I LOVE Long Weekends!

 How did you kick off the unofficial start of SUMMER?

We spent the entire weekend in our backyard finishing up the last details so that we can look forward a long lazy summer enjoying it with friends and family.

 

We were able to plant all the boxwood balls and put our new boxwood obelisk and spiral trees in their pots.

We intend on adding more white roses around the boxwood obelisk.
 

We tried to plant the hydrangeas around the tree but its forbidding roots put and end to that goal.

We must wait for our gardener Luis to come with his sharp shovel and hack them out to accommodate them.

 
We fashioned 3 thresholds from wood we found at the salvage yard, gluing them and nailing them onto some sturdy plywood.  We painted them Paris Gray.



We are not quite finished as we need to paint the edges and bury them in the gravel, but we really like they way they turned out.

What I really love is how you don't see them from inside the house until you get right up to the door which plays beautifully to the concept of "the vanishing threshold."

Plus they feel great as a transition from inside to out.

 We have been wondering how to address the chimney area with its green Chinoiserie mirror that reflects the rose garden.



 A few weekends ago while looking for supplies at our favorite salvage yard, I came upon not 1 but 5 of these lanterns!

I knew immediately that they would be the perfect  replacement for the existing Craftsman fixtures that we've had there forever.

As soon as I got them home I cleaned them up and removed the cheap plastic yellow panels taking one to use as a template to the glass shop.

We hung one up above the mirror to see how it looked as we are getting our house painted in the next few weeks. I really think that alone is going to make the biggest difference!

I was giddy!  I've been looking at lanterns for months now, at all different price points and had yet to see one fit our aesthetic so perfectly.



I love its whimsy and how it mimics what is on the mirror.

And the best part is that I got all 5 for $20!

We were going back and forth about what to feature under the mirror when we remembered that we had this pair of great antique wrought iron bench ends.  We stood them up to create this makeshift vignette.

They have been in storage for several years.  
I am excited about the prospect of being able to give them new life.

I'm considering lacquering the new wood slats black to glam it up a bit and then adding some chic accent pillows similar to these striped ones.

It will be perfect to pull up to the "tented room" when there are lots of guests.

On Monday morning we set up our black and white tent, or pavilion as I like to call it.

I think it really makes the space. 

With the now larger graveled surface we were able to set it back further, to just in front of the bender board, which makes a huge difference in our small yard.

We set about rearranging our main seating area inside the tent hanging this fabulous chandelier we got from Trinidad of Atelier de Campagne several years ago.

I was smitten with the oyster shell detail that Johan had added.  Looking back that is probably what started me on my love of gluing oyster shells onto lamps and mirrors!

We made a quick run to Beverley's looking for something other than links to hang it from and decided on this thick batting type material used for welting.  The lady looked at us like we were crazy, but I told her that we were just thinking outside the box!

We sort of like it, what do you think?

 
I'm loving how the chandelier and coffee table relate to each other.

I picked up some awesome long rectangular crystals a few years ago intending to add them to the top of the chandy but I can't find them right now but I'll keep looking.

 
It's feeling very cozy in here!!

Back around the side yard we added some larger boxwood balls in galvanized pots from IKEA in between the benches and put an umbrella inside our galvanized structure which hides our garbage cans and gardening essentials.

 We rounded out the endless tasks by adding fresh bark to the front beds where the hydrangeas are in full bloom!

After adding more drip and low voltage lighting to the back we want to mulch it with cocoa hulls.  We did it many years ago and loved the rich dark look and the heavenly smell. Fortunately we don't have any pets to worry about.  Have you ever mulched with cocoa hulls?
 

Thanks for indulging me on this garden odyssey.
I am still pinching myself as it seemingly happened overnight.  After living here for close to 30 years we never had a garden that we could be proud of and wanted to spend so much time in!

We are excited to christen it with lots of good memories and tasty tomatoes this summer!