Hummingbirds

We have quite the crew of hummingbirds this summer. 

They have consumed 5 pounds of sugar in their homemade nectar.

This feeder has nectar in it still. 

The hummers have been draining our four feeders rapidly because of our intense summer heat. Basically the plants, grass, and we ourselves are wilting.

Hummingbird Nectar

1 Cup white sugar

4 Cups water

Boil for two minutes then cool completely.

 It is important not to skip this step as it helps 

prevent bacterial growth in a high sugar solution.

Keep unused solution in the refrigerator.

Our hummers will fly to South America soon. 

They will return on April 1st next year.

In Olive Out news Joe is humming along too after his hip replacement. 

He is walking without a cane and now driving.

I cannot say how much blogging I will be doing in the future. 

I have gotten many things accomplished whilst disconnected

 from the web BUT I have missed all of you terribly.

I made jewelry from vintage pieces of jewelry, thrifted here and there, painted two doors, cooked up a storm, cleaned a horrible storage room, played with a fat cat, played with my dog, sent CC off to school, and cared for my sweet man.

That is merely the tip of my enormous list. 

peace and joy

Olive

Flower Garden: June

Welcome to the June garden.

Caladiums grown from bulbs and an asparagus fern liven up

 an old plastic planter I painted green.

Begonias were added to this planter of caladiums.

Petunias are my favorite annual. 

When they get "leggy" simply cut them back and they will bloom once again. 

They take our heat very well.

Bee Balm is blooming in the middle of the flower garden. 

It is invasive as are many of my perennials.

Bee Balm attracts hummingbirds and butterflies so I do not mind it's spreading.

I like my perennials cosy together.

 Wink.

The Nikko Blue Hydrangeas that I propagated desperately need to be moved to a shady spot. 

It is now too late to do that. 

I will move them in the fall.

The flower garden went from part shade to full afternoon sun 

with the loss of our 30 year dogwood tree in the ice storm. 

Gardens are about patience, change, life, and loss.

Linking@Wow Us Wednesday's

happy gardening

Olive

Odor Removal From Old Furniture

My thrifted dish cabinet smelled of a musty old house and worst of all cigarettes. 

It was stained with nicotine inside and out.

Dawn soap, white vinegar, and coffee grounds

ODOR REMOVAL FROM OLD FURNITURE

1. Clean entire surface of wood with warm water and Dawn soap. Dawn is an excellent degreaser.
2. Go over entire surface of wood with warm water and vinegar. This may need to be done multiple times.
3. Place used coffee grounds in containers inside furniture in multiple places. Change coffee grounds frequently. The grounds absorb odors.

Charcoal briquets could be used in place of coffee grounds.

A reader of this blog also suggested crumpled up newspaper inside the cabinets.

 The back wall of the piece is particle board. 

and therefore almost impossible to wipe down.

Because of this I only removed about 75% of the odor but that is still a vast improvement.

 I could replace that board and remove a lot of odor.

 On a fine solid wood antique this process would be more effective.

It is almost impossible to remove mold and mildew odors from furniture. 

I do not buy furniture that smells like mildew or that has water stains.

The English roses I am allowing to dry inside the cabinet are leaving a lovely natural rose scent.

 So dry some scented flowers inside your malodorous furniture too.

joy and peace

Olive

Amaryllis Plus

Amaryllis are now in full bloom in the flower garden. 

All the amaryllis have been forced in past Decembers. 

Then I plant them outside in the flower garden.

The bulb is planted with half of it above the topsoil.

Lynne, my friend, at Irish Garden House mailed me a bulb 

from Michigan which is now growing in the garden.

It will bloom next spring. 

I will definitely photograph the Michigan bulb when it blooms.

Oak Leaf Hydrangea and Coreopsis 

Nasturtiums, in the large planters, will be blooming soon.

 I grew them from seed. 

If you want to try growing a flower from seed nasturtiums are easy.

This part of the garden is pretty wild right now because the primroses are blooming all over the place. I like them and let them wander throughout the other plants.

I have red flowers in many planters this year. 

Red flowers reflect badly in my camera lens but I love them anyways.

What's blooming at your house?

I want to send a big thanks to Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for featuring my Porch House post yesterday on WOW. I am glad so many like the big porch in Madison.

Thanks to Pam @House of Hawthornes who emailed me about the feature whilst I was out of town antiquing in North Georgia.

happy gardening

Olive

Flower Garden Emerging

I am awfully excited about my first foxglove.        

Vinca and a vintage garden spreader.

Phlox-often seen at old home places here in the south. 

It is very slow growing.

Nasturtium I grew from seed. 

It is one of the easier flowers to grow from seed.

 I am trying to buy only petunias (annuals) this year at the nursery.

 They can take our heat. 

The geraniums in the earlier post were an unexpected bargain.

However I am easily swayed when it comes to flowers my peeps.

The perennials are emerging in the flower garden. 

Some have winter burn but will survive.

My rusty wheelbarrow is always nearby.

 That pod of grass was filled with felled pine trees from the February ice storm. 

In a few weeks the flower garden will be filled with

 blooming roses, day lilies, and other beauties.

We are thankful for rain yesterday. 

We took  items to the booths and got incredibly wet but had a good time.

If you are in the Deep South plants labeled full sun (not roses) really need

 some partial shade because our full sun is brutal.

linking@Wow Us Wednesdays

happy gardening

Olive

Sofa {Estate Sale Acquired} and Buying Tips

We saw this sofa on day one of the estate sale and Joe made an offer to the agent which she refused.  She did get my mobile number and called me later that night and said we could get the sofa the next morning for that amount. I actually got that price down a little bit more.

It may not be the neutral slip covered sofa from Pottery Barn that I had in mind but it has some great features. I like the fabric, the nailhead trim, that it has one long cushion, and has a 40 inch deep seat. It has much to recommend it.

Also every piece of linen and fabric in the estate sale house was custom made. As I can find no tag or label on this piece it may be custom. 

I do not show this den often because we use it as an exercise room {CC's exercise ball is in the background}, an office, and watch TV here. It basically stays in an uproar. I hang pictures and objects on the walls that make me happy. They may have no rhyme or reason for you.

My mini office with a non functional 1970's clock that makes me smile. I nearly sold this chunky lamp but it holds up well against this huge sofa.

A few tips for buying used sofas: 

Make sure there is no odor.

Make sure there is no pet hair.

Make sure there are no tears, stains, or worn areas.

Pick it up and look underneath it. The bottom fabric should be intact.

Check that the pillows are intact and are included in the price.

Sit on it.

 No sagging allowed.

Do no pay a lot of money for a used sofa.

Bargain nicely.

Be patient. 

What I am looking for usually turns up and I never buy new.

 To see wonderful items we did not buy at the sale click here.

Linking@Be Inspired

joy and peace

Olive