Deck and Patio

It has been a quest of sorts to find a table top for 

the curvy metal table base you see here.

 I was about to give up when I found a piece of sealed granite in a

 junk shop for a ridiculously low price.

 It weighs almost 80 pounds.

 Joe told me never to find a larger piece.

If an item is big and heavy I want it.

We routinely eat on the deck and bird watch. 

The hummingbirds arrived early this year. 

The hummers ignore us while flying from feeder to feeder.

The patio area will have flowers blooming around it shortly. 

The roses and amaryllis are budding.

I basically rely on perennials but do use a good many petunias in planters. 

They are not terribly thirsty and take this awful Deep South heat.

I have sweet mint (above), chocolate mint, rosemary, thyme, and basil 

growing on or near the deck. 

The rosemary and thyme are winter hardy here.

My first foxglove is blooming but I will share that beauty later.

linking@Wow Us Wednesday

joy and peace

Olive

Suitcase & Succulents

Hello friends.

 I've been cleaning this vintage turquoise suitcase here on the deck this past week. 

I really like the handle on this one. 

The other distraction I had this week was three doctors appointments. 

Good heavens that was enough.

While we are on the deck you might enjoy some succulents.

 I leave them out all winter.

Ghost plant and antlers in a funeral basket. 

What's better than that?

I cannot think of the name of this plant but the old handmade stump

 it's on came from an estate sale and has lovely patina.

Edit: The plant is dischidia formosana. 

An astute reader looked it up for me.

I went picking with a friend yesterday and we had the best time.

 I bought a barn door. 

That's a first.

joy and peace

Olive

Two Weekend Surprises

I got the best phone call on Friday, Bob, from Ridge Antiques called 

and said that a blogger friend had been shopping our booth and had insisted he call me.

 He said "It was Diane from Lavender Dreams." Yay.

Now Bob does not read blogs and likely thinks they are not real so for Diane to arrive and stand there and tell him to call me is about eight kinds of cool. Diane is the sweetest to stop into our booth and shop on her way to the mountains. Please visit her fun and energetic blog here.

Thanks bunches Diane and maybe one day we can go shopping together.

The second surprising blog related event that happened this weekend

 was I ran into an old friend "D" at church this morning. 

She's an R.N. {like me} who is now enjoying retirement. 

And she reads Olive Out.

She said she now had time to surf the net and had just came across Olive Out one day and had been reading it for a while. At first she did not realize I was the author of the blog. She said she loved the content and for me to keep writing and taking pictures. I remember when her child was small and she remembers CC when she was tiny. It was a big encouragement for me to see her. 

You just never know who is reading your blog.

I am thankful for these two wonderful friends that blessed me and encouraged me this weekend.

I am also thankful for those of you who are continually faithful to comment here even when I am not so faithful to post on any kind of regular schedule.

Come back on Tuesday when I am posting about one of Joe's best finds ever.

 It's five feet tall, weathered, and copper.

~all of these images are from my front yard~

joy and peace

Olive

Favorite Garden Photos 2012

Bee In Flight

Succulents and Sedums

Black Eyed Susan With Wee Spider

I am still learning my new camera and do better with outside shots by far.

 Inside shots exasperate me still.

joy and peace

Olive

Botanical Botanical

The Botanical Gardens at Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina. 

CC and I spent the day there yesterday enjoying the beauty of the gardens on the banks of the Saluda River. Do forgive me I tried to lessen the number of images. 

I took 101.

I will cover some of the tropical plants at another time.

Joe, CC, Shelley Puppy and I are taking off again this weekend to take CC back to her university. 

joy and peace

Olive

Co-mingle Sedums and Succulents

 Succulents and sedums on the stairs of our front stoop.

They are incredibly easy to grow. 

Once you have them established start moving them around and blend them in pots together.
Or plant them together all at once. I like to get to know mine individually first.

These stay out here all year because of our mild winters. 

Nor do they require a lot of watering. 

A definite plus in the terrible summer heat.

Creeping Jenny (not a sedum or a succulent) with a child's toy we found in the soil.

Cut Creeping Jenny back in fall and it comes back just fine in spring.

This dark sedum is called "Voodoo."

The gray succulents (I cannot recall their name) are bloomimg now. 

See the bloom on left in the above collage.

If you did not catch my Succulent Spheres post please check it out here.
They are beautiful and I do wish I could take credit for them.

I have more succulents and sedums co-mingled in the flower garden and on the side of the house.

 I attempted to grow a succulent wreath on the front door and our birds kept picking at it. 

I declared it a failure. 

It happens.

Do you grow succulents and sedums?


Linking@Wow Us Wednesday's

happy gardening

Olive

Succulent Spheres

So we went to the zoo.  

And.

I took photos of the flowers. 

Not the animals. 

Color me weird if you like. 

You can definitely color me sun burned. 

Especially the sclera of my eyes. 

My sunglasses broke immediately upon our entry into the zoo.

I loved the succulent spheres. 

They must weigh a lot. 

The zoo also had hanging baskets with full size hydrangeas in them. 

They are not playing.

 

Not a funky sphere but a sweet bird feeder topped with succulents.

 The Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia S.C. has a botanical gardens but these succulents were in the zoo itself. We did not make it to the botanical gardens because of the heat.

Joe ,the MINI WEE'S, and I are laying low today.

 We wish you a relaxing and fun holiday if you are in the USA. 

For my Canadian and U.K. friends we wish you a relaxing and fun day too.

I party on the internet at Open House Party.
&
Wow Us Wednesday's

joy and peace

Olive