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Gardening
a slice of life

what’s in my gardening books stack

I’m a book-stacker.  When I am interesting in a subject, I’ll pull books on that topic and make a stack on my studio counter.  If I feel like there are holes in my collection or some tempting new books are available, I’ll buy a few more to add to the stack.  I’ll then grab books from that stack to read when I have some free time or when I’m headed to an appointment or another place where I might be waiting.  The current stack on my studio counter follows a clear theme – gardening.  It’s full of some of my favorite gardening books that I’ve had for years along with some that I just opened a few days ago. If you know me, you know I like big books.  Helping me move isn’t fun because not only do I have lots of boxes of books, but I have lots of

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April 29, 2024 14 Comments
1970 home renovation

progress on the garage-side garden

Last year, I focused most of my gardening on the backyard, specifically the area surrounding the pool.  We were in the process of having the pool restored and I wanted the area to feel tidy at the very least.  I didn’t want to be floating in our pool, trying to soak up the slower summer days only to be tormented by the view of garden beds filled with weeds.  So, I worked a little bit most days to clean weeds out of the beds, dig out rock, mulch, and plant.  I’ll share an update on those areas in another post.  This year, I’m still working on the back (specifically the area along the back fence), but I’m focusing more attention on the front and garage side of the house.  These are the two sides that are most visible from the street.  I wanted to work on them more last year,

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April 25, 2024 15 Comments
All Things Home

the war on bishop’s weed

So, last year I shared a post about lovely surprises I was finding in our yard as bulbs peeked up in the Spring, perennials woke up, and bushes leafed out and bloomed.  I learned the dogwood trees in our front yard had white blooms, which was exactly what I was hoping.  A large bush that is falling over under its own weight is a beautiful mock orange that just needs some serious pruning. What we thought was a dead dogwood tree is actually a lilac bush that has grown taller than the house!  It gave me a better indication of what I wanted to heavily prune and save and what I wanted to remove.  One of the plants I shared was a ground cover Google identified as Ground Elder or Snow-on-the-Mountain, which both sound lovely.  I left it alone to bloom and thought the lacy white flowers were so pretty. 

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April 17, 2024 36 Comments
a slice of life

why you should have a pair of gardening overalls

I’ve been working in the yard and garden beds most days over the past two or three weeks.  It’s that time of year when the longer days and not-too-hot spring weather draws me outside and I get excited about cleaning things up, weeding, and working on more landscaping projects.  We bought a house that had beautiful landscaping done about 50 years ago.  Fortunately, some of that landscaping is still in good condition, can be trimmed up, and provides a nice foundation to work around.  Unfortunately, much of the yard and many of those mature bushes are overgrown and there is still a lot of work to be done.  Last year, we made a big dent by having large bushes and some trees professionally removed and we’ve been slowly working on the rest on our own.  At some point, I’ll share a recap of what we’ve done in the yard so

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April 16, 2024 12 Comments
1970 home renovation

trellis inspiration

A little over a week ago, I shared some of our spring project plans and I thought I would flesh one of those ideas out a bit more.  Specifically, let’s take a look at some trellis inspiration ideas I’m considering for the blank wall of siding on the front of the house.  This year will likely involve prepping the beds and planting, but I’m not sure if building a trellis will get on the spring to-do list this year.  I know I want some sort of vertical, wall-covering element so I would want to keep that in mind with any prepping and planting we start. Here is how the house looked in the early fall, shortly after we finished painting the front.  We painted the shutters, siding, and trim and, prior to that, had a new roof installed.  All of that work has boosted the curb appeal of the house,

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March 19, 2024 22 Comments
All Things Home

kitchen garden inspiration

We’ll be starting our spring yard clean-up soon and I’m already excited to work on some of the blank spaces we cleared last year and continue pruning, shaping, trimming, and pulling things that are a little out of control.  I’m also excited about some of the ideas we have for the future and one of those is a kitchen/cutting garden outside of our side door.  This is the entrance everyone uses since it’s off the driveway and we’d like to make it look a bit more charming and less utilitarian.  Last year, we painted the trim, shutters, garage door, and cellar doors.  We also added new lights and made the kitchen window larger.  Very late in the season, I planted some Japanese holly bushes and liriope in the beds and I’ll some more to that this spring. We would eventually like to build a small portico and make the stoop

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March 12, 2024 20 Comments
Decorating

decorating with shells in the garden

I have loved collecting shells since I was a little girl.  Anytime we went to the beach, my Oma and mom would take walks and collect lady’s ears, olive shells, whelks, sand dollars, and whatever caught their eye.  I remember shells drying on the deck railing of the beach house and we would spend a quiet evening or rainy afternoon making animal sculptures out of some of the found shells.  When we cleaned out my Oma and Opa’s attic after my Opa passed away, we found about 10 five-gallon buckets filled with shells she had collected over the years.  I kept some, but couldn’t possibly keep them all.  Also, searching for the shells and making memories while doing it is a big part of the appeal.  So, I’ve carried on the shell-collecting tradition whenever I’m at a beach that permits it.  (It is illegal to collect shells, rocks, sand, beach

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July 17, 2023 16 Comments
1970 home renovation

power washing, windows, gardening, & tidying

Today I’m bringing you a cornucopia of all of the work we’ve been doing while the kitchen is underway.  I will say that having people at your house working hard, getting dirty, and making progress is a good motivator for me.  I’ve put in some hard work days since we’ve lived here, but I still feel like I’m recovering my strength and stamina from my time spent in the boot and keeping weight off my foot.  It’s amazing how much muscle I lost during that time and it’s taking me a while to get back to the point where I can do a full day of hard work and not feel totally sapped and achy by the end of it.  I’ve been pushing myself, though, and it’s starting to feel good when I’ve worked hard and I’m dirty and tired at the end of the day, but not completely destroyed.

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April 19, 2023 11 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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