Spring, Early Summer Garden, A Winner

Today's post title is a little play on words. For the most part,  I'm sharing photos from my spring and early summer [landscape] garden. I'm also announcing the winner of the Traveling Totes' sponsored giveaway further below. I consider my garden a winner in that during spring/early summer it's in its splendor, hence the play on words in the title.

We are in Zone 7a, and our landscape garden primarily consists of planted beds wrapping around a teardrop shaped lawn on a 50' x 100' city lot, adjacent to our home. We installed it in 2004, so it is considered mature. Late April, early May is when the garden really starts coming alive with blooming color. Today, I'll walk you through the progression of blooms of the spring, early summer seasons.

Knockout roses against brick wall with heirloom irises in front.

Azaleas, in front of nandina, snowflake viburnum and clematis, wrap around Kousa dogwood in front landscape.

'Joseph's Coat' climbing roses with lavender underplantings in courtyard.

I have nearly a dozen lavender plants from which I start harvesting and drying the buds on cut stems beginning in mid-May.

Harvested lavender late May, first week of June

Below, view from back of landscape, late May: lavender, hostas, and lawn beyond. In the background, Kousa dogwoods at center of frame top out at just below the halfway mark of Magnolia tree on right. The tallest trees in background are sassafras and silver maples on riverbank, across the street.

View from back of landscape

Shortly after the above was taken, I got a new limelight hydrangea plant for the landscape. It was really best suited where that lavender plant was situated (across from where my Endless Summer hydrangeas are), so a domino effect of shuffling my lavender plants began soon after.

The back landscape displays shades of blue, green & white by late May, early June (until the hibiscus bloom saucer-sized red flowers in July). The limelight hydrangea is situated just behind the flag (and to its left). There's also nandina (heavenly bamboo) in the far right corner, behind the hibiscus, which I have painstakingly staked for a continued upright visual once blooming. The nandina are equally tall, but my photo angle prevents them from being seen. One of several transplanted lavender is in front of the season statues.
Below is a labeled photo of the back landscape across from the Endless Summer hydrangeas, showing where the Limelight replaced the lavender. Butterfly bushes are starting to bud now.

Love-in-a-mist grows freely among most of the back landscape plantings, as do the snowflake anemones.

I still have one white lavender (pictured below) among the purple ones beneath my courtyard roses (which had been hard-pruned after their first flush of blooms by early June). The white lavender were a second choice color sourced one year when a hard winter wiped out a few of the purple plants.

Elsewhere in the garden during May, my heirloom poppies and spirea bushes pushed their blooms for happy color.

By the first of June, the bee balm just beyond the spirea started blooming.

Behind my spirea, I have coneflowers (Echinacea)  and black-eyed Susans against the brick wall where my putto with book statue is. For reasons I cannot explain, after about five years in the landscape - 3 of which no flowers bloomed - the coneflowers are suddenly taller than the black-eyed Susans. So I transplanted four bunches to the other side of the landscape. They're a little puny from the jolt of replanting right now, but I think they'll be fine. The smallest bunch had blooms already unfolding before the transplant, seen in photo below. I also placed another of the white lavenders below that bird feeder.

I scaled back on my annual container plantings this year, but still created four for the courtyard.

Annuals purchased Memorial weekend

One pair of containers planted with purple fountain grass, chartreuse Angelina sedum, and SunPatiens in fuschia and white.

I've always planted four mandevilla on the trellis corners, but opted for just two this year, hoping they'll meet at the arch later in summer. The magnolia and yew on opposite sides of the trellis seem to suck any and all water, and the last two years the mandevilla withered as a result. I planted moonflower seeds as a backup to last year's mandevilla, and they seemed to want to take over, not only the ground below, but the magnolia above!

Pink mandevilla planted on opposite sides of garden gate arbor near courtyard.

Another pair of courtyard containers planted with spike dracena, purple queen trailer, pink pentas, and white SunPatiens.

I scored a couple of magnolia wreaths from Kohl's for one-third their regular price this spring, but they seem a little bland to me on the front doors. I may either switch back to my colorful floral wreaths, or add some more color to the magnolias. I bought a much smaller 'Fluffy Ruffle' fern this year instead of a Boston for the porch urn. It should fill in in the coming weeks.

Two different front door looks with wreaths.

The colors of my annuals in the landscape beds at the front of the house are in red, white and blue. I've been doing this color scheme for years. They are red geraniums, blue angelonia, and red & white vinca this year, and just planted on June 7 (two weeks later than normal for me).

So with color in the front flower beds, perhaps the magnolia wreaths keep it from being too busy. Speaking of magnolia, nothing beats the real deal. The photo collage below is the same bloom; the two left-side frames are from different angles at the same hour; the right frame is the closed bloom that same evening.

The Jackmanii clematis in the front landscape seems to do well each year by my simply cutting it to the ground late February or early March. The tuteur (French word for pyramidal shape trellis trainer) was hand-crafted of wood with spiral shaped copper on each leg.

If you look closely in the photo below (taken behind the hydrangeas at back of property), you can see the clematis in the far left back corner, which is the front of the property.

How do I keep all the containers, transplants and annual beds watered? I have three hose carts strategically placed around the landscape, each wound with two 50' hoses. That allows access from the back, middle and far sides of the property. We don't water the lawn, just annuals or new plantings. We have a separate water and electric supply on the riverbank also, so cords and hoses don't have to be dragged across the street when needed.

That's all the dirt I have to share today, and if you've stuck with me this long, thank you, you're all winners in my book! Alas, the Traveling Totes can only choose one winner.

NOW, THE WINNER!

This month's winner of the Traveling Totes giveaway was randomly selected from those who left comments or sent me emails on the last Traveling Totes recap. Our winner is 

CHRIS WASSON

Chris, if you will please contact me via email and send your shipping address, your MacKenzie-Childs enamel storage box with lid in the classic Courtly Check will be sent to you!

Thank you to everyone who left your comments or emailed me. Be sure to read our upcoming travel recap on September 1 for a chance to win a future MC giveaway.

If you don't want to wait for our next giveaway, I want to share a promotion which both MacKenzie-Childs and Beekman 1802 are sponsoring in a campaign called "Love Your Neighbor". I don't receive anything for these mentions, just sharing email information I have previously received. Both businesses are situated geographically near each other in upstate New York, hence 'neighbors'. (Pictured below are a few items I purchased from Beekman 1802, including a cross-promoted "Love Your Neighbor" soap and tea loaf pan. Check out fellow tote traveler, Debbie at Mountain Breaths, who made the lavender poppyseed tea loaf recipe in the cute pan! I also bought another set of Beekman soap/lotion, and the seed pod maker. I am using the seed pod maker now to germinate Mexican sunflowers for my garden!)

My recent purchases from Beekman 1802

On the MacKenzie-Childs website through July 30, 2017, if you spend more than $200 and enter MACBEEK at checkout, you will receive a free Morning Glory garden tool kit (while supplies last).

If you Shop Beekman 1802 and enter MCKC20  at checkout on your first purchase (excludes sale and discount items), you will receive their 20% friends and family discount through July 30, 2017.

Now, if you want to see a whole lot more garden tours, plan to visit Pam at Everyday Living on June 12th when she hosts a Garden Galore link party. Anyone can join, just link a post of your garden happenings, past or present.

If all that's not enough, you can read more about my garden by tapping on the 'My Landscape Garden' tab under Home & Garden on the top menu bar (or select it from labels or type in search box on the sidebar). Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Happy Gardening!

(A special thanks to Pam at Everyday Living Gardens Galore! inaugural garden party "picks" and to Richella at Imparting Grace: Grace at Home #255for featuring this post !)

Rita C. at Panoply

Sharing: Amaze Me, DIDI, BNOTP, Gardens Galore,  Show & Share, Inspire Me, Make it Pretty, The Scoop, Dagmar's Home, Celebrate Your Story, Centerpiece Wednesday, SYS, SYC, Delightsome Life H&G, Grace at Home, Vintage Charm, Foodie Friday & Everything Else, FNF

Tales of the Traveling Totes #11: Spring Flings and a Giveaway!

Ahh, Springtime.....love is in the air.....the birds are singing, bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming and it's time for Spring Flings, aka, Tales of the Traveling Totes Adventures - installment #11!

SCREEEEETCH. Enough of all that pretty and fun stuff. Who are we kidding?

When we recapped our last adventures in winter (click here) I was lamenting about all the places I didn't go while on the threshold of two big home improvement projects. I was beginning to feel like I was in remodeling HELL by May, three months into it all. What you see below is a picture of the worst of the worst of that remodeling hell. Just when we thought our master bath gut job and remodel was complete, the newly installed radiant floor heat did not work. The manufacturer's rep was on site to diagnose the root cause in early May, and the construction crew was waiting in the wings to TEAR UP the new tile floor so repairs could be done. Miss Charley C had to take over project management at that point. I was toast.

No joking. It was a real struggle for this not-for-profit blogger (thank goodness, as all the sponsors would've dumped me a LONG time ago. I HATE home improvement projects).

There were some highlights to the totes' travels, though, so let's go back and focus on all the pretty things, shall we?

Early March had me hosting a wonderful party for my niece in a Breakfast at Tiffany's Themed Bridal Shower. Arriving on the venue scene the morning of, I was ready to whip that place into a jewel box of a memorable event.

Daughter #1 and I orchestrated the planning and execution, much to the delight of the bride-to-be.

No foolin', but on April 1, Mr. P. and I traveled to his college alma mater in Bristol, TN for a celebration of his induction into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

In fact, the entire team was inducted, and ten of the original team members, plus one member's widow AND the coach's widow returned for a reunion and to accept their awards. Impressive!

At the end of April, that same niece for whom we threw the bridal shower tied the knot. The Panoply sisters were together, but I left Miss Luna C and Miss Charley C behind.

Mr. P. and I even cut the rug at the reception. Oh, how I miss dancing regularly! Happy feet, happy heart!

The weekend following the family wedding, my SIL graduated from a grueling Physician Assistant program. Again, the totes were left out, but the focus really was on these two (below). They've been working on undergraduate and post-graduate degrees since 2003. They have finally arrived, together, and I couldn't be more proud.

All of this brings me to the point of my home improvement projects FINALLY being complete, no workers in my home, and time for a little self-love. Ahhhh.....

A couple weeks without daily interruptions, and it's finally feeling like things are getting back on track here in Luna-ville. ;) I even took some time to head out to a local festival on Memorial weekend with a friend. It was a preview weekend of what's to come in our city's 10-day FestivALL in June. The weekend showcased local music and food sampling from local restaurants - a Taste-of-ALL. Restaurateurs were both indoors and out and, although we had heavy rain leading up to the weekend which prevented boaters from safely accessing the river, the event went off successfully without any rain. That's me, below, shaking hands with the headless chef, a balloon creation in progress, made by a local artist that day.

Here's hoping Miss Luna C and Miss Charley C are ready to hit the road in the coming months. We've got miles to go, and places to see!

NOW, ONTO THE GIVEAWAY!

Let's get busy with this month's Traveling Totes giveaway, of which I am the sponsor! One lucky reader who leaves a comment here, on my blog (or send me an email mentioning this post if you are unable to comment here), will have their name thrown into the hat for an opportunity to win the following: a MacKenzie-Childs enamel storage box with lid, in the classic Courtly Check.

Feel free to share this giveaway opportunity with your friends. The winner will be announced by June 10, 2017 so you can enjoy this token gift soon after!

Where have all the other Traveling Tote tribe members been of late? Surely, there have been some spring flings! Check them out at the links conveniently located below. We welcome Linda Primmer from Life and Linda to the crew this time, and now we're traveling from coast to coast!

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths
Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch
Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron
Katie with Miss Daisy @ Preppy Empty Nester
Linda G with Miss Rosie @ More Fun Less Laundry
Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda
Patti with Miss Kenzie and Miss Taylor @ "Pandora's Box"
Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply (you are here!)
Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Until our next adventure (coming September 1, 2017), thank you for traveling along. It's a pleasure to have your company and visit! 

Rita C. at Panoply

(A special note of thanks to Michael Lee of Rattlebridge Farm's Foodie Friday and Everything Else for featuring this post!)

Sharing: One More Time, Amaze Me, DIDI, Monday Social,  BNOTP, Show & Share, Inspire Me, Make it Pretty, The Scoop, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Dagmar's Home, Celebrate Your Story, Let's Talk Vintage, Talk of the Town, Centerpiece Wednesday, SYS, SYC, Delightsome Life H&G, Grace at Home, Vintage Charm, Foodie Friday & Everything Else, FNF

Panoply Summer 2017 Booth Space Updates

Today I want to share some of the vignettes my sister and I have staged most recently in our booth spaces at the South Charleston Antique Mall. The photo below is a highly visible area in our mall's first floor, adjacent to the stairway leading to the mezzanine, second & third floors of our mall.

Sister M and I had been limping along in our booth spaces since the first of the year really, mostly due to my being out of pocket with home improvement projects. Below is how that same space looked in April.

We'd made a few changes, but mostly just filling gaps where items had sold, nothing significant in overall space appearances. In an attempt to get back into the swing of styling our spaces with more intent, we prepared to flip two of our booths and style a couple of summer scenes. With summer travel comes shoppers, so we try to have things looking attractive for those who see our mall's interstate billboards and stop in.

Due to the high visibility, we decided that space near the stairway would be our summer-themed space. The view below was our updated look, as seen while going upstairs.

I didn't even have the price tags on the two vintage metal chairs and they were sold! The customer was waffling a bit, but as soon as she sat in the rocker of the pair, her mind was made up.

There went that vignette!

Meanwhile, all the pieces displaced from that corner space were moved into what we call our main space (it was our original space rented). This is the updated view of that main booth space now (below), as seen from across the walking aisle from a neighboring booth.

A few closer shots of various groupings within shows a lot more detail. The view from directly behind the central showcase/counter gives way to what's seen in the photo below.

A pair of side tables and lamps, positioned directly across from each other on opposite sides of the booth, can readily be seen once you approach the central showcase. It's hard to explain, but when we move and style things, it's not always easy to know if placement will work prior to the move, but it's definitely a yes or no once we move things.

Another area with a slight change was where we keep our casual vintage linens. We created a little laundry area below.

Just in front of this vignette is a vintage washstand we've had for awhile. We switched out the vignette on the washstand and added lots of vintage jadeite and a great acrylic iced tea set in a tulip motif. This  set was from the 1960s, made by HJ Stotter of New York, and sets like this were sold in high-end retail shops in the '60s and '70s. Both the hammered aluminum tray and cotton tablecloth on the rocker also sport tulip motifs.

We always try to make at least one Americana vignette as we approach summer. We grouped items that nod to Armed Forces Day (May 20 this year), as there's a parade that goes by our mall each year which brings foot traffic to the mall on that day.

Another M.A.S.H.-looking vignette was made visible on an aisle as customers pass by (below).

My sister brought in the fabulous architectural salvage pictured below. It is an antique, cast iron capital column surround in four pieces. Imagine the structure it originally encased! Wouldn't it be fantastic as a garden surround for container plantings? I can see it at the center of a parterre, end of a long drive or walkway, or other prominent position, on a pedestal, with a grandiose arrangement flowing from it!

So, back to that summer scene that sold before we left the building....we regrouped, returning within three days. Within that time, another anchor piece in that highly visible space had sold. It's the green garden shelving unit pictured below, which was in the corner, behind the metal chairs.

We shuffled things quite a bit to get the latest arrangement. You can see how it appears from the stairwell, below.

The vignette on the rug became a picnic scene. The stacked stool & chair in the corner replaced the green garden shelving unit. Recognize a few of the items below? They can be seen in my last tablescape post, here.

We brought in vintage ladders to nest and use for our garden smalls (pictured below), which were displaced when the garden shelf sold. The ladders are now where the stacked stool & chairs had been just three days prior. A few vintage linens strategically placed help soften the hard edges.

No sooner than this was styled, the customer who bought the shelving unit decided she needed the green camp stool in our picnic vignette. Plan C was quick and dirty. We simply pulled one of our stepladders in as a table to hold a few of our smalls in that vignette.

With that, we called it a day and a week - a good week! We think we're off to a great kick-start to being summer-ready.

Are you summer ready? Are you planning any vintage or antique shopping during your planned travels this summer? Here's hoping your summer is off to a great kick-start this Memorial weekend.

If ever you are traveling through West Virginia, be sure to plan a stop at the South Charleston Antique Mall, 617 D Street, South Charleston, WV. It's an easy exit and re-entry on I-64, Exit 56. Our mall is open 7 days a week, 363 days a year (closed Easter and Christmas). Business hours are M-Sat 10am - 6pm; Sundays Noon - 5pm. If you ever are planning to stop, I'd love for you to contact me ahead of time - I may very well be free to come and meet you, too!

More of our antique booth display posts can be found on the top menu bar under 'Panoply Antiquing', or by scrolling the labels (Panoply Booth Displays) or typing the keywords into the search box, both on my blog's sidebar. As always, your visit is appreciated and comments welcome!

Rita C. at Panoply

Sharing: One More Time, Amaze Me, DIDI,  BNOTP, Show & Share, Inspire Me, Make it Pretty, The Scoop, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Dagmar's Home, Celebrate Your Story, Let's Talk Vintage, Talk of the Town, Centerpiece Wednesday, SYS, SYC, Delightsome Life H&G, Grace at Home, Vintage Charm, Foodie Friday & Everything Else, FNF