Summer Secret Garden Tour...

I'm so excited that my blue hydrangeas shrubs have bloomed this year! I know there's not that many blooms, and my plants are small, but I'm still so excited.... because it's been a couple of years since they have bloomed, (more on that and why I think that happened in a little bit). On second thought, I should go ahead and tell you about that before I forget. You see, for two years I was putting used coffee grounds on them, and I think it stunted their growth... and I believe it's why I didn't get blooms either. I did some research, and I am thankful I came across some information on why not to use coffee grounds on plants. I had previously read that plants like used coffee grounds (hmmm), so be careful when researching garden solution things, because the information is conflicting when it comes to coffee grounds in the garden. I stopped immediately upon finding out about how they can stunt things, (which was last fall). This year in the early spring, we fertilized them with some acid loving azalea plant fertilizer granules.... and yay, I have blooms again! See why I'm so excited about it! lol!

But here's how everything is looking right now....

A pair of these hydrangeas (I believe they are called Nikko Blue), were given to us by my husband's mother when we first moved onto our land....the little garden statue was also a gift from her as well...

The secret garden flowers and plants are really growing fast these days, and I am so happy with how everything is flourishing this year....

The other hydrangea has buds, and is almost blooming, (here to the left), To the right the pink polka dot plant, the wax begonia and the English ivy are growing I did find a shell in the pot recently, I've never found a shell in my pots before...any ideas? I'll be keeping on eye on this pot for sure....

My garden flag is from Temu as well as the acrylic stained glass bird ornaments that are hanging on the garden trellis...

The pot of hostas, caladium and impatience back behind the pot of creeping jenny is slow growing...so since photographing it...I've moved it to the front side of this oak tree so it can get some morning sun, maybe that will get them to growing better....fingers crossed!

The creeping jenny here (moneywort) is growing, and hopefully it will overflow and drape down the sides of the pot soon...

The asparagus ferns and the spider plant are doing well so far....

The orange impatience flowers that I have in several pots are doing well so far, and the caladiums in that pot here with the creeping jenny are coming up nicely and growing too...since I got the squirrel to lose interest in it, lol! 

I'm enjoying this beautiful time of the year,....though the heat is settling in now in my area, and it will be here to stay for a long while (likely until late September), it will be a very hot and long summer  I'm sure, and it will be long enough to probably outlast my pretty flowers at some point...but I am still so thankful for this new season....I love this time of the year and being outside... tending to my flower pots and plants, and it's especially nice in the evenings. 

I am so thankful for all of the pretty blooms that seem to be everywhere, in the summertime. This week I found a few little clovers and daisy fleabane flowers and some other little flowers out in our yard this week. I had to pick some and put them in some mini vases to enjoy on the back porch table. They make me smile every time I see them. They were just out there growing all wild...they were requiring no care from me...that makes them all the more beautiful and sweet, don't you think? 

"Summertime the flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come..."

-Song of Solomon 2:12

I hope you are enjoying all that this warm weather season has to offer us! 

Until next time....Stay creative and have a beautiful day!

This week I'm linking up at these inspiring places:

(click the links below to visit all the parties hosts and the other party participants...if you have a blog, join in on the fun by linking up too!)

Tuesday Turn About

Vintage Charm Party

Share Your Style

Thursday Favorite Things

P.S. A huge thank you goes out to the party hosts, I appreciate you! 

Pretty Tiny Bird Houses and More...

 I recently had a birthday, so I thought it would be fun to share the cute things that I found in my birthday bags...

From our older son and his wife, I got these adorable bird houses....they are so pretty... and it is a set of three of them...I've displayed two of them underneath cloches...

This one is called Rosebud Cottage

This one is called Springtime Victorian

This one is called Vineyard Villa...each had a special name that was just perfect for each one of them, and I loved that they were made the same year our home was built. They were made in 1997, and are from the Hamilton Collection...I will cherish these forever!

I've got this little bird house sitting up here on the fireplace mantle in the sitting room, beside the little jar of honey. 

Summer Decorating Tip: 

For an easy almost free accent to add into your summer decorating, take an old empty honey jar, put in some water and add a few drops of yellow food coloring to it, and then simply add it into one of your summer displays. It would be cute to add in some old seed packets and faux bumble bees too, if you have them on hand! 

Also, in my birthday bag, from them I found this pretty hummingbird yard ornament, that I hung on our front porch....

And from our younger son and his wife, in my birthday bag...I found these pretty flower solar lights. I love these so much too.  I've put them in front of the front porch...these are from Better Homes and Gardens at Walmart, if anyone's looking for solar lights. 

My husband gave me a card with money, and I received some other birthday cards as well. It was a good birthday. I'm thankful for all of my gifts, and for the love behind the giving. I'm thankful for another year of life, and I'm looking forward to what else this year will hold. 

I hope you liked seeing the things that I found in my birthday gift bags this year! 

Until next time...have a beautiful day!

I'm linking up this week to the "Share Your Style" Blog Party:

(click the link below to visit the host and other blog party participants)

Share Your Style

Junkin' Finds...Vintage Linens Galore and More...

 It's that time of year again... yard sale junkin' season...I've found so many pretty things this spring. In early April we took a little overnight trip to Mobile Alabama to visit Bellingrath Gardens, and see some spring flowers, and of course, we always have to go junkin' on our little getaway trips too...

Here's what all I found this spring....

I can never pass up embroidered linens...

So many pretty little pieces....

I believe this is filet lace....love the dainty details of it!

This is a table runner and I loved the beautiful embroidered details on each end of it....

This square piece is large and I've got it on my kitchen table set on a diagonal...

This fabric is so pretty and it looks to be old, it is handstitched on the edges, and it must have been a very special piece of cloth to whoever made this...I love it! 

I got all of the linens for $15.00 and I don't even know if I ended up showing all of the pictures of every piece....it was a stack of pretty linens. I think I got a great deal. Every time I see them I can remember our little trip too...which makes them even more special to me....

George is quite fond of this piece...I've found him looking at it time and time again...

He thought it was for him I guess...to lay with, and lay on...and he doesn't quite understand why it's hanging on the edge of the flower market basket....he says he don't know what he's gonna do with me, lol! 

This English coaster set was only $1...here's the backside of it....

We've got several blue bottles already, but I couldn't pass this one up that's a deeper blue, for .50 cents...

My husband got this tea cup and saucer for $3....it has the courting couple on it and is so dainty and pretty...

In other junkin' news, we went to some yard sales in our own area too earlier in May, and I found this pretty tin for .50 cents...

I couldn't believe how the new to me finds, are all in the same pretty shade of blue...and how they just fit right in with what I already have going on in the sitting room on the shelves...

You aren't going to believe the price we paid for this silverplated silverware set....

Later in the month we went to some Saturday yard sales, and my husband found this set in the box for only $4. The box was stinky smelling, but it aired out wonderfully by setting it out in the sun with baking soda sprinkled inside it, (then vacuuming it at the end of the day), and what a deal! Can't wait to use these for a special holiday. I'd been on the hunt for a set of silverware for a long time, and every time I'd find any, it would be too pricey. So I am thrilled with this find! I am still on the hunt for some pretty vintage drinking glasses... hopefully I'll run across some of those eventually this summer.  

That same Saturday he found this beautiful piece in the bottom of a box and it was only $1. He knows how I love anything needlepoint, so he grabbed it up and asked me if I wanted it. For sure I do! 

We also found these milk glass pieces for $3 for the pair...I put a couple of moss and vine balls in them that I already had on hand, that were thrifted...

Tip On How To Know If It's Milk Glass: 

Milk glass is pretty to me whether it is true milk glass or not, and I collect it all, but if you want to know if it's real milk glass hold the piece up to sunlight and if it has a pinkish color to it it's milk glass. This has that pink color when held up to light. 

This pretty vintage tea tin was in a box of tins and was only .50 cents 

I can never resist a pretty saucer, when the price is right, (there's so many uses for them), and this one was only .50 cents...

I'm using it on the shelf for my little chickadee bird to have tea on in front of the french doors...

This pink milk glass piece was only $3 and I'm using it on the wicker tea cart that's in our bedroom in front of the window....

This small needlepoint candle holder was just .50 cents...

I think it is so unique and I have never seen anything like it before...

I was at the Goodwill this month to hunt some denim capri pants and a new to me top. I did find something cute, and only spent $14.00 for the outfit.... and the capri's were Nine West brand, looked like new, and are a perfect fit. I couldn't beat the price, and I know when I buy second hand clothes and they fit perfectly, I don't have to worry about them shrinking after they are washed, and not fitting the same. That's what I love the most about buying thrift store clothing.  

Anyway, while I was at Goodwill, I found this cute tea towel, new with tags for $1.99, and this beautiful like new patchwork quilted shower curtain below for $5.99, it has two sides to it, and has a fabric backing on it and is a good thick weight, but the bottom of it has an open end that is not sewn together, so I'm probably going to use my sewing machine to stitch it together. I'm thinking I'll probably use it folded over the back top of my sofa, to add color, and I can use it to cover up with, if needed for a light summer blanket too! 

And Lastly, my husband found this music box for me while I was trying on my outfit that I found at Goodwill. He got it for $2.99....it's so pretty...what it says on the inside of it is even more beautiful than the box itself...I will keep it forever. 

Well, I think that's gonna wrap up this junkin' finds post. Thanks for stopping by for a visit! 

Until next time...Stay creative and happy junkin'!

This week I'm linking up at these inspiring places:

(you can click the below links to visit the blog hosts and party participants, you can also join in and link up to the parties too, if you have a blog. 

Vintage Charm Blog Party

Tuesday Turn About

Thursday Favorite Things

Share Your Style

P.S. A big Thank you goes out to all the ladies that host the blog party link ups!