After days of rain and flooding in our area, we have a nice sunny day.
I took advantage of it by spending it cleaning our back porch. All of the
huge live oak trees are dropping their leaves now. There is a mountain of
leaves on the patio and many of them have blown up onto the porch.
So I swept and removed the wicker furniture to give everything a
good cleaning. I bought some annuals too to pot for some color.
Yesterday I was able to find some new cushions for the chairs. The old ones
were looking pretty ratty and rather than try to clean them again, I replaced
them with more colorful ones.
The brick floor of the porch is still wet. Things don't dry here as fast as
they did in Idaho. See that bush next to the swing and in front of the post?
It's a gardenia bush and it is loaded with buds right now. This is an
everblooming gardenia and it is supposed to bloom all summer.
I can hardly wait!
And I bought a new fern. My old one got nipped the last time the temps
took a dive and I forgot to bring it inside.
It's a start. I want to get some hanging baskets and some hummingbird
feeders. The hummingbirds have returned and I want to keep them
around. My sister-in-law Cindy has several hummingbird feeders on
her porch up in Lago Vista and she gets visits every day. They are
such a delight.
That's it for now. I am going to hop in the shower and get some of
the grime off of me. Maybe I should give Bentley a bath first. He
was outside all day having a great time rolling around in the grass and
hunting through the ginger for lizards. We are having cocktails on
the porch at 6:00 PM. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by!
Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
Susan, Your porch is SOOO pretty. I love the brick floor -it sets such a nice tone for the whole thing. Your new cushions are really pretty, too. Have fun with cocktails tonight...be a good girl and don't have TOO many!;>) xo Diana
ReplyDeleteI have a one glass of wine rule. No worries ;-) Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteYour porch is looking beautiful, Susan. Still too early for planting here. Can't wait. xo Laura
ReplyDeleteWe have a small window of opportunity here in South Texas. Right now the weather is lovely, but it won't be long before the heat and humidity take over and all desires to plant and prune will go poof!
DeleteFun porch Susan! I love the gardenia and can't help but notice that great grill-Happy Spring:@)
ReplyDeleteThat big Texas smoker/grill is my hubby's pride and joy. He's the "pit master" :-)
DeleteOh, Susan, your porch just looks so lovely! Love your swing and can't wait to see your Gardenia! They smell divine!
ReplyDeleteBe a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
That swing is a real treasure. We bought it for my Mom and Daddy and brought it with us when we moved down here to Texas. Mom and Daddy used to sit together and swing and chat and in the afternoons. Fond, fond memories.
DeleteSusan, it all looks very inviting. Cocktails on the porch is tempting. '-)
ReplyDeleteMy gardenia didn't make it. I should try again. I love the fragrance. Your porch swing is calling my name. I had to give up my porch swing when we enclosed the screened in porch for year round sunroom. It was a fair trade off, but I miss a swing. I wish I had a place in the yard for one, but just don't have a spot. Did your ginger survive the winter? All of mine froze back, so it will be months before that area fills back in. Makes me sad, but not anything I can do if we have deep freezes as we did this winter. The years that it doesn't freeze back, it blooms. And those blooms are amazing. Does your ginger bloom?
Enjoy your beautiful back yard before it gets too hot. ;-)
How about a single tree swing in the garden? Do you have a large tree to hang one? Last year we had to severely trim back one of the ginger plants. Although we had some cold days this past winter, none of my ginger froze. It's more humid here than in Austin and the ginger grows like weeds. I have not seen my ginger bloom yet. Wish it would. Maybe this year it will ~ fingers crossed.
DeleteLovely porch! You have it so nicely decorated!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAin't porches great?!!!!!!
ReplyDeletePorches are great and I have so much fun decorating mine in the spring, summer, fall and winter too.
DeleteYour porch looks lovely and spring like.
ReplyDeleteIt snowed here, lol; need I say more.
Hope your snow ends soon and y'all finally get some spring!
DeleteYour porch is so pretty and so inviting. Love it. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marty!
DeleteYou are so lucky to be able to be out on your porch already, it's too cold here, we got hit with snow yesterday. Your porch is pretty and inviting. I'd love to have a swing but have two rocking chairs. Covered porches are the best, we just covered ours last year. I love your brick floor. Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a sweet comment on our master bedroom. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteHopefully you will be getting some spring like weather very soon. Thanks so much for stopping by!
DeleteLooks terrific! Exited about Spring!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteCocktails on your porch would be lovely! It looks like such a happy place to be :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a happy place to be now that it's all cleaned up :-)
DeleteLove your porch Susan. The brick floor is awesome. No planting here just yet but the buds are getting ready.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fine-looking porch. Nothing like some good ol’ spring cleaning to make things look more breezy and refreshing. By simply clearing out the trash, wiping out the stains, and keeping errant plants from blocking the view, you managed to make it look very tidy and inviting. Thanks for sharing your spring cleaning experience with us. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteBo Tolbert @ HJS Supply
Wow! Your porch is really gorgeous. The decors and furniture are so catchy and relevant to each other. I can just imagine how relaxing it is to sit and read a book in there. Anyway, I hope you had a happy and successful spring cleaning. Thanks for sharing that, Susan! All the best to you!
ReplyDeleteLucy Andrews @ Safe Clean Westminster