​Fall is a good time to find natural materials in the garden, parks, road, anywhere really. I just realized that my huge fern went dormant this year earlier than in others. I guess that a reason could have been the awful drought that we had and continue to have this year.
 
Anyway, when I saw the dried mess it came to me that I could use it in an arrangement either in its natural form or sprayed in gold.
 
Well, here is the end result. A trip to Walmart for 3 small pumpkins, an old .25 cents yard sale find and a flower and scarecrow that I had in my craft room. Boom, an arrangement was born, smile.
 
You will need: Total ($6.11)
1 small or med. size basket and oasis to stick the flowers. (.25)
Any dried natural material, ferns, astilbe, leaves, … (0)
A seasonal silk sunflower (.40)
½ yard of green ribbon (.50)
1 small about 12” scarecrow ($1.99)
3 small pumpkins @ .99 cents ea. ($2.97)
 
Directions
Stick the dry material in the basket oasis.
Stick the scarecrow and the sunflower.
Tight a bow on the basket handle.
Place the 3 pumpkins in front. DONE!

I love to see how many neighbors adorned their homes with lovely fall designs. They make my morning walks so fulfilling, therefore, thanks so much for your efforts.

Today we are looking at a series of amazing simple expressions of art. It doesn’t matter how big or small the fall decorations are; they have a meaning to the owners.

Good example; my cover photo is so simple and yet so special. It has two small pumpkins under a beautiful American flag, even Mr. squirrel made an appearance, smile.

This design gave me the chills when I walked by the house. It reminded me of our men and women in the military, who leave their families and risk their lives to protect us. It reminded me that I was born in a country where we have so many freedoms, an amazing constitution and government structure.

We are blessed to have communities across the nation that cares for the elderly, the homeless, mentally ill, disabled, the environment and even those who come to our country for seeking protection from their own countries. I am so proud to be an AMERICAN!
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A

 Well, either if you love it or hate it, the 2019 FALL Season is already here. I don’t feel it yet, since the days continue to be hot, the trees are still packed with green leaves and the almighty rain is being missing since I don’t know when. It’s been a dry, almost total drought in many areas of the country.
 
The sad reality is that we all have to roll our sleeves and start working on gardening chores. Here are some of my hacks for the season:

​FALL HACK # 1: LAWN CARE

• Seeding, feeding, watering… (Oh, and this is my husband’s advice, since I am not a lawn guru, smile)
• Rake those leaves, please and collect them. They are not good to sit over your lawn and another benefit is, they don’t fly away to all your neighbor’s yards, smile.
• Since there is little to no rain, you must water the lawn at least 1 to 2 inches per week and up to 3 times/week.
• Is best to water it in the morning, however, if you work and come home after 5, do some watering then, is better than nothing.
• Finally, before cutting the lawn, raise the mower a bit higher to avoid injuries as the result of dry conditions. 

FALL HACK # 2: FALL FLOWER ARRANGEMENT MATERIAL

• Collect all the flowers left to make your last fall flower arrangements. Your garden may have an abundance of astilbes, roses and hydrangeas.
• If they are not totally dry, hang them in a dry place, (your garage or basement) until ready to use.
• Collect different types of pinecones, and acorns for your fall/winter arrangements.

 
FALL HACK # 3: SERIOUS GARDEN CLEAN UP

• Discard dead plants and shrubs, rake leaves.  
• Clean your outdoor furniture, decorative items and put them away until next spring. 

Well friends, this is the last post on mailboxes for this year, smile. Unless I find other mailboxes worth of sharing with you.

The fun of these photos reflects the personality of the owners. Nevertheless, I have seen only few boxes that are in scary need of repair.
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However, the best part, as ironic as it sounds, is that perhaps only about 2% never get to repair them. Therefore, as long as the other 98% care enough to have them looking mighty good, I am fine with it, and my photos are clear evidence that they do care about the “look” of their mailboxes.

As we all know, the primary reason why we select Hosta's for our gardens is not based on their flowers but rather on the beauty of their foliage.

Now don’t get me wrong, they bloom a tall spike with few blossoms and incidentally, are pretty, delicate and unique.

However, they bloom for about a week and then before you know it, they are done blooming for the year.

Hosta's are basically selected for their variety of their beautiful leaves; the green, yellows or white or variegated tones.

Anyway, I always try to capture their short bloom time, cut few spikes and leaves and bring that beauty indoors. Therefore, my flower arrangement today looks pretty decent, don’t you think?

​And it was FREE! BOOM.

Yes, we all have them. Some are pretty, others not so pretty, some look like fortresses and some are about to fall down. Notice the bases, as some folks plant low level flowers or built wooded frames around or beautify them with flower pots.

The interesting thing is that most of us try hard to make them look good to complement our properties. It only takes a little effort to make them stand straight or surprise them with a little paint or plant material that don’t cover them.
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The outcome of that effort? All the neighbors (and the mailman/woman) will notice the big change! 

Crape Myrtles are so beautiful, however, they do not bloom for a long period of time and before you know it, they lose all the beauty and turn green again.

A good example, I was impressed with and took a photo of this beautiful tree in my neighborhood when it was in bloom, and then again I walked by and photographed it about a month later, when all the blooms were gone.
​
Lucky for me, the other day I was working on my daily walks and saw another neighbor trimming the lower branches of a similar tree. I quickly approached her to ask if she could share some of the branches with me. She ever so nicely agreed. Then, I thanked her and indicated that I was planning to work on my second Crape Myrtles indoor arrangement with her tree branches. She was surprised and told me that she never thought of making a flower arrangement from tree branches, smile. Furthermore, she was happy to know that the branches she was removing were not going to the trash. Win, win situation.

One more time before the fall season begin, let’s see more benches. I love garden benches. They are comfortable and can accommodate two to three people at any outdoor party, smile. They come in all shapes, colors, materials and designs. The question is, which one you like the most and furthermore, a reminder that we need to keep them clean and decorated with cushions, throws or pillows to enhance their beauty and comfort.

Either way, I am sure that most likely you have one bench at home, or would like to have one, or just trashed one you had that needed to go because it was too old, moldy and broken.
Therefore, time to flip it or go to the garden center or any other store to purchase a new one, embellish it with pillows and throws. Lastly, don’t forget to add a flower pot nearby to enhance the colors.

Crape myrtles are such colorful flower trees. I happen to have four in my property and I don’t get tired of seen them when they bloom in the summer.

What I also love to do is to cut some branches to bring a fragment of that beauty inside my home as well.

Today, however, I chose the strong pink and purple flowers of two of my trees, then I went to my opposite side garden and grabbed few yellow Rudbeckias twigs. Beautiful.
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Next week, I will be working on another cute arrangement for my home. Can’t wait.

There is no way that anything we put in our gardens will be better than what mother nature creates, but it definitely helps, right? Smile.

It is so relaxing to walk by your neighborhood to enjoy the different pieces of art that home owners chose for their gardens. Some of these pieces are whimsical, while others are humorous and inspirational. 
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Overall, just take a stroll down your street and see what your neighbors came up with.