Harrington House

A Whole Lot of Happy

A couple of weeks ago, my first peony bloom of the season opened up, which for me heralds the beginning of a month of the most beautiful flowers in the world.  My gardening self just lives for this moment in time.  Few things rival the spectacle of peonies in bloom, in my book.  I experienced a bout of mild hysteria when I learned that I would not be able to grow these pretties in Texas.  So for any of y'all who can grow peonies, please do!  For the sakes of those who cannot.  ;o)  

Now I won't be winning any awards for floral arrangement any time soon, but this bunch smells so good that at the very least I'll call it a room freshener.  

At any given moment during the summer, my sink is usually surrounded by some nature of bloom ...

... and almost always at least one immature bud that Jack and Amelia have plucked for me.

 

The past month has been a whirlwind of activity for us.  We have been planning, painting, packing, planting, and partying.  That's right!  Jack and Amelia celebrated their 2nd and 4th birthdays, respectively.  

Both of the babies (I know, Amelia is four) got bicycles, some new books, and some paint sets.  The paint sets were thanks to Kiki, of course, so we will be sure to bring those to her house when we visit.  She forgets that she has a baby now, and I will gladly retaliate. reciprocate all of her good deeds.

Jack on his new bicycle (before even getting it home)

In the past couple of weeks, we have also battled some fever-inducing funk around here.  It started the Saturday evening before Easter.  It always breaks my heart when they are sick (especially on a holiday!), but it makes me all the more thankful for the many, many days that they are healthy.  I am guilty of taking that for granted, and when they do get sick and are laid up on my lap, thankfulness for their otherwise good health just overcomes me.  I'm blessed.  

Poor Amelia, barely fever-free, Easter dinner

Since they didn't get to wear their Easter best on actual Easter Sunday, I'm thinking they will wear them this Sunday.  Because Amelia has begged no fewer than a million times to wear this dress.  

Who could blame her?  Isn't it sweet?  I found it at Goodwill last winter for less than $1.75.  I get so many emails about dressing Jack and Amelia.  I would venture to guess that 95% of what they wear is consignment, and oftentimes Goodwill purchases.  You really don't have to break the bank for cute children's clothing.  

Okay, I feel like I am sorta kinda caught up ...  :o)  There is a crew outside at this very moment painting the outside of the house.  I am so excited to see it finished.  And then the house goes on the market!

Garden Whites

The Hydrangea Festival

These are just a few (haha) of the pictures from this past weekend at the Penny McHenry Hydrangea Festival in Douglasville.  I had a ball!  I'll be perfectly honest...I'm a little on the nosy side.  So garden tours such as this always satisfy my curiosities as to what is going on behind these homes and fences.  ;o)  I always asked at each home if cameras were permitted.  All of these pictures were taken with permission.  :o)  I hope y'all find something inspiring in these images!  ENJOY!

 

 

The following images are all taken from one of my favorites!  I have driven past this home a million times, trying to catch a glimpse of what was beyond the fence.  It turns out this is a nationally-recognized garden, having been featured on HGTV and in the pages of Southern Living, and many, many others.  I just knew there was something special going on back there...haha!  ;o)

 

I am assuming these statuettes represent the four season.  I am crazy about the "fall" one, with his bundle of wheat.

 

I love this!  Not too long ago, I saw it in use as a driveway!  

 

I have a lot of shade in my yard, under some big, old trees, and because I love the sound of walking across wood, I think building a deck-like wooden platform under some trees is a great idea!

Hundreds of potted boxwoods (as in 700 something potted boxwoods here!)...so me.  Some of the things here are a little too whimsical for me, but I still appreciate it.  I can't imagine that I would hang a chandelier in a tree, but I could see myself using lots of candles for an outdoor dinner party.  And I don't really think I would ever hang antique cathedral-style windows to give the illusion of a room, but I really want to create more intimate spaces in my yard.  That's what I love about this kind of thing...you can be inspired and apply those inspirations in ways that are meaningful and realistic to you.  Ok...  Enough of me talking....back to the pictures....

 


 

 

Sky pencils...love....

 

This is, by far, the best water feature I think I've ever seen.  It was a tiny little "pond" opening in the "deck" with a moss-covered urn being used like a fountain.

 

The water would come up in the moss and drip over the side off mossy tendrils.  It was quiet and peaceful and as natural-looking as human created water features look.

  

This part of the garden along the gravel path was my favorite part of the entire day....  

 


 

And last, but definitely not LEAST, may I show you what I found on my way home?  It was in a little junk hole (please know that I use that term so lovingly of the many little antique shops I frequent).  It just spoke to me, of course....

A wonderful, wicker child's seat...perfect for a swing!  The lady who sold it to me had owned it for more than forty years, and it was old when she got it.  This is the real deal, beautiful, old wicker.  Like most authentic, old antique wicker, this piece is sturdy.  The wood of the seat is in perfect condition.  The soft leather on the top of the seat has some wear, so I will make a little cushion for it.  I assured her that this would be mine for a long, long time, and it would be well loved.  I fully intend to rock my babies in it (Jack and Amelia have already been sitting in it, as you can surely imagine), and one day I'll rock my grandbabies in it, no doubt, and tell them how I bought the swing just waiting for the day I could push them in it.  ;o) 

Hydrangea Festival & Momma's Got Work To Do

(Hydrangeas in my master bath)

This weekend is the Penny Mac Hydrangea Festival over in Douglasville, and I can't wait!  

 

 

Saturday is my birthday (my 30th birthday), and the festival is the perfect way that I want to spend it.  :o)  Penny McHenry was a lover of hydrangeas and very well known among the gardening clubs around town.  The "Penny Mac" hydrangea is named so in honor.  Isn't she cute?

 

There will be garden tours, plants and antiques for sale, a flower show, and lectures (including one by Tara Dillard).  

The very first time I opened a hole in this little patch of earth I call mine was for a hydrangea.  Now I have about 15 plants, and I am in the process of making lots and lots of new babies.  :o)

 

(Hydrangeas in Jack's room)

 

(Hydrangeas in the family room) 

 

(The little "vases" I'm using are actually apothecary jars that I found for less than a dollar each at Goodwill.  Their narrow necks make it hard to get anything out of them, but they make perfect vases!)

Now, for the Amelia Kate update.....

I am very happy to report she is well.  Bless y'all for your sweet prayers and well-wishes.  Thank you!  She is back to her normal little self.  Earlier this morning I caught her standing on the table and jumping to the couch.  Wellness confirmed.  Orneriness also, many times over, confirmed.

Poor Jack, he is going to learn all her wicked ways.  I don't know what I'm going to do when he gets too big to contain in an empty bathtub while I get some cleaning done.

 

 

Later this afternoon, actually while I was cleaning the bathroom/taking pictures of Jack in his playpen/bathtub combo, I came out to find Miss AK on the telephone.  It turns out she was talking to Aunt Kiki and had been on there for about 10 minutes.  She told Kiki all about Jack's dirty business today in detail, all about the spider outside the window, and when Kiki wanted to know where I was, Amelia told her I couldn't come to the phone because:

"Momma has work to do."  

So I guess I better get off the computer before she catches me blogging and cracks the whip.

Confederate Jasmine

The confederate jasmine has just about bloomed herself out for the year.  Even though the blooms are small, I think they are so incredibly pretty, complex, and interesting...and that's without even talking about the gorgeous scent.   

How fun would it be to try something like these (found at Southern Living)...

 

On a completely unrelated note, Amelia Kate has been one sick little girl the past few days.  She has consistently run a fever of about 102 degrees.  :o(  Sick babies are the worst!!  Every single time I was sick, without fail, Daddy would come sit by my bed, hold my hand, and tell me that he wished he could take it instead of me.  I fully understand what he meant.  But I'll tell you what....since she has slowed down for a couple days, I've had the chance to give her some serious loving, for which she is usually otherwise too busy.  And while she has been sleeping, I've been granted some sweet one-on-one time with Jack Jack.  He's all about giving me sugar these days...which is more like an open-mouthed headbutt....and there is always hair-pulling involved.  Let's just say we've got lots of work to do before Jack starts to hunt a wife.  ;o)

First Hydrangea of the Season

(My first hydrangea bloom of the season!)

 

"It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves.  Our only power and success come from God."  

- 2 Corinthians 3:5

Peonies

The anticipation of peony blooming season, and the day they finally start to open, is the one of the highlights of my spring.  Before they even start to sprout from the ground in the early days of spring, I start carefully brushing away the dirt to see how many eyes have formed on each plant.  Once they start to grow upwards, I patiently count all the bloom heads.  And daydream about all the beautiful peonies that are going to fill my home in vases.  :o)   And I wait.  And it feels like a century passes before the first one finally blooms.  

As soon as a bloom opens (and sometimes before), I immediately bring them inside.  They are entirely to special to me to leave outside on the plant.  ;o)  

 

I planted my first peony bush the first year I moved into this house, making this its sixth summer.  It took three years for it to bloom, and that year, I think I had only 2 or 3 blooms.  I now have 10 plants, one of which I call Amelia's.  My in-laws brought it down for us the spring Amelia was born.  Isn't that sweet?  I love the idea of children having a plant that is their very own.  (I have yet to plant Jack Jack's...a year later...)  I look forward to the day Amelia grows up and settles down, and I can give her a part of her peony.  :o)

This light pink one is a Sarah Bernhardt...the first one I planted.  I have several of that one now because I loooooove the way they smell, and the pink is so delicate and pretty.  Which is why those always go by my bed.  :o)

 

 

The hot pink one is Amelia's...but I can't remember the name of it.  I'll have to ask my mother-in-law to see if she remembers.  

Couldn't you just eat that hot pink??  This is just four bloom heads.  And I have about 60 more heads waiting to open.     !!!!!   

I know that it's not fun to plant something now and wait 2 or 3 years before you get blooms, but I promise you....it is so worth the wait.

 

Hydrangeas for Fall

After seeing Rhoda's post this morning about her hydrangeas, I thought I'd show you where I put mine that I dried a few months ago.  Back in August, I had cut some and, after enjoying them in a vase for a week or so, I hung them to dry.

   

   

Here are a couple places where I've used them...

   

This past summer, I made "babies" from some of my hydrangeas (the regular blue kind), and next year I can't wait to make some from my limelight hydrangeas (the greenish ones pictured in bloom at the top of this post).  I want to create an area on the side yard with limelights en masse.  Then, I will have even more to dry!  :o)  I wanted to make a wreath this year, but didn't get around to it.  Maybe next year... 

Bedside Bouquet

The other day, I decked out the bedside table with some white roses from my two Sombreuil bushes.  The Sombreuil roses I have are tea climbers with the most beautiful white blooms with tons and tons of petals, and they smell fabulous!  Thankfully, there are blooms throughout the summer, and it is very easy to grow.  I use organic methods of pest control on my flowers (or nothing at all!), and these have done just fine!  The blooms look incredible as a bouquet or all alone...like this one sitting in a tiny glass salt shaker in the master bath...

Right now, these two bushes are in the front flower bed, but this fall I am going to move them so that they will be growing on a fence and arbor on the side yard.  I can't wait to see them in all their climbing glory next spring!

Happy Daisies

These are some of the Becky daisies that are growing right off the front porch.  Don't daisies just look so happy?  I love my Becky daisies...they are so tall, and blooms are always in abundance throughout the summer into the fall.  Even though they aren't fragrant, they still look pretty to me.

I found this glass bowl and frog at an antique store in Kentucky.  I have seen a blue million of these floral frogs but have never seen one of these little bowls with them.  Have y'all?

 

Into the yellow guest bathroom they have gone...

Happy weekend, y'all!!