Alfresco in the Garden

I love summer!  So many things symbolize summer for me, such as long days in the garden, campfires with toasted marshmallows, beach days and most of all lots of time spent with friends and family in the warm summer sun!  What better way to celebrate this season than with an alfresco picnic in the garden?    

   

I have been asked by the oh-so-talented, Heather of Post Road Vintage to be a contributor once again in her fabulous free quarterly e-zine, Homebound, and it's hot off the press just today!  It is packed full of summer delight, including my own version of an alfresco picnic in the garden, so run off to see it all for yourself!

So if you made it to the end of this post, and have not yet rushed over to take a look at the newest edition of Homebound  *Click Here* to sign up!  It's free and your own copy will get sent right to your email inbox!

Thank-you very much again, Heather!  It has been such a pleasure and an honor being a part of Homebound with so many incredible contributors!  

And thanks to all of you for continuing to visit!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

Enjoy!

Maria ~Rusty Hinge 

The Color Green

Don't you just love this time of year?  The drab of winter falls away as leaf buds open and the forests explode with shades of green!  Here in northern Michigan, we are blessed to be surrounded by acres of forest.  Where the forest ends, farmland and fields take over.  I love to look out over my porch at all the rolling farmlands with the newly planted corn heads peeking up in perfectly dotted rows.  This seasonal transformation is true in my own yard and garden as well.  Our grass has rejuvenated from yellow clumps to a beautiful bright carpet.  We have had the pleasure of mowing several times already with all the thunderstorms and humidity encouraging new growth.  Oh, how I love the smell of freshly cut grass!  It is summer to me!  I will be putting in my vegetable garden today.  I am a bit late in doing so as the general rule is to plant on Memorial Day weekend, which is the first safe frost free weekend here (although we did have frost threats on June 1 and I tucked all of my hanging baskets and window boxes safely into the garage for the night!  Ah, the joys of Michigan!)

I love to walk through my garden so see what is growing, what has budded, what has sprouted!  Just yesterday, I noticed several Morning Glories coming up from the ground where I planted them from seed at my garden arch.  Soon they will completely cover it and the early morning blooms will beckon me from their green vines to come take a seat under the arch with coffee and a good book!  Isn't summer wonderful?

Let's take a stroll through the garden to see what is blooming now!  I would love to show you!  

Late flowering Maureen tulips open after other Spring bulbs fade.  I love their creamy white color on tall strong stems.

Pale purple Creeping Phlox spills over the rock borders.

The chives are just beginning to open!  I love them in the garden as well as the kitchen!

Clematis climbs up my old bicycle in the garden.  I have yet to plant annuals in the front metal basket, another fun project scheduled for today!

Like I said, isn't summer grand?  But it does tend to pass by much too quickly in a busy flurry of packed calendar dates, so make sure you take a moment to rest and enjoy it.  Let yourself be lazy for a long minute.  Doesn't a late afternoon nap on the hammock sound wonderful?

Thanks so much for stopping by!  




Have a beautiful week,



Maria ~Rusty Hinge