2nd Time Around: Fence from the Auction

Welcome to 2nd Time Around. Please join us by linking a post that features something that is a 2nd Time Around to you…something from a garage sale, flea market, thrift store, estate sale, etc. Please link your post rather than your blog, and link back to this blog. Thank you for participating.

I really am not that fond of auctions! I would rather go to a garage sale or estate sale any day! However, there have been a series of auctions near my home that I’ve attended. An old antique store owner died a couple of years ago, and the contents of his home and store are being auctioned off. There have been three so far, and will probably be at least 3 more!

Mr. Booker inherited the antique business from his mother, so much of the merchandise is very old! The auctioneer and his staff have said that many of the items had ‘not for sale’ signs on them. The store itself had several outbuildings that had not been used in years….and all were full of antiques.

If you would like to view some of the items that have been auctioned off, visit http://www.cookauction.com/ You will be able to see some of the treasures that have been auctioned.

Recently the third auction was held, and I got caught up in the moment! I had the ‘winning’ bid on this old iron fencing! Actually, the bid was times 4 as there was 4 pieces of the fence. I kept the one in the photos below, sold one to my daughter, and put two in the porch area of the Antique Mall! If the right buyer comes along, the two pieces will pay for the ones that I’m keeping and give me a little profit!

When I took these by the antique mall, the owner believed that they were parts of a old cemetery fence. I have no idea how Mr. Booker acquired them, but I have a receipt showing that their mine now! LOL

Right now this section is lining my front flower bed, but may eventually be moved to the back! Either way, I love it and it reminds me of all the shopping trips to Booker’s Antiques in Whynot, Ms.

Heres another link for the first auction: First Booker Auction

Thanks for stopping by!

Unidentified Blue Plant

Smiling Sally is hosting Blue Monday. Please join her for lots of Blue Monday posts-you will meet some very nice friendly bloggers! Thanks Sally for hosting this event!

A couple of Saturdays ago, many of you helped me identify a pink plant whose name I had forgotten that I planted last year. The plant was yarrow and I really appreciate those of you who named it for me. I won’t forget this time!

Well-I have another one…this bluish purple plant is one that I bought on clearance from Lowes. I usually save the tags, but have hidden them from myself! So, if you can help me identify this plant, I would appreciate it!

And, I wanted to share this one too…it is Victoria Blue Salvia. I planted it last year, and it has come back this spring and looks great! I highly recommend this plant if you are shopping for perennials!

Thanks for stopping by, and hope you have a great Blue Monday! Please join me tomorrow for 2nd Time Around Tuesday!

Diane

My Mother’s Day Pot

Susan from A Southern Daydreamer is hosting Outdoor Wednesday. Please visit her for a list of bloggers participating in this weekly event.

This picture is a pot at the end of our front sidewalk that my daughter gave me for Mother’s Day. It has been planted with alyssum, Million Bells and profusion zinnias. I love the little wire trellis with the little bird perched on top. I usually plant my own pots, but it sure is nice to have one already done for you and filled in like this one!

This is the first time I’ve seen the profusion zinnias this color of yellow. I hope they do as well as the orange and pink ones I’ve had before.

Thanks for stopping by today, and hope you have a great day!

Diane

Help me name this pink plant

Beverly at How Sweet the Sound is hosting Pink Saturday. Please visit her for to see lots of pink this week and meet some wonderful bloggers!

Last year I bought several perennials at the end of the season at Lowes off the clearance rack. The plant with the pale pink blooms in this picture is one of the ones I bought. I didn’t save the tag and am not sure what it is called.

So, can any of you garden experts name this plant?

Hope you have a great day and a very happy Mother’s Day!

Thanks for coming by,

Diane

Pink Azaleas

Beverly of How Sweet the Sound is hosting Pink Saturday. Please visit her for lots of pink posts this week. Thank you Beverly for being our hostess.

This picture is one of my favorite flowers-azaleas. This past week the azaleas in our town have really put on a show! All over town they are blooming and add so much beauty to the spring! This picture was edited with Windows Live Writer using ‘Reflection.’

When we first bought the house we are living in now, we didn’t have a single azalea in the yard. Starting in 2003, each year we have bought several and planted them along the wooded area of our yard. We now have close to 50 planted. I even planted some from my mom’s house that had rooted under her large shrubs.

They have to be kept watered regularly the first year, but after that they usually do really well without much pampering. Of all the ones I’ve planted, I haven’t had a single one to die. The darker pink one is ‘Formosa’ which is the most common to our area and probably the easiest to grow.

Each year I buy one big bag of Azalea Food and fertilize them after they bloom, and so far they have not failed to disappoint the next spring with lots of beautiful blooms. And one more thing about azaleas-they are usually CHEAP! I usually buy the ones that are a couple of dollars at most at Lowe’s, Walmart or other chain stores. I do have about 4 or 5 of the Encore Azaleas, but for some reason I love the old fashion ones the best even though their blooming season is short lived.

Hope you have a great pink Saturday!

Thanks for coming by,

Diane

Outdoor Wednesday: Some Favorite Spring Blossoms

Technorati Tags: Outdoor Wednesday,Gardening

Susan at A Southern Daydreamer is hosting Outdoor Wednesday. Please visit her for lots of outdoor inspiration. Thanks so much Susan for being our hostess.

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. In the south we have lots of plants and trees that bloom only in the spring. I look forward to the show these plants put on each year. This is one of my favorites-a dogwood.

This one is a Lady Banks Rose. When we sold our other home several years ago, I had just planted this. Since we sold to a commercial developer, I dug up this plant and brought it with me. With all I had to do to unpack and organize, I didn’t put lots of thought into where the Lady Banks was planted. I planted it by the driveway, and every year I consider moving it, but don’t want to lose it!

Thanks for dropping by today. Please leave me a comment and tell me your favorite spring flower!

Diane

Cottage Garden

Today is Outdoor Wednesday! Please visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for more outdoor posts.

This picture is one of Connor in my cottage garden flower bed in Spring of 2004. I am so ready to get outside and start working in the flowers again! This bed was full of Shasta Daisies, Blue Victoria Salvia, and daylilies.

It is one of my favorite spots and is next to the sidewalk leading to the front porch.


Thanks for stopping by!

Blue Monday Wishes!

I am so ready for spring!

It's raining here today, but we had a beautiful day here Sunday...there were so many people out walking, hiking and horseback riding at a local park. My friend Beth and I walked for over an hour! I know we have lots more wintery weather in store, but the beautiful day was just a promise of things to come!

Today is Blue Monday at Smiling Sally's Blog. So, here's some pretty blue flowers to feast your eyes upon! Do any of you gardeners happen to know what these are called?Visit Sally for lots more blue posts and to meet lots of friendly bloggers!
Later today I'll post the winner of the garden tools give away on my Pink Saturday post. If you haven't commented yet, and would like your name in the drawing, please leave me a comment. Tomorrow will be Trash to Treasure, so if you have something someone else rejected that you have made work for you, create a post and link it on Trash to Treasure!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Pink Give A Way!

Beverly at How Sweet the Sound is hosting Pink Saturday. Please visit her for lots of pink inspirational posts!

Yesterday after taking my morning walk at the mall with my sister, I decided to make a quick trip to Dirt Cheap-a local salvage store. It is hard to make a 'quick' trip there....it is easy to spend half the day in there rummaging through their merchandise. Rarely do I leave empty handed and yesterday was no exception.

These garden tools were in a bin and were labeled $1.49 each. I don't know if you can tell by the picture, but they seem to be very sturdy and of good quality! They are stainless steel and have a label that states that profits go to breast cancer research.

I knew the minute I saw them that I would have to have both of them and that they would be featured in my pink Saturday post.

As I was typing this post, I just had another idea. Since there were so many available and they are so inexpensive, I would like to give away a set of these garden tools to thank those of you who visit and take the time to leave comments.

So, just leave a comment on this post, and I'll post the winner on Monday. Even if you aren't a gardener, I bet you know someone who is and would love a set of these pink tools!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Pink Saturday.

Trash to Treasure: A new use for an old treasure!

Welcome to Trash to Treasure on Tuesday. If you have something that is a treasure to you that someone else didn't want, add your name and the link to your post to Mr. Linky at the bottom. I look forward to visiting you!

Do any of you remember this Southern Living at Home basket that I bought for $4.00? I used it for most of the fall for an arrangement on my kitchen counter. You can look at that here if you want to. The basket is no longer available, but retailed for about $40.00.
I didn't go to yard sales this week since it was so cold, so for this post I 'shopped' my garage sale stash from past weeks and found this birdhouse and 2 little clay pots..........

And using my plants from the screened porch and two clay pots I already had, I put my Southern Living treasure to another use as a plant holder next to the garden tub. Now I feel like I'm really in a garden while taking a bath. This room is pretty cool, and has a large window, so the plants will get plenty of light in there.
Total spent was $5.00 and it dresses up the area around the tub. Now if I can just keep these plants alive through the winter! LOL Any hints on growing houseplants inside would be appreciated!

Thanks for stopping by and looking at this week's Trash to Treasure!

Victoria Blue Salvia

Blue Monday is hosted by Smiling Sally. Please visit her blog for lots of Blue Monday posts!

Pictured below is Victoria Blue Salvia, a new addition to my garden this year. Amazingly, it is one of the few plants in my garden that has continued to bloom throughout the fall.

According to Garden Guide.Com it is a tender perennial. I hope with enough pine straw mulch, mine will come back next year. Don't you love stuff that comes back each year?

Here's some blue (looks more purple in the picture) and red salvia at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. I need to know their gardening secrets! Maybe time and money???

Don't forget Trash to Treasure tomorrow! You can post anything that has become a treasure to you that someone else didn't want! It doesn't literally have to be from the trash!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remembering the Summer

Visions of summer dance in my head!

I really do love the fall of the year! But browsing through my posts that I keep in draft, I found these pictures that I had uploaded and didn't write about. So, while I'm away, I will share them with you today!

We will be coming back tomorrow, and I'll have lots of 'new' blogging material I think!

Here's one of the critters I photographed when I first began blogging.
This is Gara...and new perennial I planted this year. It looks great in flower arrangements. I want to add more of it next year.
Purple cone flowers are one of my favorites!
And day lilies too! I bought some new ones recently on the half price rack at Lowes!
Hope you enjoyed my tour through my summer garden...it sure doesn't look like this now!
Thanks for visiting.
Diane

Pink in the garden!

I bet you thought this post would be a flower! Not this time....here's a pink flamingo.

One of my favorite Southern gardeners is Felder Rushing. This pink flamingo pic is from his website. He has lots of flamingos in his pictures of his gardens.


Here is a garden complete with flamingos that he grows in the back of his pick up truck!
His website is Welcome to Felder Rushing,net

If you have time, his radio shows are lots of fun to listen to. They are available on the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Site. Even if you can't listen to the broadcasts, you will enjoy the pictures that go with each broadcast if you love gardening! He has some very unique garden art!

Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday. Please click on her link for more pink posts.

A Pink Regret

This picture is of my pink caladiums in the flower pots on my front porch steps LAST year. This year I didn't plant caladiums and I really regret it!

We have a Van Zyverden plant near here and they have a couple of sales each year where the public can go and buy bulbs in bulk for really good prices. They import and market bulbs from Holland and ship to all over the USA.

I can't remember why, but I didn't make it to the sale this spring. My flower pots on the porch look really bad by now, and it is a little too hot to plant pansies. The caladiums usually look good up until time for the pansies to be planted.

They will be having another sale soon...for bulbs to plant in the fall. I plan to go and buy some daffodils. I'm not going to miss any more of their sales!

Thanks Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday. Please visit Beverly for a list of other Pink Saturday participants.

Hope everyone has a wonderful pink Saturday without any regrets!

Bargains on Perennials

If you shop Lowe's, be sure to check their sale rack in the garden center. They are always putting flowers on the carts for 1/2 price or less.

It is too late for annuals, but this is a good way to build your perennial garden. You can plant them now, and keep them watered. Hopefully, they will pop up next spring and you'll be so glad you planted them. Recently I bought these...Coreopsis, a purple looking sage, and Achillea. All three are perennials that I don't already have. I'm already looking forward to next spring. Just hope I don't forget and think they are weeds. LOL

Be sure to check out Sassy Southern Mom, my daughter's blog, and look at her new thrifty project!

Have a great day...and be sure to leave a comment for the drawing..only 2 more days left!

Growing Ferns

For the first time in years I have had some really good luck with ferns. I bought 6 of these at Lowes at the beginning of the season. They were much smaller than this picture shows. I didn't take before pictures because I wasn't blogging then. That won't happen again! I think the price of the ferns was something like $8.49. They have really grown and filled out.
One thing that has been different this year is the amount of water I've given them. We have had lots of rain here this summer, and always try to put them out so they can get some rain water. I've really tried to water them at least every other day if it didn't rain, or every day whenever possible.
Also, I've put Miracle Gro plant food sticks in each of the hanging ferns. This is a great product...just stick it down in the plant and forget about it. Every time you water the plant, it gets fed!
Have you got any tips to share?
Thanks for stopping by!

Show and Tell: Rescuing plants nobody wants

One of my favorite things to do is check Lowe's for the plants that are on sale. All during the day they add plants to the markdown carts at the Lowe's in town. Throughout the years, I've gotten lots of good buys on plants that come back each year.

I checked the cart the other day, and found these coleus plants for 29 cents each! They were pretty leggy, and needed to be trimmed. I know they won't come back next year, but I just hated to see them on that sale cart baking in the hot sun with no one paying any attention to them!

Coleus is really easy to root, so after I trimmed the plants, I put the cuttings in these containers to give away or make another pot. So I ended up with 18 extra plants! And all I had to do was stick them in the potting soil, water them a little each day or so and keep them in a shady spot.

I didn't see any pots that I really liked enough to spend money on, so I picked up a can of black spray paint while in there, and dug out these old fiberglass pots from under a table in our shed.

After lightly spray painting the pots black, I gathered everything needed to plant the pot. I did splurge and buy 1 pot of purple fountain grass for height in the pot. It wasn't on sale, but worth the 4.99 it cost.

Here's a picture on the finished product! I used one pot as a base, and stacked the one with the flowers on top of it to make a pedestal type planter. It fit in nicely with other pots at the end of the walkway.

I really like the contrast of the colors and the texture in the coleus. I love the way they blend in with the purple fountain grass. At one time, I really didn't care for coleus at all...but some of the new varieties are so pretty and look great in containers. This planter will last until fall and fill out nicely in the days to come, and I rescued some plants that probably would have been thrown away! And I am now 'hooked' on a new plant!

For lots more Show and Tells visit Kelli at There is no Place Like Home. Have a great day!