The garden today and recent wins...

I took the camera out in the garden today to snap some of

the things that are still blooming.

This beautiful pink rose is 'Bonica' it will bloom

all the way through October here.

This rose is 'Marie Victorin'. I love that it has a

little hint of yellow in it's bloom.



This wonderfully fragrant rose is 'Moxie'.



This is my 'Pink Diamond' hydrangea. It's starting to change

it's lovely fall color.

I don't know why this 'David' phlox is so late to

bloom, but I'm glad that it is.

These are the blooms on the 'Southern Belle' hibiscus.

They are huge!

Pink petunias on the porch.

The sweet peas are blooming their little hearts out still.

I bring in big bouquets of them, and they

make the house smell heavenly.

They are everywhere in the garden, but we are going

to get a hard frost this week, so I must

say goodbye to the pretty things.

Now for my wins!

I won an awesome giveaway over at French Larkspur.

Tracey gave away a $50 gift card to Starbucks

and the newest issue, in English, no less, of

the beautiful Jeanne d'Arc magazine.

This package came wrapped so beautifully. You know the kind

that you hate to open, because it is just too lovely.

Of course I opened it. I was so anxious to get a look at my first

Jeanne d'Arc, that I couldn't help myself.

What an amazing issue this is. Just full

of so much beauty.

Tracey's beautiful shop French Larkspur is stocked with

beautiful Jeanne d'Arc products.

I'm very excited to get to Starbucks and start

gaining those extra pounds that I know

I will by the time I'm done with this gift card.

I also won a wonderful giveaway from the girls at Tales from an O C Cottage.

What a haul I made off with there. The box that arrived

was filled to the brim with the most beautiful things.

I had so much fun unwrapping every package.

Look at that darling card with the bluebirds on it! Notice the

same little birdie salt and pepper shakers I got.

Love them!

It's been so cool to win such great giveaways!

Thanks girls!

I went junkin'...finally!

I wanted to show some of my finds from the past couple of

weekends. I was able to go to some yard sales finally

and these were some of my finds.

I really love old garden junk. I liked the patina on these

old sprinkler nozzles.

I loved how they looked with the lace runner and bling

I found. The nozzles will end up outside somewhere

in the garden, and the bling in the studio for now.

An old chippy bookcase.
Where in the heck it will go, I have no
idea.



More garden junk

These old rakes were my favorite find.

Can you believe how cool this blue one is?

I got this great floral handbag for $1.00.

I loved the colors in it.

You can't tell from the photo, but it is

nubby linen cloth.

Here it is hanging in the studio. I will be filling it with

sewing supplies. It's not near big enough for

me to use everyday. You should see the big ole' thing

I lug around to hold all my necessities...(crap)

If you would like to see what some other girls found 'junkin' stop over at
Cottage Charm and Family Inspirations

for their 'Junkin' Monday'.

The September garden...

I took these photos a couple of days before Labor Day and this is what the garden looked like then. Now a week later the white phlox are almost finished blooming and the coneflowers are losing their color. Many roses are still blooming beautifully and my beloved sweet peas are going strong. The hydrangeas are at their peak and with the cooler night temperatures will soon start to turn a lovely pinkish hue. They will soon be ready to cut for dried arrangements in the house to cheer me through the long winter. The garden has brought me so much joy this summer. I can't think of too many things that bring me more pleasure than gardening. There is much to do in the garden in the fall to get it ready for the winter months. It is always a sad time for me, but a necessary one for the garden.

I am truly loving all the vegetables this year. The corn is gone now, but the tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers are still feeding us. I should be a pale shade of red because of all the tomatoes I have eaten this past week. I wonder if a person can overdose on tomatoes?

I hope that you are all spending these last Summer days doing the things that bring you joy!