Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Window Boxes and Other Ramblings

Today temperatures are in the 70's with light rain today and tomorrow. It's supposed to be clear after that through Memorial Day. Preparing the house and yard has kept me busy. I'm tired today after coming home. My list for today included putting together a wicker chair for my porch. I take it apart in the fall so firewood can be stacked in it's spot. The disadvantages of a small house and a smaller porch. The ceiling fan in my living room was taken apart over the weekend to clean and see if balancing the blades correctly would help the fan start. It stopped working last spring but I can still hear the motor running and since I have a window air conditioner it wasn't a priority but I miss the breeze from the fan when it's not warm enough for air conditioning. If I don't get it working that will be another thing added to my list of what has to be done in the house. Of course nothing was done and the sofa and my bed won out.

This summer my list is extensive and includes a new roof, doors, a window, repair on the gas heater, cement work on the sidewalk and basement, exterior painting, some wood on the porch needs to be replaced, the hazards of wood, it deteriorates over the years, and possibly some plumbing work. Houses are expensive to maintain and old houses more so to me. I will have a greater piece of mind this winter if most of this is done, especially the roof. 

The list also includes things such as touching up the paint in the house, reupholstering my love seat in the living room, cleaning out 2 bedrooms and taking items to good will and organizing the rooms so one can be used for storage and the other a guest bedroom and everything room. Everything as in moving the seed starting station and the treadmill there. I've always wanted a room just for prayer, that would be nice. 

It would be a joy to start doing some things that I "used" to have time for like sewing, crocheting, needlepoint, and other crafts, and as always looking at the house and making it look the way I would like. I would love a farm table in my dining room and window seats under 2 window. Of course I am a bargain hunter so it will be greatly discounted especially the table. I have an idea for the window seats. Not built in but some that I have seen that can be sat on and open for storage. They're inexpensive. 

In many ways I haven't changed from the little girl I once was and I still love doll houses and have 2 that I was supposed to have been working on for years. One came from the antique store and the other from a flea market. Painting them and filling each room is going to be fun. When I get to it. Hopefully this won't be when I retire if I'm blessed to live that long and be healthy.

It always feels like I'm preparing for the next season, holiday, or event. When is there rest or does one have to just be? My views of life seem magnified with age. Things I didn't see when younger are so obvious now. That's a good thing. It is true that wisdom does come with age. As it is often said, wouldn't it be great if I knew when I was younger, what I know now? LIFE WOULD BE SO DIFFERENT. This post is supposed to be about the window boxes but as I stated when I started this blog, I also like to share my thoughts and other things. Consider these type of posts, those other things. I also like to write. I know I can improve my grammar. June will be 1 year of garden blogging and I must admit, I've enjoyed it. Even if only one other person reads it besides myself. I enjoy looking back at what was happening with the garden, successes and failures.

I planned to take all the soil out of both boxes and line it with plastic with small holes pierced to help keep all the water from draining out like it did last summer. The soil was so dry I don't know how anything lived. The holes were predrilled but there could have been less holes. The ivy didn't make it till spring although I thought it was perennial. I don't know if it was our winter weather or what. I ended up not lining the boxes but I did put the dwarf shrubs in plastic with some holes so that if moisture was a problem this would at least help them since they are now the foundation for the boxes. It might also help control their growth. Hopefully the plastic doesn't kill them. I don't want to have to completely replace everything every year and I can have something evergreen year round.

If I never plant another thing in them but the shrubs, they will look good when I look up at this from the street. I have a small house but have made a lot of work for myself with planters,  window boxes, flower beds, the front porch, inside the house, and the back yard. The flowers and plants are beautiful, and I love to look at all of it but it's work. Of course I can choose to never plant another thing but not yet. Life will tell me when to "down size" my repertoire.


Shade window box. Planted 6 coleus, 6 impatiens, 3 dwarf shrubs, 2 sweet potato vines, 1 asparagus fern, and 1 ivy.

The green box on the left is for ants. Can you imagine that ants can find soil up this high?








The window box in the sun. Planted 1 dwarf shrub, 2 geraniums, 2 ivy leaf geraniums, 2 spider plants, 2 sweet potato vines, 3 ivy, and 1 asparagus fern. It's a common fern that does well but don't know if it does well in sun. I hope, or it will be dead.




There is still room. I have some petunias in the yard I may put it.


The ivy should be in the front but everything couldn't fit there. I will rearrange it later.


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