I look forward to THIS weekend all year! I think about it in the cold and dreary winter months... and as the time approaches the excitement builds!
This is the weekend Bobby and I go flower shopping! We peruse our local greenhouses. I want to hit every Amish greenhouses dotting the countryside! Bobby is really there to lift and carry... and watch me as I dance down the isles filled with all sorts of plants, lost in a floral frenzy...
I LOVE deciding what I will plant in all of the porch planters at StoneGable.
I even have themes for each year's designs... A SALUTE TO OUR MILITARY ~red, white and blue, the year our son enlisted... BRIDAL BLUSH~ soft blushy pinks and frilly whites, the year our daughter got married, CACOPHONY~ a profusion of whatever I felt like planting that year.
Cacophony 2009
I called last year SHADOWS AND LIGHT~ a mix of purples and whites.
Here is a glimpse of just a couple of pots planted last year.
Last evening I (well, Bobby and son Christopher) filled the back of my car with some of this years flowers.
I was out in my pj's early this morning taking these pictures of the back of my car. Can you see the direction I am going this year?
Last year's mix of purples, whites and greens worked so well with my front porch. I think I will do something similar this year... just with more white.
This years theme is...
WHITE BLISS
Now I am off to find more frilly white flowers! I hope those Amish buggies don't slow me down!!!!
Okay, so how much does the local Symphony Auxillary raise each year from the tour of your floral delights? So beautiful! You encourage me to think beyond red geraniums...maybe pink, next year. LOL. Thanks for inviting us for a peak. Cherry Kay
ReplyDeleteI am planning a color change this year too. I haven't had one in awhile. Thank you for some great inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with whites, pinks & purples this year - hope it looks good! Your blooms are gorgeous too, just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, Yvonne! I love so many of the plants you've used in past years. I've got a mental list in my head, too, since I feel like I've been waiting so long. I'm caving in though and probably going sometime this week to get started.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this too!! We just have a few places we visit regularly. It has been chilly the past few days but the warm up must be coming.
ReplyDeleteHope you'll pop by and enter my give away of a 12 ounce Fresh Baked Apple Pie candle.
All of your friends are welcome too.
Beautiful. I love your porch and the planters overflowing with gorgeous flowers. I have planted so many flowers this year. It makes me so happy to drive up our driveway to our farmhouse and see flowers from every direction. I love blossoms...
ReplyDeletebeautiful post.
blessings,
Debbie
So p retty! I love your container gardens!
ReplyDeleteHope you found lots of pretties today!
Beautiful! I love the flowers and your planters are amazing. Love that you do a theme! Can't wait to see it all done.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers last year were just stunning and I hope you have a fun trip flower picking today with your hubby.
ReplyDeleteGretchen
I am hoping to go on Monday and get my flowers for the porch, decks and window boxes! I am late this year but theweather hasn't cooperated this past week so it's fine. I love the selections you choose for each pot. I am limitd to impatiens but this year may try something new out back! I also have some nEW black and white cushions to show off, soon!!!!! Hope the buggies aren't slowing you down:) Do you go to Ken's? Where else????? XO, Pinky
ReplyDeleteYvonne I love the way you name your direction. I always have a direction too, but have never named it such clever, poetic names. I love your enthusiasm. I am just like you when I go to nurseries. I feel like a kid in the candy store. I use a lot of white and textural type plants in my yard and love the backdrop it gives for color pops if I choose to add them. Can't' wait to see what you accomplish this year, Enjoy the process,
ReplyDeletexo Kathysue
Yvonne-That is going to be just stunning when all is said and done. Last year your display was wonderful, too! I LOVE it. I have a hard time not overspending when I visit any type of store that sells plants. We are doing pinks and whites this year~ xo Diana
ReplyDeleteLove your color combination, maybe I'll try that this year! I was looking for something different, your porch from last year is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYvonne your planters look AMAZING!! Love your flower combinations and love how they cascade over the pots! Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I love the colors... blue and green, and white, and red... Fantastic!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous flowers Yvonne, this truly is an exciting time of year! Believe it or not I woke to frost this morning. Have a great weekend:@)
ReplyDeleteYou have a wonderful way of making your pots overflow with blooms! I love how you have themes! I pretty much do a color scheme and this year I think I am doing blue, pink and white. Isn't it exciting?! :)
ReplyDeleteXO,
Jane
Hi Yvonne Dear, I'm so glad that I'm coming home May 1st. I can't wait to fill my pots with PA's lovely flowers. Maybe you will help me get a "theme" too. Your's are always so beautiful. Spring and PA is truly where my heart is. Love, Mother
ReplyDeleteHurry home, Mom! I love you!
DeleteI am in my planning stages and cannot wait until it is time to plant ~ I have to wait a bit in my part of the country though! I love a mix of reds and whites in the front ~ "oh Canada" and then mix it up out back with an explosion of different colors. Your containers are gorgeous ~ you must post your secrets! Happy week-end.
ReplyDeleteI usually have a plan too. I think it's so fun to see it all come together. This year I'm going with white and lime green. Sweet potato vine and a variety of white flowers. It's almost May so it's time to think about it! Looking forward to seeing your pots. Happy Sunday ~ Ann
ReplyDeleteOh, so lovely. We usually plant in May but since we are in such a drought on water rationing, I'll not plant very many. Some container gardening will have to be the thing this year. :)
ReplyDeletexo bj
Your photos are all so inspirational. I just stared at the porch picture. I want a sunset and a glass of iced tea to go with it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the inspiration and happy planting!
blessings,
karianne
Do be careful! Those Amish buggies seem to make thing dangerous on the roads, with everyone pulling out to pass them. At least you won't be coming up on them at night. But they are great resources for plant material. My planting is DONE! I am having my garden club here this week, so I'm planted, weeded, edged, mulched, fertilized, and watered! Feels great. Nothing like a party to get your act together. Now....I need to wash the windows.
ReplyDeleteLinda @ A Toile Tale
This is my favorite time of the year, too. I can't wait to get out this week and start picking things out :)
ReplyDeleteYvonne,
ReplyDeleteDo you have any tips on planting pots? Your planter on the porch looks wonderful and I wondered how many
plants it takes to create that look. How about feeding and how often. Wonderful blog!! Mary Ann
So gorgeous...I love your front porch...I can see you rocking in those chairs after a day of work, sipping on your ice tea...beautiful Yvonne!!...Your plantings are gorgeous...wonderful containers...and I love the colors....Bliss?...oh yes, bliss!!
ReplyDeleteI also assign themes to my flower choices each yr! When our country went to war, first Gulf War, my son in law enlisted and we planted a Victory Garden of red, white & blue roses. When he came home to marry our daughter we planted pink and white! Here in tropical So. Fl our season for annual flowers is from late (really late) Oct to mid May. Like you, I am so excited come the final wks of Oct waiting for hurricane season to end! One year a storm threatened so I, on my mother in law's advice, I ran to the garden center & bought tons of flowers that lived in my garage through the storm. A really devasting one that took out so many trees our street was closed from the debris...so when I pulled out the flowers & started planting all the neighbors were so happy, it was a sign of hope and renewal. (even birdsong stops for a week or more after a storm and the only sounds are generators and professional tree removal equipment. It is sad & eerie)
ReplyDeleteRight now my petunias & impatience are in purples and whites like yours & huge... love your post, wish I could visit some Amish nurseries...
White Bliss. In love with this theme, Yvonne. I have 2 large iron urns beside my front door and I love changing them, nurturing them, looking at them. The only thing I need to do is photograph them. Your home is beautiful and you are so lucky to have family to help you (when you need it). xx's
ReplyDeleteI am looking for new idea to decorate my home front porch, and got new color and flowers ideas here. Front porch is first thing which any one see, so it must look good.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful plants, Yvonne. I love that you have a theme each year. They are lucky little growers to be residing at your home! Of course, they will flourish beautifully. I am heading over to a nursery today to start perusing! Have a wonderful week. xo
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be spectacular! I loved last years flowers, by the way! I can not wait to see what you do with these this year.
ReplyDeleteI am off to flower shop today too!
xo-Lisa
I love the themes of your plantings. I can't say I plan mine ahead of time. I go and see what is out there and then get inspired. I loved your colors last year and can well see why you'll be doing something similar.
ReplyDelete- The Tablescaper
Excellent blog and I love your ideas about planting!
ReplyDeleteOh so beautiful! What are the plants in your wrought iron corner planter last year (the purple 'thriller' & the green 'spiller'?)
ReplyDeleteSharon
Wow love it, só beautiful! Love the colors! And love to visit your blog!
ReplyDelete- Dani's Napkins Ring
Your last line made me laugh! I can see you hightailing it down one of the narrow country roads franticly trying to get around one of the amish buggies that's blocking your way! :-) LOL !!
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing with my flowers. I get a color in my head and work with it. I tend to love the lavenders and pinks and white makes a perfect accent with them. One year I mixed white Alyssum with white Bacopa (Cordata) around the edge of a rose topiary, and it was amzing! When the Bacopa wasn't heavy with flowers the white alyssum kept it going. They got lost in each other and it was a great look! I need to do it again!
I'm getting my garden and planters ready! We still have a ways to go before the frosts stop here. I post about my garden on another blog of mine.
Enjoy- It's a wonderful time of the year!!
White flowers are my absolute favorites! I bet yours will be beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOooooooo....*pretty* :D Your entire blog is *pretty* :D Thanks for stopping by my blog. I am your newest follower.
ReplyDeletexo,
Ricki Jill
Everything is just beautiful!
ReplyDelete