Weekend Hodgepodge

I almost always have a camera in my pocket.  The weather was beautiful today, making for quite a few photo opportunities to share.

It has been a while since I shared roses with you.  (It's also been months and months since I participated in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day over at May Dreams Gardens.  Follow the link and run over there once you finish here, and you can see what other garden bloggers have blooming in their gardens today.)  We have had frost here most mornings for the past week, but there are still roses to see.  Some of the ones still blooming today are ...

This is 'Awakening'.  It is a sport (mutation) of New Dawn ... the flowers have about twice as many petals as New Dawn, which make them very full and romantic looking.  It is a rose which deserves to be better known.  I'm doing what I can to make that happen.

I am fascinated by a climber that I bought a few years ago as 'Heidelberg'.  (It may not be.)  This rose is blooming like crazy ... with bright red flowers along with ripe orange hips.  The combination is intriguing and beautiful.

Another climber that is putting on a show is the fabulous 'Compassion'.  I cannot say enough wonderful things about this rose ... look at this spray of flowers.  It's a ready-made bouquet!  I wish you could smell the sweet fragrance.

Today was Day 5 of working on the garden of English Roses by the barn.  Yesterday, my friend Robert came over and we sorted through the roses and placed each one in its correct spot.  He dug all the holes, I planted half of the roses, and I felt like we made great progress.  Today, I finished planting the roses, I raked out the extra soil from the holes, and The Husband began to cut the timbers that will border the beds.

The harsh, low-angle, late autumn sunlight makes it a challenge to photograph outdoors.  Tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy, so perhaps I can get some better shots then.  (Look how tiny the roses are!)

As I walked back to the house, I loved the long shadows and the sunlight on the side of the house, and the contrasts between the blue sky and the brown bricks. 

The late afternoon sun lit the brown leaves of the large oak tree in our front yard, making it glow.  These leaves will probably all be on the lawn by the end of next week.

While The Husband and I were working outside, the cats were in the house doing what cats do.  Amy was holding down her position on her quilt on the church pew in the dining room.

Alice was keeping watch from the family room window sill.

Maggie and Dorothy napped together on the down throw on the sofa.

We will spend the evening watching hockey (Did you know that I am a serious hockey fan?) and having Vinnie's stromboli with beer for dinner.  It's a perfect way to end the weekend.

Did you have a nice weekend?

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)

Awww Nuts!

Real nuts.  Black Walnuts.  A MILLION of them.

The Black Walnut tree beside our house was especially productive this year.  This is an average-size tree, about a foot and a half in diameter, and it produced all of the nuts you see in these photos.

I didn't stage or alter these nuts at all for these photos.  This is exactly what they looked like on the ground below the tree.

It was impossible to walk through this area without stepping on a nut ... with the potential for a nasty fall, and a twisted ankle, looming with every step.

In preparation for our Greyhounds Rock picnic two weeks ago, we had to pick up every single one of these nuts.  It's one thing for US to gingerly step through the Walnut Mine Field ... and a completely different situation to expect one's guests and their dogs to do the same.  This is when I am especially thankful to have my golf cart.

The bed of the cart is 4-feet square, and about a foot deep.  It's filled to capacity ... from one tree!!! 

These nuts didn't go to waste, I assure you. We drove them to the back of the property, and we spread them along the tree line, where we are making a hedgerow. The varmints back there should have a feast!

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)

Progress on the Barn Gardens

Our streak of lovely weather is supposed to continue through today, and probably until Sunday!  (If I keep the pace I have planned, I may not live to see Sunday.)  With the Husband's help yesterday afternoon, we laid out and marked the bed and path lines for two of the three gardens by the barn!

This is the David Austin Garden.  Originally, I planned to have an oval path through the middle of the space, but I changed it at the last minute to a rectangle ... much easier to lay out, and I like it better.

Honestly, I was afraid that the original design, with an oval bed in the middle surrounded by an oval path, bisected by the short path you see in this photo, would look like an aerial shot of a toilet.  Close your eyes and imagine sitting under the pergola (where you see that little spot of grass on the lower left)  looking out over a cottage-style garden of English Roses ... aahhhh.

The Miniature Garden, that fills the area adjacent to the side of the barn, is 28' x 66' and is influenced by a French parterre.

The garden has 4' wide beds, 3' wide paths, and is very geometric.

In this photo, the design reminds me a bit of a Crop Circle in the English countryside ... except it's not a circle.

Here is some evidence of my garden's main winter pest.  Deer.  Considering it's been almost a week since we had rain, which would have wiped out any tracks in the tilled area, there really aren't THAT many tracks.

Today's job is to lay the ground cloth to cover the paths of the Miniature Garden.  More reports to come, as progress warrants.

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)

Red Barn, and Blue Sky

Today is a beautiful, warm autumn day.  I was working outside earlier, fine-tuning the plan for the gardens that I am designing toward the back of the property by the barn.  I had my camera with me, as I always do, and I couldn't resist snapping a few photos of the red barn and the beautiful blue sky.

When we first bought this property in 2002, the barn looked like this ... sad and neglected, but restorable.

If you haven't read about our restoration of the barn, click HERE to go to my blog post and see the whole gorey story.  This post still gets hits every week, despite the fact that I wrote it almost two years ago.

My garden plans feature the barn, making it more of a star of the landscape than it already is.  All of this bare dirt in the foreground of this photo, and more to each side and behind me, will be filled with roses.

The gate for the former cattle chute that once ran along the side of the barn will be used to support miniature climbing roses.

Soon, we will have to see about hiring someone to scrape and repaint the metal roof.  The rust you see is only on the surface of the metal.  This roof, because it is strong and water-tight, is probably the only reason that the barn was still standing at all before we restored it.

I can't wait to show you the gardens I'm working on.

I'm racing to get things finished, before winter really arrives.  I'm off to do some more now ... stakes, and string, and marking paint are my main tools today.  Tomorrow?  We'll see how far I get today.

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)

Huntin' Junk

I'm finally back to my normal energy level, after our big greyhound weekend, and I'm also back to my junk huntin' ways.  The urge struck yesterday, and this can only mean one thing ... a trip to Ashland to 'Class and Trash', the BEST junk store around here.  In case you missed it, I first introduced you to some of the wonders in this store in THIS blog post from July.

(old pic of the front of the store from this summer, because I didn't take a new one yesterday.)

Other folks have discovered what a wonderful place Class and Trash is, because the parking lot was full and it took some effort to maneuver around the other shoppers inside.  Everytime I go there, I find SOOO much new stuff to see!  Owners Ken and Lisa Waldrop work hard to get the old merchandise out and new merchandise in ... prices are low, and things sell FAST.  If you see something you like, buy it NOW because it won't be there later if you walk away.  Trust me, I know this from experience.

Almost immediately inside the front door, I found this cute little loveseat.  I usually see full-sized sofas in this style ... a love seat would go great just about anywhere.

How about this industrial card catalog?  The price tag read $49.  It would have come home with me, but I don't have a place to put it.

Speaking of industrial, look at the goodies on and around this table.

Here's a close-up of what's on the left side, with this completely FABULOUS metal stool.

This bird's eye maple princess dresser would be perfect in someone's guest room.

I just never know what I'll find here!  The place is packed with treasures.

How about this antique folding chair, with vintage carpet upholstery?

This oak bench almost made it into my Jeep for the trip home.  I loved the shape and the size of it.  It needed a little bit of tightening up and some new upholstery.  Alas, I have nowhere to put this either.  (Look at that child-size Hoosier behind the bench???)

The center of the large upstairs at Class and Trash is devoted to chairs ... hundreds of chairs ... more chairs than I have ever seen in one place before ... every kind of chair you can imagine!  Are you in the market for a quirky set of mixed dining chairs?  This could be your place.

I loved this tole tray ... same story, no place to put it right now.

This pie safe was a wonderful size, and it is in really nice condition.  Someone painted the tins white (yuck) but that can be fixed without a whole lot of effort.

The painting leaning against the pie safe was speaking to me.  I left it behind, too.  Maybe I shouldn't have.  My new-found facination with older, amateur paintings could turn into a full-blown addiction, so I should pace myself.

Look how they used this vintage toy bed to display jewelry.  Love it!

This primitive little stand was a great size, and it was completely restorable ... even though it was missing its drawer.  At $14, I was really tempted to add it to my pile ...

... until I turned it around and discovered that someone who-knows-how-long-ago had crudely cut it in half and the back didn't match the front anymore.  It's still really neat, but this is more project than I need now, so it stayed behind, too.

There is so much good stuff in this picture, I don't even know where to begin to describe it.

This vintage ice box has such potential!  How about the school desk in front of it?

The set of gold-upholstered dining chairs, the buffet, the galvanized milk box, the wicker rocker .... does your name begin with G?

I smiled when I saw this Troll in front of these vintage radios.  I have a theory that only Trolls who were most loved by their children got haircuts.  (My troll was big like this one, and it had very short yellow hair.)

How about a primitive bench for your garden?

Or some silver shoes (size 9B, too small for me) and a Smurf tray?

I was sorely tempted by this set of dishes.  If there had been more dinner plates, it probably would be home with me right now.

I have teased you this whole time with wonderful treasures that I didn't buy.  What DID come home with me, you ask?

I couldn't resist this little iron dog.  I doubt it's old, but it has tons of personality, and it looks enough like a greyhound for me to add it to my collection ... I already had the rose angel, and I love her.

How about this roll of vintage-looking rose wallpaper?  I don't know what to do with it now, but I have no doubt that I will come up with something.  The colors are beautiful!

You will see this oriental rug again really soon, as part of a project I'm working on.  It is the perfect size, the perfect colors, and (most importantly) an irresistable price.  I can't wait to show it to you in its new home.

I also bought something for my mother for Christmas.  I can't say any more, because she reads my blog and it would spoil the surprise.

If you are traveling on Route 1 between Ashland and Richmond, you MUST stop at Class and Trash to see what treasures YOU can find.

This post is linked to Linda's Junkin' Finds Friday party.  Linda is the 'Queen of Junk' (I told her so), and I am thrilled to play at her party ... run over there and see what other treasures folks are sharing.

(written by Hartwood Roses.  Hartwood Roses blog.)