Now That Summer is Upon Us

It makes perfect sense to post about spring, don't you think?

I'll start with a few photos of the front garden bed that I promised Lynette about five centuries ago. 

This bed, in it's current form, is about three years old now (here's what it looked like in 2011 ).  I had plans to expand it further this year, but the house-painting thing got in the way.  I'm very pleased with it, especially now that it's to the point that apart from a little pruning, some weeding, and some watering it mostly looks after itself.

Below is my favourite part, although the fleabane (that pile of green in the center) has gotten so tall now it's threatening to take over. I may have to move it somewhere so it can roam free:



I wish I was better at taking garden photos.  It looks much better in real life, but I love the rocks and the little green creeper (elfin thyme). Those purple flowers on either side belong to dwarf sage, which loves the climate here, and in the foreground is a miniature mugo pine.

We also got ourselves organized one spring afternoon and tackled a much-needed project for the blackberries.

I was given a couple of these - they're a thornless variety - by my boss a good five years ago. I had them planted against the fence to the right of the photo where one of them languished for a few years and the other one turned up its little roots and died.

I moved the remaining one when it looked like it was about to expire - I think that was last year or the year before - and it settled in quite happily, to say the least.

Obviously the trellis we had was not going to do the trick.  So Daniel got to work and came up with this:

And after the construction was done (we just nailed in staples to hold the fence part up), I took the brambles to hand:

 

With a nice end result, I think.  Certainly the blackberries are happy - they've been blooming their heads off and are now setting lots of lovely fruit.  Can't wait!

I also wanted to show you a photo pf a rhododendron we saw when we were in Portland, Oregon last month:

I guess that's what happens when you have a wet climate where it doesn't snow (Portland is near the coast). Unbelievable!

And, finally, here's a picture of a very unfriendly (not) cat we met while we were walking around the residential area in Portland where we stayed. 

Why a photo of a strange cat? Just because I like cats ;)

So What Do You Think?

Blue...

Or green?

I thought that once I put some of the trim colour next to it, the answer would be quite obvious.  It wasn't.

Then I thought if I painted a really sunny spot, the answer would be obvious.  It still isn't. Sigh.

As a reminder, here's what our house looks like:

So what do you think?

Incidentally, this is a large part of the reason why you haven't heard from me in a while.  It's proven to be a lot more time-consuming than I thought it would be.

And for the house painters and detail-oriented amongst you, no we're not stripping everything back to the bare boards.  While that would be lovely, we would need a contractor to do it properly and that's more money than we have or, really, than the house is worth since there's lead in the paint and that involves all sorts of regulations for the professionals. 

We are going to have someone do all the preparation up high (basically everywhere that I'm too chicken to get to), and do the final painting.

Who knew choosing a house colour could be so fraught?  I will say, though, I picked the right green on the first try :)

Cheers.