The Outdoor Beckons

Gardening is not my specialty. I like to garden, but when you work 40 hours a week, have 3 sons and a hubby to cook for and love to do a million crafts, well maybe not a million, but lots anyway, there is not much time to take care of a yard.

But when spring and good weather arrive, the gardening bug hits.

This last Saturday I had to head to town for a few errands and one of my stops was Michaels, to kill time while waiting for La-Z-boy to open. Bought a new chair for my hubby and when I picked it up at the warehouse Friday afternoon, the care kit, that I paid for was not there!!

I checked out M's clearance and found some Easter decor really cheap!!!

(Don't look at the weeds in the background, they are gone now ;-) )

I had wanted to buy some really big eggs at Easter to decorate the yard, but was not willing to pay the price they wanted at M's, even on sale. But I found these in their clearance bin grab bags. I bought two $2 bags and got all these eggs!! The orange egg is 12" long. I added up the original prices and got about $60 worth of eggs for $4! And a few other Easter goodies besides. I am not sure what I will do with the combination egg and feather boa garland??

My next stop was the Emerisia Garden Center. My deck was looking pretty neglected and I had an old vintage cast iron sink to fill and use as a planter. I picked up some succulents, petunias and a new rose.

When I got home it was time to plant. I replanted several pots and placed new plants in the sink. I have two old water troughs below the deck that were replanted too.

This is my new rose. Starts out a soft pink bud and opens up to this beauty.

This rose below is one of my old favorites, I love a yellow and pink rose. It is a climber by my deck.

A few weeks ago I dug this old table out of storage to use on my deck as a side table when we eat outside. It is at least 60 years old and probably much older. My hubby remembers his dad using it for years and his dad's dad before that. It has gone to Massachusetts and back. My hubby says they used it in 1964 on their trip back east in the tiny travel trailer. Four adults and four kids in a station wagon and 15 foot travel trailer from CA to MA and back! 

 It is made of redwood and folds up for easy storage.

It is looking really old and in need of care. I can remember my father-in-law Ray using it years ago when he was selling apples. I think the tally marks are the number of pounds he sold.

I gave the table a good sanding, it was rough, the old redwood was really dried out.

After I sanded it smooth, I put on a couple of coats of outdoor sealer. And now it looks beautiful.

And will be protected from the elements.

The outdoor sealer should wear pretty well, as two days later I was still trying to get the sealer off my hands! Then I remembered I had bought this a  few weeks back.

A hand scrubber to get paint and ink off your hands after crafting.

I followed the directions and it scrubbed the sealer off my hands. Hope it works as well on paint & ink!

Happy Spring and happy gardens to you!