For the last couple months, R & I have been feeling kind of frustrated about our law practice transition being stuck in a rut so, in an attempt to do something productive, we went a little nuts at the greenhouse. AND we had a million yards of fill brought into our backyard to extend our lawn into the swampy abyss we inherited from the previous owners. Anyway, I'll get better pics soon but here's a sample of what it looked like before:
And during (that's R tossing some dirt around with my awesome general contractor who I fondly refer to as "Dad"):
For a splash of color, we planted all pinks, whites & greens throughout the backyard - verbena, impatiens, coleus, sweet potato vine, dusty miller, petunias, some white verbena-like thing, and some random ivy-looking creeper not pictured here. The tri-colored pink petunia "waterfall" in the corner of our pool deck is really spectacular and looks amazing in contrast with the aqua pool. Aahhh, soothing.
In front we went all out orange - when the sun starts to go down the begonias are almost electric! These two planters on either side of the garage include coleus, licorice and dracena. Oh, and more dusties (because somehow we ended up with a thousand of them.) Along the driveway we went with a huge contrast to the house and planted all blueish-whites and they ended up being my favorites.
We also planted a whole slew of herbs including three different types of basil - yes, three - you should see them all. Helllllooo spaghetti pesto! What's in your garden/window boxes/hanging planters this year? Oh, and if you're in some lush tropical setting, please refrain from commenting about all your delicious exotica because, remember, I'm in Michigan, and my one lone rubber house plant likes being an only child, hogging all the skylight sun for itself. Thank you. xo ~ K
This was a view from a precarious perch on a half-submerged, half-decayed birch log off shore about 2/3rds of the way up the Island Trail. We hiked a 4+-mile loop Saturday morning and I can say it actually pained me a bit near the end! Okay, so the biggest pain was a blister betwixt my two far-left toes, but I also felt like this was one of the most vertical hikes we've ever done in Michigan. The views, the natural textures, colors, light & shade, birds & critters, were all so incredible it's hard to select just a few pics to share.
We arrived at the park Thursday night. Our reservation was originally Friday-Sunday. But spontaneously, Thursday morning I called to extend an extra day and we left work early, in dire need of an extra day away from the office. Best decision EVER! Not only did we get the most gorgeous Lake Michigan sunset all to ourselves, but we also got a great table at Sportsman's Pub for pizza without any wait ;-)
Ah... This is why a 3-day weekend at Ludington State Park has the same soothing effect as a week-long vacation in the Caribbean. 
In front we went all out orange - when the sun starts to go down the begonias are almost electric! These two planters on either side of the garage include coleus, licorice and dracena. Oh, and more dusties (because somehow we ended up with a thousand of them.) Along the driveway we went with a huge contrast to the house and planted all blueish-whites and they ended up being my favorites.
We also planted a whole slew of herbs including three different types of basil - yes, three - you should see them all. Helllllooo spaghetti pesto! What's in your garden/window boxes/hanging planters this year? Oh, and if you're in some lush tropical setting, please refrain from commenting about all your delicious exotica because, remember, I'm in Michigan, and my one lone rubber house plant likes being an only child, hogging all the skylight sun for itself. Thank you. xo ~ K
