NINE YEARS OF BLOGGING

As we enter a new decade, I thought I'd share my ten all time most popular posts.  Yes, we're beginning a new decade and I'm also beginning my tenth year of blogging.  It all started when I was a guest on The Nate Berkus Show.  He suggested that I start a blog.  It's been a wonderful way to share all my crazy design experiments, but I think the biggest and most rewarding part of it all was the unexpected benefit of connecting to my readers and fellow bloggers.  I have made so many e-friends over the years.  Sometimes an unexpected result is the best.  

You can check out my first post if you'd like.  It explains how I became involved in blogging.

Click here.

I wanted to make one more comment about the rewards of blogging.   My photography skills were greatly improved.  Actually, my photography skills were non existent when I started.  I guess that photography was another benefit from writing the blog.  My original photos were taken with a cell phone.  I'm on my second camera now.  The photos that I took in the beginning are cringe worthy.  Don't judge.  

Here are the ten all-time most viewed of my posts.  I'll begin with the tenth most popular.  If you want to see the full post, just click on the image or the number and you'll be directed there.

NUMBER 10

I had and unfortunately still have a 1970's knotty pine kitchen.  To update it, I painted the cabinets, changed the hardware, and added Duralee Snakeskin fabric as a back splash.  It's still in my kitchen and I still love the snakeskin.  

SNAKESKIN FABRIC AND NAIL HEAD TRIM IN MY KITCHEN

NUMBER 9

I found a very weathered garden table.  I guess it reminded me of a clock face.  That's how an umbrella table became a clock.

UMBRELLA TABLE TO CLOCK

NUMBER 8

I credit my screened porch redo for a feature of my home on a Houzz Home Tour.

MY SCREENED PORCH

NUMBER 7

If you're a regular reader of my blog you know that many times I write about a design topic and share images to illustrate the decor ideas.  I love using empty vintage frames.  The next two all time popular posts contain empty frames.

FRAMES:  BUNDLED, LAYERED, AND STACKED

NUMBER 6

My number 6 also contained ideas for using empty frames.

HOW I FILLED AN EMPTY FRAME

NUMBER 5

One of my favorite things to do is to style a bookcase.  I guess my readers liked it too.

MY STYLED BOOKCASE

NUMBER 4

The popularity of this next post surprised me.  It was a post for Memorial Day and I shared cottage gardens in red, white and blue.

COTTAGE GARDENS

NUMBER 3

The popularity of this post shows how many DIYers there are out there.  It was my solution for a sweet side table with damaged veneer.

A SOLUTION FOR DAMAGED VENEER

NUMBER 2

I obviously have some gardeners in the audience.  This post shared my best ground cover for shady spaces.  I also shared some other ground cover solutions.

SWEET WOODRUFF GROUND COVER

NUMBER 1

My all time most pinned post is the gallery wall I created in my daughter's apartment.   I don't think that gallery walls will ever go out of style.  They are my nemesis though.

MY DAUGHTER'S GALLERY WALL

I wanted to say that I was surprised by some of the posts that were viewed so many times.

I also wanted to say thank you to all of you who have been following along and for your encouragement and support.  I hope you'll follow me into the new decade.

Happy New Year.

FYI:  The most viewed post(s) of 2019:  My Laundry/Pantry.

It was in two parts.

To see Part One of my laundry/pantry, click here.

CHINA IN MY PANTRY

To view Part 2, click here.

BREAD BOARDS, BOOKS, ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN MY PANTRY

We Just Have to Focus on Spring

On this cold dreary day I just want to think about Spring and my garden.
If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know that I've already written about my Sweet Woodruff ground cover and shady area garden solutions. It's one of my most pinned garden posts, so I thought I'd share again.  I've included some new photos so it's not a total repeat.

If you're looking for an easy-care, fragrant, and beautiful ground cover for your shady spots, 

Sweet Woodruff is my favorite.  A friend divided some of her Sweet Woodruff and shared it with me.  She told me that it was perfect at the base of a tree where nothing seems to grow.
  I used to plant impatiens in those spots, but the deer have convinced me to find something else.
Besides, Sweet Woodruff is a perennial and it spreads quickly.
 It also completely covers an area and keeps down the weeds too.

Flowering Sweet Woodruff

At first I planted it around tree bases.  Then I discovered that I loved mixing it in with the rocks and flowers in my garden along the walk way from my porch to my patio.

Walk Way From My Screened Porch to My Lower Level Patio

Beginning of Walk Way From Porch to Lower Level Patio

It's so easy to divide.  I can't believe that all these plants came from several small ones.  All I did was dig up a clump of the plant, then tear it apart into smaller pieces.  I re-planted the smaller plants in their new spot with some spacing in between.  They quickly filled in.

 This path is on the other side of my house and goes from my kitchen door to the patio below.

Path From Kitchen to Patio

Path From Kitchen to Patio, Looking Up

They really keep down the weeds around my ferns, nandina, lamb's ear and hosta.

What's your favorite ground cover?

Kathy

If you're looking for more ground cover information, go here. 
Ground cover really helps control your weed population.

University of Illinois

Shady Solution

If you're looking for an easy-care, fragrant, and beautiful ground cover for your shady spots, 

Sweet Woodruff is my favorite.  A friend divided some of her Sweet Woodruff and shared them with me .  She told me it was perfect at the base of a tree where nothing seems to grow.    I used to plant impatiens in those spots but the deer have convinced me to find something else.  Besides, Sweet Woodruff is a perennial and it spreads quickly.  It also completely covers an area and keeps down the weeds too.   And, I just found out that it keeps pests away from roses and peonies. 

Sweet Woodruff in the Spring

At first I planted it around tree bases.  Then I discovered that I loved mixing it in with the rocks and flowers in my garden too.

It's so easy to divide.  I can't believe that all these plants came from several small ones.

They really keep down the weeds around my ferns, nandina, lamb's ear and hosta.

What do you plant in your barren shady spots?
You can purchase the plants but I always like to share with a friend.
If you live nearby, come visit and I'll be happy to divide my Sweet Woodruff for your shade garden.

Kathy


To see more of my garden in an updated post go here.

If you're looking for more ground cover information, go here.  Ground cover in your plantings is the perfect way to keep down the weed population.

University of Illinois Extension

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Some Landscaping for the Screened Porch

Completed Porch

 
This is the second post in the screened porch saga.  If you missed the first one go here.
I really needed to add some plantings to the porch.  Let me remind you what it looked like when the porch was completed. 

And, a reminder of the horrible embarrassing before.

My son's baseball game was very near a Home Depot.  In the past I'd found very good deals on plants there, so we decided to stop by.  I couldn't believe that  they had one of the main shrubs I use in my yard, Cherry Laurel (technical name Otto Luyken).
They're usually very hard to find at a good price.  

I couldn't believe the size.

And the price was only $24.95.  I've never paid less than $35 each for them.

I couldn't wait to get them home and put them in the bed.  Here's the result.

I added a fern, also on sale, to the planter box.  If you notice at the corner of the porch is an old clay chimney pot.  I always look for these for the garden.  I'll do a separate post about these.   On top of it I used an armillary.  I also have used  the chimney pots as  tall planters and as a stand for a sun dial.

Here's a side view.

Now all I need is for the grass to grow.

Since I wrote this and took the photos, I've already made some landscaping changes.  No surprise, huh.  So now I'm changing up posts before they're published.


I added a column and put an annual (Mandevilla) in the planter.  My Black-eyed Susans are starting to come up again along the bed beside the sidewalk.

Also, the area next to the porch was a mud pit that needed some erosion control.  Sorry, no before pic. Trust me, it looked bad.  I actually had to shovel some of the mud off the lower patio after a rain storm.  I added rocks, divided and added my perennials from other gardens-hostas, sedum, coreopsis, liriope--along the walkway, and added some new Nandinas. I also planted some annuals in my bird bath and in the garden for some color.

This is another view looking down from the porch area.

I'm planning on putting some flagstones in the walkway and dividing my Sweet Woodruff from my other garden so it can fill in around the flagstones.  Here's what it looks like blooming in the spring in another of my gardens.  Sweet Woodruff is a perennial ground cover.  

It will look so pretty surrounding  flagstone on my now semi-muddy path.

What do you think so far?

Kathy

Thanks