The Apple Street Cottage

Welcome back!  We've been very busy with lots of little projects around the cottage, but one big one - that is still in progress, is some landscaping.  It all started along the fence, where I could see evidence of a garden long ago.  There was some concrete edging, but no plants whatsoever, just weeds.  So I got to work: Not bad when you consider this whole section looked like this when I started: There were lots of weeds, rocks, a few patio blocks, junk, and a few treasures from a child: I just love how old places leave things behind and tell you a story! While I was busy tearing out weeds and uncovering treasures, I noticed that the patio blocks at the bottom of the porch steps extended further than originally thought, so I got out my weed-killing spray to make uncovering them a bit easier.  Notice the brown grass: Yes, instead of about 6 feet of patio block, we had about 12! The section from the porch railing, all the way to the right,...

Even though it's October and the mums are all in bloom, my morning glories are still going strong.   What you don't know is that these beautiful flowers are camouflage for the gas meter.  Last winter, our gas meters were upgraded and place on the outside of our houses. The only place for ours was on the front corner.  Not my idea of the ideal spot, but, it had to be done. This is called, "getting creative".  I didn't want to look at it and the hydrangea I had planted was still very small, so this was my solution.  A small trellis and several morning glory vines certainly did the trick! Would you ever guess what's hiding behind this plant? In a few years, the hydrangea will be large enough to do the job, but in the meantime, I'm pretty pleased with this solution!   Have you ever had to hide anything outdoors with plants?  If so, please share, I'd love to hear how you solved your problem area. I hope you're enjoying your Colum...

Just in case you thought this was a blog that would only share the clean and pretty projects - let me clarify.  Rescuing an older home involves a lot of DIRT - and I am not afraid to share! Presenting..........the fence: Ewwww! The cottage came with a vinyl picket fence that stretched across the back yard.  It's a nice fence, but it was incredibly dirty!  As you can see, it was covered in mold, mildew, and a few lichen. Initially, I had no idea how to clean it and I certainly didn't cherish the thought of scrubbing every square inch of a fence that stretched about 60 feet.   Then it hit me......bleach! It's used to kill mold all the time!  I grabbed the bottle of bleach and a spray bottle, added bleach and warm water in a 1:5 ratio, and sprayed one section of the fence. The grime melted away!  I sprayed the next section and then went back to look at the first one.  Since my husband had already turned off the outside faucets for winte...

Let me just start with ... Everybody heard it!   It was time to remove a couple of trees at the cottage. Take a look at that giant on the left.  That, my friends, is a Linden tree.  Now, you're probably saying, "What a beautiful tree!  All that shade ... homes for birds, etc..."  The truth?  It's a menace!!  It drops little seed clusters constantly and then there's the sap.  EVERYTHING under this tree is sticky.  (Notice the proximity to the driveway?  Can we talk about the car that gets parked under the tree?) The sap also attracts flies, bees, and ants.  It had to go! We also had another tree on the hit list.  Look here: See the small one on the front corner?  That one is a Choke Cherry Tree.  Branches were on the roof, making a perfect runway for the squirrels, it had a blight, and dropped choke cherries everywhere!  Granted, it looks pretty when it blooms in the spring, but that only lasts a w...