Garden Carts or Buggies?

When we lived in Atlanta everyone referred to the store's shopping carts as *buggies.* It got me wondering if my Southern friends say garden buggies instead of garden carts. I'll have to ask. Anyway, I've always had one and have used them for painting baseboard and sanding/staining floors MORE than gardening. Here are some garden cart ideas and the goal of having them! Anyone else a garden cart (buggy) fan? Mine is like the last humble photo, but it has paint splatters on it and duct tape now holding one wheel together - ugh!  :)    And no, these are not my gardens (only in my dreams).

 

He Thinks My Tractor's Sexy....

Kenny Chesney released the big hit song, "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" in the summer of '99.

This year we could no longer fix our two very-old, very worn, cheesy-brand faithful riding lawn mowers, so we did what my honey's wanted to for years....bought a 54" John Deere riding tractor mower!! Yes, the dealer delivered a brand new tractor mower -- all shiny and full of gasoline. She's saw-weet!
The ONLY problem: We've had to resort to Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who gets to mow. (I'm good at this game because after 40 years I know my honey's thinking process pretty well -- shhhhhhh, don't tell him).
Hey, I believe the lawn's  grown at least 1/8 inch since I've started this post, so I'm finding my honey to play Rock, Pape....What? He's on the mower! 

Janean, "Hey, no fair!!!"  *wink*

Do you use an eco-friendly push mower (photo 1)? Self-propelled gas-powered-walk-behind (like our John Deere we use at the *lake house*)? A riding mower (like our new tractor-mower)? Do you have professional hunks mowing for you? Or do you use something more natural like photo 5? Whatever way....happy mowing.  

Janean, "Get OFF. It's my turn!"

My honey, "Catch me!"

Analyze This!

Did you see the movie "Analyze This?" I only saw the TV version, but one of the funniest moments is when Billy Crystal and Lisa Kudrow come home to a gigantic fountain on their front lawn - a gift from Robert DeNiro's mobster character.

I adore fountains! Do you?   It's the sound, the statuary and the ever-changing movement of the water that make fountains entertaining to me.  The only fountains I don't care for as much are the one where water is coming from an animal or human orifice.  LOL!  Who has a fountain? 
Also, with summer coming on I'm thinking of going to an every-other-day post schedule. Any thoughts?
Angel fountain; Traditional four-tier; Natural stacked stone fountain; Table top cherub fountain; Wall fountain and Redneck Fountain *wink*!

Going Dutch

Some very sweet friends sent me a bouquet of white tulips recently. You all know how car-razy i am about white! I adore tulips too because they remind me of Holland, wooden shoes and those beautiful starched, white bonnets the Dutch wore in the past (especially the ones with big "wings"). Does anyone know if they still make those?

So, what's your favorite flower and why?  Below is a Pennsylvania Dutch chair-flip-table (no, it's not mine -  it's sold. *sigh*). Below that is a cupboard that is in a perfect setting, in my opinion...those walls have me squealing with delight. Note the hand painted TULIPS on the crock.

The Shed

I saw Martha Stewart years ago in her garden shed (on TV).
She was patiently cleaning and repairing her garden tools.
Since then I've decided to enjoy the process of restoring and repairing the tools that served us well throughout the summer and early autumn.
We're going to refurbish our Sweetwater Carriage House into a viable garden shed. It was built about 100 years ago for the Model T Ford (made by Henry Ford 1908-1927). It's sweet, but in dire need of repair.
I'll take before and after photos and post them.
In the meantime, here are a couple of sweet sheds from BH & G.
Do you own a garden shed or have wanted to?

Heirloom Sunflowers

Last year we grew sunflowers from heirloom seeds. We had the idea of harvesting the sunflower seeds; roasting them & enjoying the fruit of our labor.
The sunflowers thrived.
They grew to 8 feet tall. In fact, they had to be supported with twine and stakes. They were "scary big."
As summer gave way to Autumn, their huge heads drooped heavily with seeds.
Every week or so we'd check.
No mature seeds....
Well, that's not exactly correct. No mature seeds for US. The birds were having a feast! I guess they were eating the seeds before we got up b/c I didn't see any winged friends helping themselves or I would have made a scare crow or place tin pie pans around to scare the little "moochers!" This year we bought our sunflowers seeds & I have a greater appreciation for the farmers.

Trees

Recognize these?
They're all over the ground on the way to the lake by our home.
Locust tree pods.
Black Locust trees are native to the Ozarks in Missouri and the southern Appalachians.
Seeing these on the ground is a remind Autumn is under way!
Yay!

Hydrangeas

My MIL planted a white hydrangea bush over 50 years ago at Old Sweetwater Cottage and it still provides several huge bouquets of flowers each year.
I picked these green and they dried naturally in the vase over the following week.
This winter as I look at them, it will remind me of summer of 2009.

Our Zinnias

On a whim, we decided to plant these zinnias in a flower box with a few impatiens.
The selection wasn't great at the time we were purchasing, so we weren't sure if they'd do well.
Theses beauties have really shown off!
And they're so accommodating. My husband took a couple of dried flower heads and just stuck the seeds in the dirt that's in the box, and they sprung up almost immediately.
I'm keeping the seeds and having their "daughters" grow next year because they're good stock.