gardening

{the extent of my gardening these days}

I used to have a pretty garden. That is, before I had Malayna and then decided to start a business. These days if I have free time I'd rather go to my studio and work than go out in the garden. Well, maybe that's not entirely true. I would LOVE to go out and garden, but I wouldn't enjoy it as much if I knew there was work to be done.

When we first moved to our house in 1999, I was excited to have so much space to start a garden {or two}. There was hardly anything growing here - just a few trees and a bush or two. Jimmy and I created a few beds and I planted lots of perennials in the beds in the front of the house, since we spent a lot of time sitting on the porch. Since then, the dogwood tree we planted has grown a lot, so those sun-loving plants under it are suffering. I'll have to dig them out and find a sunny spot, though there aren't many sunny spots left {which is a good thing in the hot summer}.

{cousin Sean and Malayna}

Since Malayna has come along, we spend much of our time in the yard. We have a pool, swingset and sandbox out there for her. I also have an outdoor sink, the top of which we rescued from a remodeling project around the corner, and the bottom built by Jimmy. Next to that is my potting bench and a giant piece of slate for Malayna to use as a chalkboard. Jimmy also built a patio under the maple tree in the yard about a year after we moved in - it's perfect for cooking on the grill and eating outside. Our dream is to have a screenroom off the kitchen, so we can use it during the cooler months and also eat without worrying about bugs. {Then, of course, I would want to have my studio there to enjoy the fresh air and the garden.}

{the patio - off the mudroom}

See that blank wall to the left of the door? Wouldn't that look great with a mural or mosaic? Philadelphia has so many great murals, and after seeing a few Malayna asked if we could have one on our house. Why not? It's just paint, right? If we hated it we could always paint over it.

Every spring I wish I would've spent time in the fall planting bulbs. But fall is one of my busiest times with milkshake crafts - I'm getting ready for shows and building up my inventory. I'm much better off this year then I was last year - I already have piles of work in various stages of completion in the studio. Maybe this will be the year that I'll have time to plant those spring bulbs!

I need some help choosing plants for shade gardens. What are some of your favorite plants? Do you order them online or at your local nursery?

Have a great weekend!