Perfect Napping Place

This napping dog has it all figured out by sleeping inside and outside at the same time. Yawn. xo

House / Patio: Before and After Renovation

Somebody had a vision and look what was accomplished! Read the story and see more photos here. I love before and after photos to see the fruits of good taste and hard labor. xo

Elegant Kitchen Decor

This is a very formal kitchen sink arrangement and it's quite beautiful too. At first I thought it might be in a bathroom but the "instant hot" faucet on the left made me think it must be a kitchen. I love the deep white porcelain double sinks and all the collections on the shelf.

Photos from House Tour Today

Dining Room: Lovely cupboards on either side of recessed nook with sideboard.

The Library. Wall of bookshelves doesn't show.

Outdoor Fireplace opposite Fireplace in kitchen.

It was a lovely day to be out and about with the hottest part of the day being only 71° but the heat will be on tomorrow and the rest of the week in the 80s.

Laundry Room Sink and Shelf Love

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I love everything in this room! The old ginger beer bottles lining the shelf are a lovely touch for a great photo shoot.

My clay chicken pot found on the side of the road on trash day several years ago is planted with on of my rosemary herbs that was originally rooted in water. This photo also shows my second cast iron chicken in the background. I haven't spent any money at all this year in either my front or back gardens. I have just been transplanting, rooting, or seeding with seeds I saved myself or bought last year. I am especially proud of a Limelight Hydrangea cutting I pushed into the ground two years ago when I was pruning that is turning into a handsome shrub.

Here it is in between two American boxwood I just pruned and haven't picked up the clippings yet. I pushed this clipping into the earth next to the mother plant when I pruned my huge Limelight in the fall two years ago. The following spring it sprouted leaves and I left it in place. I transplanted it to the side garden next to the driveway that leads to my red barn/garage this spring and now is thriving and is growing into a real flowing shrub. It will probably outgrown this spot but for now it is in its "nursery" stage. I planted another rooting in another spot but it is much slower showing off than this one. Plant propagating is another form of thrift and requires patience but is very rewarding in the end. Luckily I have a lot of patience that has paid off in many areas of my life.

Current rootings in progress at my kitchen sink. Left and center vases have many roots forming on lavender clippings and the far right has a limelight hydrangea cutting from my new shrub; I am curious to see if it will root in water. I have already planted one clump of lavender rootings and they are growing slowly but surely out back. My mother always had something she had pinched rooting at the kitchen sink and my brother and I liked to root sweet potatoes and carrots there too. Now I want to go out and buy some sweet potatoes and get a good vine going. xo

More of My Peonies + Happiness Quote

As promised, here are my red and white peonies opened up showing their yellow centers. I completely forgot they close up in the late afternoon and are still closed in the early morning. They are like me, they go to bed early and open slowly the next day. I shall watch them closely this morning to see what time they fully open and awake. For me, it's after two cups of coffee.

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I love this quote: 

"The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things." 

Henry Ward Beecher

Another view of my front garden from from farther back. I clipped all 15 of my American boxwood earlier this week and they look neat and tiny now. The large one left center is an English box I transplanted my garden when I moved. It is the mate for the two  at the end of my front walk at the driveway. I didn't clip this one at all. 

Enjoy your Sunday. xo

Hello June

I wanted to post this wonderful 19C. illustration and poem on time. Happy first day of June.

My Peony Garden

I took this photo late Saturday afternoon, the last day of May. This morning the peonies have opened showing their beautiful yellow centers. The ferns I dug from my woods are spectacular this year too. Will post a photo later. Happy First Day of June. The ferns I dug from my woods are really thick and healthy this year because of all the rain. xo Click photo to enlarge.

Great Vintage Cottage Kitchen

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I love this gardener's kitchen and I spy lots of clay pots on the enclosed back porch. The galvanized pot with a bay tree is great, even if you don/t use bay leaves a lot in your cooking. Those old cutting boards are handy as well as decorative. I have quite a few myself but have noticed they have all but disappeared from house sales because they are prized now. I don't really understand the long brass closures on the cupboard doors. Guess you have to be there to figure them out. I could work happily in this small space even if there were no dishwasher. PS: mine is broken and I am considering putting something else in the opening because I didn't use it that much anyway. I had it repaired once and got quite a few years out of it but it has started leaking again. Actually, this problem is from lack of use in the particular model I have. There is something in the center that dries out when not used regularly. I will probably replace it with a better one but not until I review all my alternatives for the space.

May Flowers in Bloom at My Cottage

I have no idea what this is or where it came from. A bird must have planted it for me. The purple flower is small, measuring only two inches across the two lower petals. There is a spider inside and some sort of winged pollinator on his way to the yellow stamens in the center. This looks like a small flat iris and I love having it in my front garden.

This is the third nasturtium blossom I have had from my overwintered plants.

My lamb's ears in the back are standing proud and tall this spring. The lace cap hydrangea in the distance is full of bud that will be blooming soon. The limelight hydrangea in the left foreground has no buds yet but it's are loving all the rain we've been having.

My pink peonies will be opening soon. This bud is the most advanced. They are already starting to droop because of all the rain drops inside. They are taller than ever this year, up to my chin. They are the loveliest of all spring flowers, agreed?

And last, but not least, the humble wild daisy.

DIY Twine Holder from Wooden Hanger

I am definitely going to make one of these today. Isn't this an absolutely brilliant idea? I have a closet full of vintage wooden hangers and a basket full of twine. Put them together and what have I got? A gorgeous twine holder that will cost me nothing. Found on Pinterest.

Memorial Day at My Cottage

I posted this Pottery Barn ad on Memorial Day 2012. I still love it and this porch party is the perfect place to celebrate family and friends to remember our fallen soldiers.

I photographed this pool at a gilded age mansion in Bernardsville several weeks ago. I added the text to remind you to use your sunscreen. I also posted this on Instagram this week.

My nasturtium seeds are getting their second set of leaves.

Are you going to any Memorial Day parades today?

I hope you get a good place to see it. This dog found a great spot to see the marching bands.

Wonderful Sleeping Porch

You know you love this! Here's wishing each of you a restful Memorial Day Weekend, especially if you have a sleeping porch. via

Vintage Chambers Range + Red Maple Sapling

I toured a smaller country colonial home yesterday that was a few streets over from me and loved the vintage Chambers range in the kitchen. It featured a well used griddle and two ovens. The last one I saw in a local home was ripped out when the house was demolished and probably ended up in the landfill. Boo hoo, but I have to confess it was not nearly as pristine as this one.

There was a nice size Japanese red maple seedling growing in the front pachysandra bed at this house and the listing realtor said I could have it. I couldn't pull it up but went back later with my gardening tools and dug it up. It is already thriving in my back yard near one of my bird baths. I am such a scavenger and I am always looking for something to transplant. The pachysandra roots had a stronghold on this little tree and it was much too close to the house to be allowed to grow in place. Lucky me. Now a little red tree has found true love and a new home.

I had a request to post a photo of the sapling so its growth can be recorded over the years. I have to be careful where I plant things with deep roots because my septic system is in my backyard. I need to scrub the birdbath and remove the algae buildup so the birds will be happy. We had rain overnight but I think it will stop around noon and just be an overcast day. 

Isn't this little tree a beauty? My grandmother, the master gardener, always said to put a fifty cent plant in a ten dollar hole and I followed her advice when planting this free tree. I can tell it's happy the way it sways in a gentle breeze.

Magnificent House Tour Today

Broker Open House today. Mansion. Circa 1929

Gardens from an upstairs window. Through the screen. Pool in distance.

A distant view through a window with no screen. Diving board on left. The property had a total of 62 acres.

Greenhouse, photographed from my car.

Horse barn. Yes, it's true. This entire structure is just for horses. Also photographed from my car. It was a wonderful day. MLS 3557788

Old Photos from My Phone

I have no idea where this photograph came from but I loved it and saved it to my phone. I think this cottage is the ideal size and the construction materials are ones that will last several lifetimes. Isn't the chimney fabulous?

I don't know the source of this photo either but I loved the wattle fencing at the time and still do. Isn't this walled garden beautiful. 

I love this childhood oil on canvas portrait of a friend of mine with her cat. I photographed it when her house was for sale. She still has the same face. I didn't get her permission to post it online but I don't think she will mind. Isn't the embroidered name on the sash of her pinafore wonderful? She surely must have been an adored child.

I woke up this morning to a little shower but the sun is out now. Good weather for the seeds I planted yesterday. Have a lovely Sunday. xo

Barn Style Kitchen and Dining Room

I recently toured a fabulous early 19th century house with a very small dining room. Instead of putting an addition on the house, the homeowners built a barn structure with an upstairs sleeping loft instead. Here's the country kitchen view. The middle of the room is the family room for TV viewing as you will see in the next photo.

The farm table with benches makes this the perfect space for entertaining large gatherings or for housing visiting guests. It is a great no-frills space that probably wasn't that expensive to construct. I think it's an Amish-built structure. There was no agonizing about paint colors either. Pine paneling and natural wood prevailed.

Random Photos at My Cottage

I was standing in front of one of the French doors leading out to my balcony for this photo of my kitchen.

I leaned out of my bedroom window for this shot of my backyard. You can see the brick pillars holding up my balcony and one of the Adirondack chairs I set in to cool off while and after mowing. I honestly have mowed more this year already than I did all summer last year. I mowed my front and my back yesterday starting at 6pm and finishing at 7:30. It was worthwhile since today it rained again around lunch time.

This male deer with tiny fuzzy beginning antlers waited for me to go inside to grab my Nikon and hadn't moved an inch when I returned to the balcony to photograph him. The two little wrens on the post were determined to get their picture taken too. The wild buttercups come back every year in this location and they complete this nature photo of the day.

My lady's mantle is the perfect perennial plant for capturing dewdrops and rain drops. It is grown primarily for its leaves but the chartreuse flowers are pretty nice too, especially in mixed arrangements.

That's about it for a Friday post. Click any photo to enlarge. xo

First Naturtium Blossom

The few nasturtiums that survived my overwintering project were planted outside a few weeks ago and I already have one blossom. I learned that they still need a lot of watering while overwintering indoors. I lost quite a few in the basement because I didn't go down there often enough to nurture them. Click here to see them in pots inside my cottage.

Here is a photo of the seed packet.

This photo of mine was posted in August 2008 when my blog was brand new and it still gets a lot of attention from my side bar when viewed on a computer. I remember thinking at the time it was awfully early to see any fall color.

I am planning to enjoy a day with no rain today. Fingers crossed. xo