No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~Proverb
One of my favorite things about living in the midwest is the four different seasons. I love spending a warm summer night at Busch Stadium watching the Cardinals, or a hot Saturday at the pool during the summer.
I love wearing jeans & sweaters, the stunning fall foliage, crisp, cool air & weekends filled with college football during the fall.
I love white Christmases, fluffy snow flakes, cute coats & scarves & cozy nights at home during the winter.
And I LOVE the inspiration & excitement that comes with spring. The gradual return of longer days, more sunshine, things beginning to grow & bloom. Open windows, kiddos playing at the park, flip flops & grilling. Spring brings with it this unexplainable sense of hope. Maybe because of all the seasons, my honeymoon is shortest with the winter. Every year I find myself embracing the first few snowfalls, the coziness of gray days. But seriously, by early January (the half way point of winter), I am beyond anxious for spring to arrive. And when it does, I think I appreciate it more than the arrival of any other season.
I'm taking a big chance here, knocking on some wood- but I think spring is here.... and it's glorious.
Both Doug's mom, Nancy & my mom have this unbelievable talent for gardening. Seriously- everything they attempt to grow does just that. In my eyes, they are epic green thumbs, while my luck with keeping house plants alive leaves something to be desired. I love going home in the spring & summer & seeing my parents' yard & flower beds full of beautiful things. I love how Nancy points out & enjoys the blooms on a tree or refers to a flower by it's name. These two women have inspired me to pursue a new hobby. And so.... I am, and I'm blogging about my progress. I want to add a pop of color to the yard, spend some time outside- maybe buy some cute gardening gloves & a fun hat to keep the sun off my face. Isn't that what gardeners do? :)
This past weekend, I was fortunate to spend a fair amount of time with Nancy. My mom was under the weather & not able to join us as we had planned, but Nancy & I still set out with the goal of tearing out our old, scruffy flower beds & creating new ones. Thankfully for me, she has the patience of a saint & a tremendous amount of knowledge about all things green. By the end of the weekend, I was (confidently) using terms like annual, perennial, azalea & hosta. I completed an hour long shopping trip to Lowe's (my first ever without Doug, which is probably how I made it out of the store in less than an hour) to stock up on gardening tools, potting soil, and (cute) flower pots.
One of my favorite things about living in the midwest is the four different seasons. I love spending a warm summer night at Busch Stadium watching the Cardinals, or a hot Saturday at the pool during the summer.
I love wearing jeans & sweaters, the stunning fall foliage, crisp, cool air & weekends filled with college football during the fall.
I love white Christmases, fluffy snow flakes, cute coats & scarves & cozy nights at home during the winter.
And I LOVE the inspiration & excitement that comes with spring. The gradual return of longer days, more sunshine, things beginning to grow & bloom. Open windows, kiddos playing at the park, flip flops & grilling. Spring brings with it this unexplainable sense of hope. Maybe because of all the seasons, my honeymoon is shortest with the winter. Every year I find myself embracing the first few snowfalls, the coziness of gray days. But seriously, by early January (the half way point of winter), I am beyond anxious for spring to arrive. And when it does, I think I appreciate it more than the arrival of any other season.
I'm taking a big chance here, knocking on some wood- but I think spring is here.... and it's glorious.
Both Doug's mom, Nancy & my mom have this unbelievable talent for gardening. Seriously- everything they attempt to grow does just that. In my eyes, they are epic green thumbs, while my luck with keeping house plants alive leaves something to be desired. I love going home in the spring & summer & seeing my parents' yard & flower beds full of beautiful things. I love how Nancy points out & enjoys the blooms on a tree or refers to a flower by it's name. These two women have inspired me to pursue a new hobby. And so.... I am, and I'm blogging about my progress. I want to add a pop of color to the yard, spend some time outside- maybe buy some cute gardening gloves & a fun hat to keep the sun off my face. Isn't that what gardeners do? :)
This past weekend, I was fortunate to spend a fair amount of time with Nancy. My mom was under the weather & not able to join us as we had planned, but Nancy & I still set out with the goal of tearing out our old, scruffy flower beds & creating new ones. Thankfully for me, she has the patience of a saint & a tremendous amount of knowledge about all things green. By the end of the weekend, I was (confidently) using terms like annual, perennial, azalea & hosta. I completed an hour long shopping trip to Lowe's (my first ever without Doug, which is probably how I made it out of the store in less than an hour) to stock up on gardening tools, potting soil, and (cute) flower pots.
Nancy & I started out on Saturday afternoon at one of my favorite places in Kirkwood: the Farmer's Market. This place is just awesome. I'll shop here any chance I get- whether for amazing fruits & veggies, pumpkins for carving in the fall, or the best snow cone in town. (no joke)
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| Check out the farmer's market here! Trust me. There's a whole lot to love. |
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| We purchased the majority of our flowers for our gardening project at the Farmer's Market. |
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| After a full afternoon of shopping for the perfect variety of flowers, the laundry room was transformed to a green house for the night. |
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| Flower Bed One: Before Lots of digging & pulling were involved with this transformation. |
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| Flower Bed One: Work in Progress! Sunday was not a day of rest for us. Nancy showed up with a coffee cup in hand, and we never looked back! |
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| Flower Bed One: After! Lots of beautiful pansies, with "Blushing Bride" Hydrangea plants. My mom picked out the same hydrangea plant as a surpise for me- so we'll have three in this bed after I get it from her. :) I'm so excited to see what it looks like when it blooms! |
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| Bed Two: Before Though you can't tell by looking, this one had two enormous stumps buried in it, which I imagine were a bear to dig out. |
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| Landscapers hard at work! Doug got home from his golf tournament & jumped right in to help. (Seriously- my fiance is amazing!) Remember those stumps I referenced above? Guess who got to dig those out. Nancy held her own with the one from the first bed, but Doug took care of the other two for us. |
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| Bed Two: After Lots of cheery color from snapdragons & azalea bushes. Snapdragons always remind me of my Grandma Koch- she always had them in her garden & would make them "talk" to us when we were little. |
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| The "after" shot of what, in my opinion, is the sweetest house on the block. The finished product was WELL worth the effort & the sore muscles the next day. Added bonus: I was able to enjoy some quality time with my future mother in law, too! :) |
"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams
Indeed! Here's to the return of sunshine, outdoor happy hours, reading on the patio and biking Grant's Trail. Here's to shopping at the farmer's market, relaxing in the hammock & creating colorful flower beds. Here's to spring, & a glass half full!
Looks great, guys!
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