Well, we returned from the mountains this past Thursday, and accomplishments up there in our little place were pretty good, after a slow start due to the first two days being cold and very rainy. Like, rainy for almost 48 hours straight.
We had the place dewinterized (is this a word?) before we got up there, and apparently there had been some old rust that had worked its way into the pipes, which caused little to no hot water pressure in the hot water taps of the kitchen and Hubby's bathroom sink. We decided that part of the problem in the kitchen was also caused by the old faucet, so we replaced it with a lovely new oil-rubbed bronze one which now matches the lighting, cabinet knobs, and ceiling fans throughout. I guess there's a bright side to everything! And before we go back next month, we have someone coming in to replace the old copper plumbing under the sinks with new PVC.
Sorry for the dark photo, but I snapped it rather
quickly with my cell phone as we were trying
to tidy up right before leaving to go home...
In the kitchen
we also hung up a piece of chalkboard art
during the winter,
and framed it in this pretty frame purchased
at Pier One...
So, after the weather suddenly turned warm and sunny, I did a bunch of landscaping trying to give our little place some curb appeal, that would hopefully last all through the fall.
There were probably about 100 very old hostas planted along
the side of the porch, with no rhyme or reason as to how they
were growing. I knew that somewhere in there was a group
of struggling daylilies.
So I dug a bunch of the hostas up
(I liken this struggle with trying
to dig up the concrete foundation of a house,
as the roots were so firmly entrenched in the ground!),
separated them, and found the daylilies, along with
several iris plants.
There were a lot more daylilies than I saw bloom
last year, so I divided those too and moved several plants...
...to other areas of the house,
like between the steps to the other side
of the home and the storage shed.
(Pardon the ugly old dryer vent back there,
especially since we have no washer or dryer
in this shrimpy little place!)
I also reused all of the edging wood and
concrete trim pieces, so it's kind of cute and
quirky in its own way...
In the front of the house, there were five sweet bushes already
there, and actually planted in a nice arrangement,
so I worked around them by adding two new purple daylilies,
and a flat of white petunias.
I tried to work it so that only the annuals would need to be
replaced each year.
Almost maintenance free.
After all, this is a vacation home.
Some nice dark brown mulch completed the project...
My little boy holding the birds, purchased last year,
finally found his home (sitting in front of the old trailer
hitch used to tow this old gal to its site 45 years ago!!)
While I did this, Mr. Perch busied himself with the awful
task of attacking all of the stones that the previous owner had put in
behind the driveway and carport to accommodate his truck.
They looked horribly ugly and we couldn't keep the weeds out.
So Hubby bought edging strips and weed barrier, and bedded out
about a foot around the rest of the house with the stones so that when
the yard maintenance crew comes in to mow, they don't need to get
too close to the house.
He particularly loved the fact that since we have no wheel barrow
up there, he had to do it with a bucket, bit by bit.
And survived the experience!
He then planted grass seed in the area behind the carport
(even though we don't own the land there,
we still want it to look nice).
After all was said and done, Mr. Perch commented on how nice
it was to complete a whole landscape plan in less than two days
(unlike at "real house" where we never seem to be done,
but more on this haven in a future post!)
Oh, and did I mention how nice it was that after dividing and
moving the plants my only costs for the garden plan was the flat
of petunias and the two new daylilies, aside from the mulch.
Well, not exactly, but more on that in my next post!
I can't wait to see it all when it's blooming and filled in, and I will share it with you. Even if it looks bad. And, if you have not been in on the saga of Birdsong from the beginning, you can find last year's posts on my sidebar label of Birdsong Cottage.
Have a great evening. I hope that your fingernails are cleaner than mine!
