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Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms

What a week it was!

We wrapped up my youngest daughter’s last week of high school this week with graduation and senior prom.

It was a busy week off the blog prepping for Tori’s pre-prom party and graduation day.

The Canadian wildfires kicked up the smoke as her pre-prom party was beginning. The haze that started filling the air was unbelievable but we were still able to snap a few good pics before the air quality declined the next day.

She looked beautiful and had a great time with her boyfriend at prom. Here are a few pics I took of them before.

Pre prom in the formal garden with garden blogger Stacy Ling's daughter and her boyfriend
pre prom in the formal garden - Stacy Ling's daughter putting the boutineer on her date

The day after prom was not good for my neck of the woods. The air quality was so bad you couldn’t be outside at all. And if you were? You needed to wear a mask because the air was so bad.

It look so ominous outside too because an orangey-yellow haze filled the atmosphere. It was strange!

I was a little concerned the smokey conditions would affect graduation because we were scheduled to be outdoors on the football field.

But luckily, it cleared out so we were able to celebrate with the kids outdoors.

Graduation Day was wonderful too, but bittersweet for me. We are so proud of her. And I’m thrilled that she’s moving on to college but sad to see that we are done with this chapter in our lives.

Let the empty-nesting phase really begin now.

Here are a few pics from graduation day.

Garden blogger Stacy Ling's daughter before her HS graduation in the zen garden
garden blogger stacy ling, her husband christopher d. ling AIA and their daughter at her graduation

To celebrate her last high school days, we spent the weekend in Vermont. We went hiking, boating, thrifting, and visited some of our favorite restaurants too.

In the gardens this week, I’m still planting perennials and flowering annuals. It’s been so fun filling in the gaps here and I am really enjoying the time spent in the beds this year.

The potager garden is filling in beautifully. I pinched back the dahlias and have been harvesting my cool-season veggies and herbs daily.

close up of the potager garden with raised garden beds filled with flowers

The sweet peas that I winter sowed are all doing really well. I’ve even gotten a few blooms! Every day, I go out and keep training them up the fence. They are starting to hold onto it on their own now.

I planted leftover seeds from last year and since I hadn’t had the most success with them in years past, I decided to use the leftovers this year and if they didn’t do well, I’d be done with them.

Well, looks like I’ll be ordering more sweet pea seeds next year because I think they are going to do amazing!

sweet pea streamers chocolate by floret flower farm
Sweet Pea ‘Streamers Chocolate’

The sunflowers I started from seed a few weeks ago were mowed down before I had a chance to get them planted.

So I spent all day last Sunday sowing them all over again.

Let’s hope we get some this year!

The last lisianthus plant died out so I will not be growing those again. And you know what? I don’t feel bad about it either.

Some things are just meant to be!

The potager garden is filling up with seed starts and dahlias
The potager garden

What I’m Shopping For This Week

It was a busy week behind the scenes, but I bought a few items for my home and garden. I also shopped around for Chris for Father’s Day.

Here’s what I shopped for this week!

In the Garden

front porch planter in june with angelonia cascade blue, superbells prism pink lemonade and supertunia mini vista indigo

Father’s Day Ideas

Since I’m shopping around for gifts for Chris, I wanted to mention these because we have both and they are great gift ideas.

  • This shiatsu back massager is THE BEST. I bought it a few months ago for myself and let me tell you – it gives a good neck and shoulder massage. You can use it on other areas of your body too, it has heat, and the massage is deep.
  • This massage gun. My daughters bought this one for Chris last year. He loves it and everyone uses it because it works so well!

I have no clue what I’m getting Chris yet…he loves golf but I think has everything he needs to play. Any ideas?

He could use an update to his golf attire, so I shopped for some clothes for him.

  • He loves these golf shirts. They are moisture-wicking and perfect for summer both on the course and off.
  • He’s also a huge fan of these hybrid shorts because you can wear them on the course, shopping around, and at the beach.

For Me

This site was having a great sale, so I bought some coverups and a new swimsuit for myself. Because I wear coverups almost all summer long at the pool and the lake, I needed to get a few.

shade container garden in the zen garden in terra cotta pot
Shade tolerant container garden

What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms

It was a fun week on the blog!

We kicked off the week with some easy summer DIY projects that will spruce up your home and garden in a weekend.

Plus I shared the best flowering annuals for summer that will keep the color going in June, July, and August.

Gomphrena 'Truffala Pink' by Proven Winners
Gomphrena ‘Truffala Pink’ and Sweet Alyssum

Amazing Inspiration from Around the Web

I love finding cool inspiration from around the web and wanted to share some of what I’m loving right now.

The zen garden before prom with container gardens filled with flowering annuals

If you enjoy these posts, you can find past Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly posts here.

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Home and Garden Blogger Stacy Ling cutting zinnia flowers in her cottage garden with wood picket fence in front of garden shed

Thank you so much for following along.

Enjoy a beautiful day! xo

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The bricks \'n Blooms guide to a beautiful and easy-care flower garden book by stacy ling
The Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide to a Beautiful and Easy Care Flower Garden
  • Have you never met a plant you couldn’t kill?
  • Have you dug around in the dirt with nothing to show for it except a sunburn and a sore back?
  • Do you currently enjoy growing flowers, but are looking for more tips and ideas to level up your gardening game?

Then the Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide is for YOU

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6 Comments

  1. Congratulations on Tori’s graduation. Enjoy the summer. Empty nesting does have so much beauty as well. You and Chris will get to spend more time together. Hugs to you.

  2. Wow! You have been busy Stacy. Congratulations to Tori. And welcome to the empty nesters club! Your potager garden looks fabulous! We’ve gotten some terrible smoke in the past from Canada and California, but nothing like you got. It looks so eerie. Thanks for sharing my home tour! You’re the best!

    1. Thank you so much Kim! It was bad here – I remember you guys getting smoke like that too. Crazy how far it travels!