How to Landscape a Corner Lot

Today I'm sharing my solution to landscaping for privacy on a corner lot.  If you follow Serendipity Refined on Instagram, you know that over the last ten days I decided to do some landscaping in the front yard at the farmhouse.  I designed a 60 foot long berm that is roughly the shape of a boomerang and contains several varieties of evergreens as well as some flowering ornamental trees and shrubs as well as shrub roses and perennials that will not only provide privacy but will add a focal point to our front yard.

Spring Shade Garden 2015

 

Hello! Oh my gosh, it feels like it has been forever since I've had the time to write.  It has been a whirlwind two weeks. We celebrated Mother's Day a week early by spending a day working in the yard at my mom and dad's home because I had to fly to Atlanta for business on the "real" Mother's Day.

Patio and Garden Finds from a French Estate Sale

Recently, I was allowed to pre-sale shop at an amazing estate sale right here in Illinois. The lady who had owned the house had created the type of home and gardens that I aspire to one day.   From the moment that I walked down the crushed stone drive and through the brick walled gates, I would have sworn that I'd finally made it to France.

There were so many beautiful things that I had a hard time walking away from many of them but these things came home with me for my new yard and gardens before I ever made it to the door of the house or  the coach house!

I fell in love with this 34 inch tall lead pond spitter (above). His base is bent and he'll need some work but he should be able to be repaired by the time that I have a home for him.

This great iron lavabo will surely find a spot in the court yard as will this patio table and chairs.

This tea cart will probably end up on the patio in the rear yard.

and so will this formerly lonely chair...it was the only one of it's kind....trust me, I looked.  I couldn't walk away and leave it all alone after purchasing the rest of the items that were on the patio with it...could I?! Of course NOT!

Even though we'll spend all of next summer under construction, I'm excited to have finally found a few things to add to my yard when I can finally landscape!. Now that the Phase 2 plans are nearing completion, I can begin  collecting the French Farmhouse in earnest but I'm not in any hurry since for me,  the hunt is the best part of the project!  

I've also begun looking into a long overdue trip to France in Summer, 2014! If you have places that you'd suggest that I shop or the name of a host who accommodates private/semi private shopping tours, please message me.

I'll share my finds from inside the estate and coach house soon!

White Spray Painted Metal Patio Furniture and Tea in My Garden

Happy Friday! I'm so happy that you stopped by today so that I can show you the "after" photos of my spray painted metal patio furniture!

Fall Pumpkin Planter - A Cinderella Story

Did you read the story of Cinderella as a child?

Or, for that matter, do you still read Cinderella as an adult?  I do.

In fact, I seem to have a fixation with that story. If you don't believe me, see Exhibit A.

I've got to admit that, any time I read a story that involves a handsome guy with money rescuing a kind, hard

working,  girl from a life of cooking and cleaning, I think to myself,

"Really?  Sign me up!" 

A Serendipity View: My Day at The Antique Garden Show at Northwind Perennial Farms

 Today I spent the day at what has become one of my favorite annual events: The Northwind Antique Garden Show.  For me, this show is probably more about the grounds, the gardens, and the collection of antiques that are housed there than about the vendors who actually set up for this fabulous show (although four of my close friends were vendors at this event).

So, today, instead of a post laced with photographs of the wares that were for sale and links to various vendor sites, I thought that I'd share MY view with you: A "Serendipity View" of a beautiful day hosted on grounds that are as inspiring as they are welcoming by three friends and business associates who are as genuine and funny and gracious as they are talented.  If you ever have the chance to visit, even if it's not for this event, it's a trip worth taking.

 Additional notes: You'll notice "ghosts" in many of the above photos. My camera fell this morning, cracking the lens mount ring at the body. I was able to manually remount the lens every few frames, enabling me to capture the images above, prior to dropping it off at the camera store to be shipped back to Nikon for repair. I'd also ask that you not copy or repost any of these images until I have time to watermark them.

 

 Have a glorious weekend!

xo,

S

For Further Information on Northwind, visit their site: http://northwindperennialfarm.com/main.html#

Boxes and Baskets and Pots of Flowers!

Urn on the garage wing wall.

I was reminded this weekend of the reason that I always plant my annuals during the first week of May regardless of what the USDA says: It gets freaking HOT in Illinois at the end of May!  This weekend, (after inquiries by neighbors as to my health and a kind offer from my friend Sadie, (the florist) to plant my urn at the behest of my family), I finally made time to do a little planting.

Of course, this weekend the daytime temperatures also reached 98 degrees and there wasn't a hint of a breeze! I actually felt sorry for the plants! Our window boxes are on the second story of the house and they face West and North. The plants that live (or at least try to) in these boxes take the words "full sun" to a whole new level...it's something more along the lines of full sun living in a copper planter with the heat from the roof baking your roots off." Note to self: on the next house, window boxes made of wood, facing East.

West Large Window Box - View from the Driveway

North Large Window Box - View from the driveway.

West window box - View from my son's room.

North Window Box - View from the Master bath.

White Begonias (at least some day they will be) as borders for the front yard gardens.

Front Yard Plant List (Coral, White and Gray):
Hydrangea Endless Summer "Blushing Bride"
Euphorbia "Diamond Frost"
Begonia "Borias"
Cut Leaf Sweet Potato Vine
Dichondra "Silver Falls"
Bedding plants: White begonias

I also planted a few containers around the pergola. I'm still putting the finishing touches on a couple of projects before the "big reveal" but I thought that I'd share a few photos.

Patio Container

Patio basket

Thank you, Mom and Dad! I LOVE it!

Rear Yard Plants: Pink, Gray and White (with a little Blue from my parents)
Hydrangea Endless Summer - Blue
Euphorbia "Diamond Frost"
Soft Pink Geranium
Silver Pink Petunia
Pink Angel face (no idea what the real name is)
White Lobelia
Dichondra "Silver Falls"
 Mercifully, it's cooler here today and the forecast is for unseasonably cool weather for the next several days. I got to turn the air conditioning off and open the windows.  This is a good sign that maybe the plants will survive and that my electric bill won't be so huge that I'll be forced to get a second  third job to pay it!

xo,

S

Linking to:
Funky Junk

This Week In My Midwest Garden - April 6, 2012

Early and Mid Season Tulips in my yard.

Okay, I'll admit it. I spent exactly 30 minutes in my yard this week. Since the last time I posted, the ONLY things that I've done that were "yard related" are:

• I mowed the grass last Sunday and put 14 bags of pruned branches, weeds, and other "non-compost" winter debris out for the trash truck which, mercifully, took away the mess that has been partially blocking the entry to the garage for almost a month, on Monday morning..
• I walked around my yard,  took a "mental inventory (and a few photos) of what still needs to be done and went back inside to work on the dining room since people will need to sit there for Easter. It's all about priorities! *smile*

Yep...that's it.So, since the weather has cooled off to the point that I had to cover my geraniums last night and it looks like the tulips and daffodils will actually make it until Easter, rather than talk about soil, I'd like to ask you to think about your "view".

• What is it that you see when you look out your window(s) and/or door(s)?
• Does it make you smile?

The photo above is the view that I have when I look out of my front door.  Since I spend a fair amount of my time inside of my house "looking out", it was far more important to me to have views that were beautiful from inside than it was to have landscaping that was prettier to the strangers driving past my home on the street than it was for me, my family, and our friends.

  Take another look at the photo of the view from my front door.  Notice how the crab apple tree almost completely blocks the view of the house across the street? That's not accidental.

This is what my front yard looks like from the "inside", standing on my neighbors' driveway, looking "up hill" across the front. I wanted to create a sense of privacy and a little bit of mystery. A garden that, while nice enough for anyone walking or driving past,  would be best viewed from the vantage of people who are "invited in".

When I stand in my kitchen, THIS is what I see:

Chair coves: Pillow shams from Target. Patio furniture and table cloth: flea markets, garage sales, and pickin.

 If you look closely, you can see that there's a house within 200 feet of my back door. However, I've landscaped so that, at least in the summer, I can barely see it.  If you look closely, you can also see that there is a hose on the patio that didn't get wound up and dirt on the table from the last time it rained that didn't get wiped off. Hey...this is "real life photography", I told you that I'd share what I see...well, this is it.

This is what I see from my family room:

Notice the huge brick two-story WALL? That's the side of my neighbors' house. No windows, no architectural detail, not pretty to look at. Now that the arborvitae that I planted to block it are 10 feet tall, and the Cercis (redbud) is filling in, it's a little less "urban" and I feel like I can sit on my patio in at least a little bit of privacy. This is the view of that same house from my lower yard.

Think about what your "view" looks like. If you spend time looking "out" like I do, putting something beautiful in a spot that you see all the time  may change how you look at everything else around it.

My Garden Angel. A birthday gift from my parents, long ago

All of the photos above were taken in my yard this week. Due to the cooler weather, nothing new is in bloom. However, the tulips are lasting longer. I PROMISE, we'll "talk dirt" next week because my SOIL SOUP supplies are here and I can't wait to show you how they work.  Happy Easter!

xo,

S