August Garden Tour and Blue Bench

Hi everyone,

Wow! I just can't seem to catch-up with my posting schedule. I  have some fun things to show you, but I can't find the time to get it together. 

One of my projects was to finish getting this bench painted. Last year sweetheart found it at a yard sale for $5.00. It was pretty worn. I wanted to paint it before the rose tour in May, but it finally got the paint job last week. I love it in the garden.
The color is 'Wildflower Blue' satin Rust-oleum®

The heat is taking its toll on the 'Black Eyed Susans' this month. I've dead headed the flowers in the shaded area and I still need to spend some time in the sunny area. It's so yucky I don't want to go outside. The view below is the first sight I see as I walk out my back door in the morning. I always say "Hello" to my garden. LOL!

Most of the roses are resting this month. I'm having a great harvest from my grape vine. The Canna Lilies are finished blooming and the lavender has been harvested. 

The shade garden is resting. During the spring the ground is covered with daffodils.

My new Blue Bench is sitting on the patio under the pomegranate tree. Our old (very old ) 1973 picnic table is used as an overflow eating area. Sweetheart made over 200 tables for an RV Park long ago. We were blessed with one for our back yard. I cover it with a vinyl tablecloth stapled underneath. 

The pergola area is developing into a wonderful flower garden. Hostas, roses, grapes and many other perennials.

The day lilies are finished, but my autumn sedum is starting to grow tall and beautiful. I'm standing in front of the pergola looking to the back of our property. When we bought this home in 1969 there were no houses behind us. We had a large piece of land covered with Digger Pines and an old barn. The boys would drag home wood for the barn and build the best forts... My oldest son is now a General Contractor in Los Angeles.  I guess he received his professional training right in his own back yard.

My child's picnic table and flower pots are waiting for some fall flowers. 

Patio table waiting for Tea Time. 

I'm standing in the patio looking out into the side yard. I can enjoy my angels, blue bench and the wonderful garden.

The patio flower bed is filling in nicely. August is hot, but the greenery is refreshing. The ayssum is snowy white and adds a nice contrast to the border.

The chime collection is an added attraction to the patio. The large chime was made by my sweetheart. When the wind blows the sounds are so beautiful. My herb garden surrounds a rose garden. 

I just bought some 'Cat Nip' I haven't had any customers yet!

Please come and sit awhile. Enjoy the peace and serenity as 

St. Francis of Assisi watches over the animals and the earth.

I use this blog as a journal of my life's journey in retirement. Gardening and Home keeping are so important to me in my aging years. Thank you for visiting and leaving your wonderful comments. 

Joyously,

Betty 

Linking to:

Miss Mustard's Furniture Linky Party

Katherine's Corner for Thursday Favorite Thing 
  French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday 
 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
Dandelion House for Farmhouse Friday Blog Hop

Under The Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase Party  

Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home

A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday
Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop!
A Delightsome Life for A Return to Loveliness
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday

*Late Summer Vignettes*

Hello everyone,

Wow! What a summer...I've been entertaining family and traveling to visit family for the past couple of weeks. The blogging break was very unplanned. But, I'm back in the swing of things again.

The weather outside tells me that fall is in the air. I love fall.

The heat subsides and the trees turn a beautiful burnt orange. I think the light is different too.

I've had my living room mantel and tables decorated the same for the last three months. Next week I'm going to start bringing in the fall colors and give the living room a fallish look.  I've enjoyed this busy summer, but it's time to get back to my blogging routine.

My daughter bought the cute wheel barrow for my birthday last June. I love to have it decorated for different seasons. HERE

The french bucket is full of white roses and my little birds are chirping away on their little branch under the summer bush.

' White Crystalline Rose'

I have a beach theme on my tea cart coffee table. I used the cloche with the sea shells in this tablescape HERE

I have a huge cloche and enjoy putting interesting seasonal objects in it during the year.  The sea treasures are sitting on blue sea glass in the big cloche. The pillow on the sofa has a iron-on-transfer shell. The pillow cover fabric is acetate fabric and it was difficult to heat the transfer before it started to melt the fabric on my iron... A lesson to know for other iron on projects.

"Green is in" I love the color of green. During the summer I like to keep a simple and stylish look to my mantel. I love my new boxwood wreath I purchased after Christmas. HERE and this June I found the boxwood toperiary pots. Instant Love♥  I'm a happy girl to find out the 25 year old solid brass candlestick holders are back in fashion.  

Using my cloche to hold artificial limes finished my summer mantel. A satin ribbon on the boxwood wreath and on the large cloche. 

Our flat screen television is always a challenge to find decor to cover the wires. I found this brass bucket and potpourri at my favorite thrift shop. The old books and brass accessories are my answer to summer decorating for our entertainment center.

A bonus today is a wall in the living room I haven't shared before on my blog. As you've seen in our vacation photos HERE We have six granddaughters. When the girls were age 7 and 5 years of age I had their portraits taken. The girls in the top portrait are now 23 and 20 years old.  The girls in the portrait on the left are now 14 and 12 years old.  And the girls in the portrait on the right are now 14 and 11 years old...

Every night while I'm sitting in front of the television and blogging (or playing Candy Crush) I look over to my wall of girls.
Hope you've found some ideas for Summer decorating.
See you soon!
Joyously,
Betty
Linking:

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden

From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursdays

My Romantic Home for Show and Tell
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home