Happy Weekend everyone.
It is hard to believe that it is almost May…
and almost time for summer.
Warm weather, lazy sunshine filled days and lots of gardening and travel on the agenda-
and of course a couple of projects that I am excited to get started on.
The Attic
The attic has been a bit of a this and that space and I am working on planning a little bit of a vintage refresh right now. One that involves treasures and a new lounging spot tucked into the back wall.
I am just at the jotting down ideas spot- but will share a vision board and bring you along instead of just a before and after.
The Greenhouse
So excited to see the greenhouse wisteria vines starting to green up and cover the front and side again. And this year, we have 1 of the trees blooming. But not the others. They are prolific in the green leaves- but not a single bloom.
Growing wisteria is a bit of a new plant for me- I know they are finicky though- so if anyone has any tips for helping them to flourish and bloom- I would appreciate them. And maybe I can share some of them here next week in the next cottage garden post.
Apple Blossoms
One of the apple trees on our property is in full bloom right now. And it is such a delight to see those branches covered in pretty little white blossoms.
This is an old growth apple tree- one that produces apples- but not too many that we eat. There are several apple and pear trees on our acreage that were planted long ago. The pear is the most prolific fruit tree- which branches heavy with pears- though last year- not a single one. We blamed it on the incredibly wet and strange weather we had that spring. This year- it looks to be gearing up for quite the show.
Be our Guest
This week, my daughter has been home visiting us with two of the grand dogs. She has been working while here (she writes for several blogs and is a virtual assistant) and while she works- we have been attempting to wear out her big dog every day with lots of miles. He is a husky and about 6 months old so full of energy- and he loves to run. And when we went for an extra long walk after a run due to a car fob issue – he was still towing us the whole way on the miles and miles to get home.
No battery? No start.
My car is an oldie but goodie. I think about getting a new one… it is going on 13 years old (and over 220,000 miles) but I don’t have a new one in mind that I love more than this one. But one of the issues this car has is that the dealer installed a starting device that won’t let the car start without a ‘fob’ that sends off a signal. This system has been replaced once before when we took the car in for maintenance- and the problem with it is- if that fob doesn’t work? You aren’t going anywhere.
So, after jogging with keys in my pocket (the fob is motion activated) I got in the car and went to start it and… crickets. I tried the emergency bypass- which didn’t work. And so… knew that the battery in the fob was drained and we needed a new one. I walked the miles back home- and we got a new battery and went back to pick up the car. If you have a similar system- I would plan to carry several replacements in your glove box (which we had before- but used and did not replace) just in case you have an issue with it.
Sweet Pea Shenanigans
Something funny I shared last week on ig and fb- Sweet Pea’s wild hair.
She is one of those dogs who loves to rub her face and head all over pillows- and she seems to love her wild hair when it is WILD. This time, I walked into the living room and she was sitting on the sofa next to my daughter- with quite the ‘mane’.
See you soon for a little more High Point Market peeks
a fun announcement on Tuesday
and more.
Happy random weekend everyone.
Running on empty says
Can you take the battery out of the fob before you go jogging?
Courtney says
I totally could. I would just have to use a screwdriver to remove it- but my husband suggested I just remove the whole fob from the keychain and just leave it hidden somewhere as well. The other one had a setting where you could make it so you had to press the button each time- this one doesn't and tends to burn through batteries much faster.
Nina Ruth Bruno says
Oh my goodness. Sweet pea. She almost doesn't look real she's like so adorable I can't even stand it! There should be a sweet pea stuffed toy or something, like a sweet pea Beanie Baby LOL.
Courtney says
Ohhh that would be so adorable!! I am going to work on that haha! She is a special girl! 🙂
Cindy D says
Hi Courtney. As for your wisteria. It could be a couple things. Depending on how old it is, it could take up to 15 years to bloom. But we don't want to think that, since part of it is blooming. Too much nitrogen in the soil is a big culprit and improper pruning too. Take a soil sample to a nursery and see what the soil says. Good luck. Too bad you didn't have a sleigh on wheels for your grand dog to take you back. lol
Courtney says
Literally have thought about bringing roller skates on the walk with him. He loves to run and pull and do all the sled dog things. haha. I have heard about the nitrogen- and maybe that is it. I have 3 wisteria- only 1 is blooming and the other two are just leafy. We didn't prune them at all last year-they came as they were when we planted and we just wired them to areas to encourage the climbing. Will see how they do this year. Thanks for your note! 🙂
Unknown says
Love the husky…i have had several…my current one is Keifer and a great dog. By the way you will never wear out the engery of a husky. Enjot your grandbaby
Courtney says
Haha! I know! He is FULL of energy almost non-stop. He is a busy boy!
Unknown says
Oh, that Sweet Pea! I can’t even..
Courtney says
Haha! She is a cutie!! 🙂
French Ethereal says
Just a fun post today! I do love your Sweet Peas’ wild hair!!! I love your apple tree blooms… Don’t you just love this time of year? Oh, I just read that wisteria can take 8 years to begin blooming depending upon the type. It also can become a monster and very heavy! Here in Denton County, I’ve seen some wisteria growing up into the tops of oak trees! Old growth oak trees!! Very pretty and amazing how high the blooms were.
Happy new week to you!
Barb ����
Ps Shared your post to G+. ��
Courtney says
Thanks so much Barbara!! And yes- her hair is wild! haha! I keep hearing that about wisteria too.. I am wondering if these bloomed before we added them to the garden last year.
Unknown says
Love the picture with the Apple blossoms, how pretty with the greenhouse. Your property must be beautiful this time of the year. Sweet Pea and the Husky looks like they are having fun:). Kathleen in Az
Courtney says
They definitely have some fun- though Kiba( my daughters husky) likes to play and Sweet Pea doesn't really want ANY of that with him at all. haha.
Unknown says
I had to smile out loud when I saw Sweet Pea…;)
What breed is that little angel? I am truly enchanted
and would love to see more of her in future posts!
Courtney says
Aww thank you! Sweet Pea is a rescue dog so we aren't 100% sure- but we believe she is a Morkie which is aMaltese and Yorkie mix. 🙂
Laurie Murphy says
I had wisteria that took about 7 years to bloom. We had chopped the roots back several times, almost like you are trying to kill the plant. I had read to do that somewhere. It did continue to bloom for a couple of years after that, but we wound up having to rip it out. We had it planted it next to our shed with a very large trellis built for it, but it wound up causing too much damage to the shed. It managed to grow somehow between the siding and the walls, it got in under the roof pushing the shingles up and krept under the shed, pushing up thru the floor boards. It took years to get rid of also…crazy !!! Good Luck with yours, they are very pretty tho!
Courtney says
Ahh totally hear you. These are new trees- but I believe they probably bloomed before we got them maybe? I will have to keep an eye on these- they are right next to the greenhouse. Thanks for your note!
Unknown says
I usually don't post but, I will share my Wisteria story. I too, cut, trimmed fed and built an arbor. All for years of nothing. I went to store and purchased Wisteria blooms and in the dark of night I wired them all over the Wisteria. My husband thought I was crazy because the whole time I was telling the plants that they should be sorry that I had to resort to this! Well, over the next several days, I got lots of compliments about how my hard work paid off! When the appropriate bloom time was ending again, in the dark of night, I took the blooms off, washed them and stored them for the next year. The following Spring, I set off again in the dark of night to attach the blooms and continue with the ruse. For a moment when I was attaching the blooms I got confused. I did think I had done this one whole section. I turned on my flashlight and discovered that the plant was covered in blooms! I ran to the house yelling for my husband to come and see. Well we had a good laugh! I shammed those plants into blooming. They have bloomed ever since.
Courtney says
Ohhh I LOVE this story April!! How fun!! I love that you found blooms and did that and that the Wisteria decided it should be putting on a show!! Thank you for the smile and the story- and I might have to go have a talk with the two of mine that are resisting showing off. 😉