan winters.  I was going to freshen them up a bit this spring, but never quite got to doing it.

Allium Christophhi and Gold Mound Spirea. The Allium keep getting shorter each year.  I am just glad that they come back because most of my allium disappears after a year or two. In this spot, I like them short like this.

Summer Skies everblooming hardy geranium (the name is incorrect because it never reblooms!)