As a teacher with summers off, I usually had the time to create a lovely summer garden.
But, as a teacher and volleyball coach, my garden received little attention after school began in late August.
The garden is one of the projects I was most looking forward to in retirement.
The perfect summer garden did not occur this year because of this little girl.
Daily, Lulu stages her version of The Tasmanian Devil in the garden.
This past week I had time work in the garden cleaning up messes Lulu had created in the flowers, removing unhealthy plants and weeding.
The back fence has some flowers in bloom and I was able to plant begonias under a tree despite Lulu stealing them when I wasn't looking.
Yellow seems to be the predominant floral shade in the October garden.
A few red hibiscus flowers remain and the impatiens are returning after Lulu's trampling the day she arrived.
Three different chrysanthemum plants are full of buds that are slowly realizing that it is autumn and they should make their appearance.
It was gorgeous yesterday so we savored our time outdoors.
I brought out a sweet little placemat I found at a local shop - can't wait to go back and rummage through the trunk full of linens she has on display.
A little bud vase I found at CB2 last week is filled with a few flowers I could gather from the garden.
Today the winds are strong and it is nearly 90 degrees so we escaped north to Summerland where there was no wind.
No gardening today . . . no projects . . . no baking the peanut butter cookies I had planned.
We are hiding out in the bedroom where it is cool.
. . . . . . . . . .
I am joining the following parties
Creative Home Expressions - Creative Home and Garden Hop
Twigg Studios - Sunday Showoff Party
Funky Junk Interiors - Party Junk
Creative Home Expressions - Creative Home and Garden Hop
Twigg Studios - Sunday Showoff Party
Funky Junk Interiors - Party Junk
Be Different Act Normal - Show and Tell Saturday
Serenity Now - Weekend Bloggy Reading
Little Red House - Mosaic Monday
Hello sweet friend! I see Miz Lulu is keeping you on your TOES! That is her job, you know.
ReplyDeleteWe had record high heat as well last week, with this week being a little cooler, but I still can't wear sweaters yet. But tonight it's damp, cozy and I'm going to relax after I plan a debate activity for my seniors, in French! THis is going to be fun....have a soothing evening, Anita
Pretty fall flowers! It took a long time to train our dog to stay out of the flowers. I feel for you!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Pam
We had a low of 32* last night ~ wanna trade houses???
ReplyDelete;)))
no kidding - we are hiding too. the humidity has returned & it is best to hide from the sun. we had so hoped to get out kayaking ... but the temps have other plans. next weekend i guess. gorgeous blooms. ( :
ReplyDeleteTurned cold here. Probably be 100 next week though. That's life in OK. Lulu will wrap her paws around your heart before you know it. Trampled flowers or no. I'd just start container gardening and not worry. Life's too short to worry.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Hi Carol,
ReplyDeleteIt is 80 and humid and raining today and only 60 tomorrow. Crazy!!!! Love the picture of LuLu in the garden. Little cutie. It is like having a 2 year old again!!!! Gotta watch them every minute. By the way I don't think I told you but I love your new header. It is gorgeous.
Kris
Hi Carol,
ReplyDeleteThat Lulu is the cutest thing ever! Your flowers still look pretty good despite Lulu's romping thru them!
Judy
Carol, it hit about 50 here today, and will be in the 20's tonight! Sometimes I think we live on different planets : )
ReplyDeleteGood thing Lulu is so darn cute! Hopefully she'll leave your autumn flowers alone. It's COLD here. Our heating system has been turned on to warm up our 59 degree house!
ReplyDeleteLove your beautiful flowers and all the clever things you have in the yard, like the doggie and shovel and the patio table and chairs out there makes a perfect rest spot...love your blog design as well and it makes for an easy fun read...Phyllis, come on over for a visit....
ReplyDeleteLove seeing all your flowers and the table runner and bud vases is perfect. I can't believe it's 90 there.
ReplyDeleteHey Now!!! LULU wants to be involved too...LOL
ReplyDeleteIts all gorgeous and your hard work pays off.
Don't know what to tell you about LULU.
XXOO Marie Antoinette
Lulu just wants to learn from the best. Your garden is so happy!
ReplyDeleteI love those 4 vases with flowers. So pretty!!
ReplyDeleteCarol for not having much time to work on your garden I'd say it looks pretty fabulous. Love those pops of yellow and I had to crack up at the photo of Baby Lulu. She does look like a little stinker hahaha.
ReplyDeleteSuch a pretty post & Lulu is really growing into a gorgeous girl (not that she wasn't already!)
ReplyDeleteBarbara
www.marchhousebooks.com/
Carol, your October garden is looking very pretty, love all that yellow! What a sweet display of petals in your array of vases! Enjoy your swims and the sunshine!
ReplyDeletePoppy
Your garden is still looking pretty, my two little ones are ripping up my garden also.
ReplyDeleteLulu is adorable, but I relate to the lifestyle change a dog creates. My 100 pounder delights in digging! Many perennials are no longer smiling!!
ReplyDeleteYour garden is just lovely! I can laugh at your Lulu's antics now, but we had a dog once that did the same type of thing. She used to come along behind me and dig up what I had just planted.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up to The Creative Home & Garden hop. : )
You have alot of pretties going on in your garden right now including Lulu. Most of my flowers are in the front part of the house and the dogs are in the fenced in back yard....lots of bushes there but not TOO much to trample. Well of course as I add raised beds back there each year what do they want to do ? Go in them and trample stuff! :)
ReplyDeleteThat little placement is such lovely work / if it is handmade there's some serious talent there! :)
Love your October garden-those little vases of flowers are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteSusan
Everything looks so pretty! I adore your stone patio. We had a dry day yesterday so I was able to spend some quality time in the garden, too, mostly cutting down sunburned ferns. I have a large fishpond and something went haywire in the waterfall so it is pumping the water out of the pond instead of in to it. Trying to figure out where it is channeling is quite a challenge. My poor fishies are traumatized by adding so much new water at once so now I have to leave it turned off for a while.
ReplyDeleteLittle Lulu is just so cute! I love your linens and little flower vase filled with pretty flowers. I am writing about you again. Hope you don't mind my showing more of the C journal I made for you. :) Have a happy Sunday!
ReplyDeleteCarol, I love your garden yellows! Lulu may be a little devil, but she sure is a cute one. We got a frost the other night so I am going to start my final garden clean up on Monday. Pulling out the last of the annuals and cutting back what little remains. I will go buy Pansies and plant them for some pretty Spring color.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
Lulu is adorable. I didn't do the gardening planned today either because the hunting season has begun here and I could hear shots really close to the house (one of the few not funny side of living in the countryside) and I was scared! I love the yellow in your garden.
ReplyDeleteHaving a dog in the garden can certainly be a challenge. What you think of as Tasmanian Devil, we've always called psycho dog. When I brought a male dog home I forgot all about him lifting his leg on plants and he has killed a few.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is lovely. And Lulu is a cutie! Our October weather has been like summer lately, todays temp were in the *0's.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your week ahead!
Your garden looks good and your puppy is cute even if he is a rascal.
ReplyDeleteYour gardens are always so beautiful and seem to flourish in spite of Lulu!
ReplyDeleteMary Alice
Lulu is so cute that I am sure that she can be forgiven anything. You have a beautiful garden.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Lulu was a challenge this year.Never mind, next yer should be much better. ;)
ReplyDeleteLovely photos and very nice site I've enjoyed browsing through your posts!
ReplyDeleteYour little Lulu is a cutie. Love your garden. Is Lulu a puppy? You always have next year. Love the windows on your home. That shade of blue looks beautiful. Nice garden in spite of Lulu's antics.
ReplyDeleteSo colourful and beautiful! and it's a good thing we love our pets cause they're such a nuisance some times!!!!!!!!!!!!!! although I have to say that my cats have caused way more damage than any of the dogs ever did...
ReplyDeletexoxox
Lulu looks so cute there in the garden....like she's playing hide and seek...:) Love the beautiful bud vase you bought and the flowers make it even more beautiful. That place mat is fantastic....what fun you will have going through all the linens! Try to stay cool...it's hot here too. I am so ready for some cooler weather. Have a blessed week....Vicky
ReplyDeleteLife On Willie Mae Lane
You have such lovely flowers. It's nice to be able to enjoy them year round. It was warm here today, too and I stayed home for a change! Enjoy your week!
ReplyDeleteYour blooms are rocking friend!!! Oh my! Oh my! Let's talk about those yellows! What is the flower above the yellow rose??? Coneflower??? Your garden is gorgeous and I love that tree stump with the simplify on it!!! I plan on using the stumps that I got from my dad to use as plant holders in my garden beds. You have so much color!!!! And that sweet LuLu...I know you say she is a busy girl but she looks so innocent in that shot! HA! Happy week to you!!!
ReplyDeleteCarol...your October garden is so pretty!! Trade you all the rain and flooding we are having for your beautiful weather. Lulu is so adorable and if she is anything like my 2 doggies...she is also a handful!!
ReplyDeletehugs,
Cindy
I think the yellows in your garden are beautiful!! And I think your bud vases are so cute. I think all animals are tough on gardens. I won't even tell you what my cats have been up to in my garden!!
ReplyDeleteYou will never be bored, never lack for things to do with that little rascal in the garden! Everything looks beautiful, so your work paid off!
ReplyDeleteMiss Lulu is delightful - is she a Labradoodle? A friend of mine has a chocolate one that looks similar and I love her too.
ReplyDeleteLife will never be the same for you - she is great company I'm sure.
She thinks you have created the garden just for her!
I love your appliqued place mat - gorgeous colours.
have a happy fun filled week
hugs
Shane
Hi Carol , I'm very busy to learn and practice to think different .
ReplyDeleteI think I am a very positive person . But in the past years when my health took a whole other direction than I expected and things got worse I was only thinking THAT was how my life would be .
And when I was reading blogs of blogfriends where all seemed to be going well
the only thing I could think of was
how I did not have that anymore .
For a long time I have been thinking I had to deal with how it was .
But finally a change came ........
and now I am learning to see the future and imagen how I hope it will be .....
Two operations are needed and that scares me so much but
I want so much to get better I will do ANYTHING by now.
So I now enjoy the blogs and think WELL I WANT THAT TOO next summer !
I love reading your blog and looking in your garden
Thank you for sharing !
Happy new week , Francis
Carol, I think your garden is quite lovely... I had a beautiful garden when we lived in the Midwest but here we rent and I am reluctant to plant much. Our landlord is a sweet lady and did redo our front beds this summer but, I think next summer I will just bite the bullet and do something in the back around the patio area. I love plants and miss them so. Also, back in the heat I have to relearn what will survive these summer temps... it is challenging - my container gardens did not fair well this year so back to the drawing board. Cathy
ReplyDeleteYour garden has some very pretty spots despite Lulu's efforts to the contrary. Such pretty yellows. Happy Autumn days to you.
ReplyDeleteLovely picture of Lulu in amongst the plants, your garden looks lovely despite her assistance!
ReplyDeleteSarah x
I enjoy hearing about Lulu; your garden helper. It is always so refreshing to come visit you and today it was especially nice seeing your colorful garden. We did have 80 degrees 2 days ago, but now it is much cooler.
ReplyDeleteYour autumn garden is looking beautiful. It's much cooler here, of course, with the leaves changing colour.
ReplyDeleteYour gardens are beautiful and looks like they are surviving just fine even after being trampled by Lulu! Love the placemat...do you think there's another one so that you can have a pair?
ReplyDeleteYour gardens are beautiful! Lulu sounds like a handful but she's so adorable. That's how Corey is - he likes to dig but he so cute you can stay mad. Such a cute photo of her in the garden!
ReplyDeleteMy dog keeps digging up the lawn, but when I talk to him about it, he never seems to understand. II can never be cross with my little bundle of fluff though !
ReplyDeleteIt's always a delight to see your gorgeous garden, hanging out in the bedroom sounds like fun !
It feels like fall here.Love your beautiful garden...it truly inspires me...
ReplyDeletexx
Anne
Love the yellow and the idea of a fall garden !
ReplyDeleteYour garden is lovely, and Lulu is the prettiest of flowers (and she's so worth it). We are in full Autiumn mode here in NY. Can't believe you have such warm temps still!
ReplyDelete