Covered Bench

Before

In Progress

Finished and ready to plant grapevines and climbing roses on it. Once they cover it we'll have a lot more privacy here.

Today's garden photos

That wicker chair wasn't repairable so I'm using it as a trellis for some of the climbing roses here. it should be really pretty next year with pink roses wrapped all around it and shooting up through it in places. It will be a solid support for the plants too.

  

Not too many flowers left these days but I thought this was the best one out there.

This is much nicer when I put all of the cushions out but I think it's great anytime. We call it "the summer living room"

Yes, there are a few of the mini sunflowers left so there's still time to do a bit of drawing and painting with them.

Front Garden Photos

 I was out mowing the lawn today and thought I'd take some pictures in the front corner of the garden. These photos show it from both sides and were cropped to make them look nicer. I figure that no one wants to see all of the neighbors houses or the traffic here.

 You can create a little island of peace and calm in your garden wherever it might be. Gardeners just look at things different than most people-lucky for us, isn't it?

Latest Garden Photos

Today's Garden Pictures

 This rosebush is well on the way to filling BOTH the front AND back yards. The fact that it's older than I am and shows no signs of slowing down inspires me to be a survivor too. Who could ask for more than to remain strong and beautiful no matter what life throws at you just like this old rosebush.

 I took this picture while sitting in that green wicker chair next to the fruit trees. I kept hoping I'd be able to catch a photo of birds at the feeders but no luck so far.

This little corner needs something, pillows and cushions help but I seldom bother to put them out so I'm looking for a better solution, any ideas?

Getting it all together (completed lilac bench)

Back of Lilac Bench

The leaves and stems I've drawn don't quite show up in this shot but you can see the ones I've painted so far. I'm not sure whether I like the placement of the branches or not which of course Is why I started with the back of the project. I'll have a lot more ideas of how I want things and get a lot of practice drawing and painting by the time I get around to the front of it.

New Project

 I've got an interesting project to tell you about. My first "art job" of the season is to paint some lilacs on a garden bench. The lilacs here aren't blooming yet so of course my first step was to have Doug pull up some pictures I could work with from the computer. The next step will be to sand the boards and then when I'm ready to start painting I'll clip a branch from my bushes to get the stem and leaf placement right. I'm not sure how long all of this will take but I'll post photos of each step along the way as soon as I get them.