{springtime sprucing & we have a winner}

Is there anything more exciting than digging around in the dirt,

in those early spring months,

when everything is so fresh and vibrant with color???

I've been spending my spare time sprucing up my container gardens

and cleaning outdoor spaces.

The fern below was beautiful, but the green plastic basket dampened it's slender.

I repotted it in a wire basket with mesh lining and it looks much better.

....and it will be healthier in it's "new home."
I noticed after I hung the fern on the shepherd's hook, that the wire stand holding the cactus was brown, and the frog was well...icky!What I thought was probably bird poop, was actually the finish flaking off.

So, I touched up the frog and painted the wire stand with black spraypaint.
...Much better, and the pieces around the tree are unified.

Notice the red shoot/blossom on the cactus. This particular cactus doesn't flower for the first time until it's third season. My uncle passed it on to me.

I feel like I am waiting for an egg to hatch, checking it so often, as to not miss it's bloom.

...still waiting! :)

The flower below, is a new one for me also, called Crimson Mandevilla Bush.

The color is a beautiful, vibrant red. The pictures do not do it justice!

The iron bench below was a birthday present years ago from my dad, who found it at an auction. I moved it from the lake, gave it a fresh coat of black paint.....
...and it now sits on my front porch.

I found the giraffe print outdoor pillows at Wal-mart, and the new "G" flag was a birthday gift from my mom.

The weather has been so nice this week. I have to resist the urge to plant too many flowers. I have a tendency to do that every spring, and then when the super hot, humid days of summer creep in, I am miserable trying to take care of them all.

Am I the only one guilty of this???

~~~

And now for the Winner of the Ronald William's Print, celebrating my

ONE Year Blog'aversary & 2ooth Post .....

.....Julie, from Orchard Street Cottage.

Congratulations Julie!!! :)