fall

I don't know about you, but I love fall. The chill is in the air and it smells amazing. Here are some pictures from around the house

We have had this wrought iron set since we bought our first house, about 11 years ago. If you're buying outdoor furniture, you can't go wrong with wrought iron. This is one thing that is worth the extra money. And you can get steals on it with craigslist; more on that later.

 The fireplace above was on my wish list for years. And my Dad just so happened to barter one of his customers for it and then gave it to us. What a great Dad :-)

 We got some landscaping done over the summer. The hardscaping that they did was amazing. We love it.

 I'm not sure if I showed you before, but this was a crazy shed. It was very large, but didn't hold much due to the design. Plus it was falling apart, so we (aka Dave and some very nice friends) tore it down and had a new shed built. Our landscaper suggested the best location for it and it is a perfect spot. It's tucked away behind those trees.

 This is a little pathway we DIY'ed. We had some slate pieces laying around and dave placed them in the ground. Once the moss (hopefully) takes over it'll look much better.

 This back patio is a great addition, and overlooks the creek "valley."

This patio set was scored on craigslist for $100! It was a steal and exactly what I was looking for. If you get it with this type of base you don't have to have cushions. And if you live here it's a good thing, because the squirrels will tear apart your cushions, take out the stuffing and use it to build nests.

They did an amazing job laying this stone. It was not an easy thing to haul thousands and thousands of pounds of stones to the back of our yard.

 The new shed.

 Moz likes it.

 The coleus are still alive. Although time is running out, so I better propagate some.

coleus propagation

i don't know about you, but i am a huge fan of coleus. they are excellent for shade, which is something that can be hard to find. and more importantly, they are hardy! they will tell you that they need water by drooping, and even if you ignore it for a couple of days, once you do water them, they will perk right up. even better is that they are easy to keep from year to year. these pictures are from last fall, and to be honest, not all of them made it. but if you have even the faintest shade of a green thumb, at least half of them will make it. i'll take it. 

this is what you do:

• cut off some nice stems from your existing coleus
• place them in water (cut off some of the smaller stems at the bottom of each piece, if needed)
• add water as needed
• after you see a pretty good amount of roots form, place them in a planter with potting soil
• water as needed
• in the spring, replant to outside pots and enjoy all spring, summer and fall

 this is what you can enjoy in your home during the fall and winter months.

and this is a picture from a couple of months later, still going strong. just be sure to add additional water when needed.