Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly 137

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I hope you had a great week!

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Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms

What a week it was!

In the Garden

Last week, I shared that I bought a fountain for the potager garden but didn’t show you how it looks!

Sorry it took me a while to include a photo of it, but I was busy living in the moment enjoying the outdoors with Chris and the girls for Father’s Day weekend, and didn’t snap pics of it right away.

Let me just preface this photo by saying, I LOVE IT!!!

The fountain really completes the look of the potager garden and it’s so lovely to hear the sounds while I’m harvesting herbs, weeding, or enjoying a meal.

I know I’ve said this before, but if you don’t have a water feature in any garden on your property…you need one.

We have a few now and it really does make a difference in creating that backyard oasis with the sounds of running water.

But I digress.

What do you think? Do you love it as much as we do?

And yes, the little terra cotta pots are back. They are placed on the green garden stakes so I can see them when I work. I started shopping around for toppers so they aren’t as visually intrusive.

But I don’t really mind the pots. Plus, I try to collect earwigs in them so they stop putting holes in the foliage of my plants!

Several of the flowers in the potager garden started blooming this week. While it’s just getting started, I can already tell it’s going to be quite a display.

I already plucked off a few Japanese beetles into a bucket of soapy water.

But other than that, we are moving along!

Remember when I planted more sunflower seeds around the gardens? Well, they all started and then something mowed them all down before I had a chance to spray them.

Luckily, there are a few random sunflowers that sprouted around the yard from last year. While I won’t have the display like last season, at least I still have a few to enjoy.

And one is already blooming!

Isn’t that crazy? It’s only June!

Oh, and remember when I mentioned we added some new fish to the front pond?

Well, here are a few of them. These are super young koi fish that were a pretty good deal at the koi pond shop last week.

You can buy different sizes of koi for a range of prices. Since we’ve only done shubunkins in the front pond, we aren’t sure how they’ll do so we opted to go with the smallest size and hope for the best.

They are tough to find because the pond is so big but every now and then we see them swimming around. So they seem to be doing OK so far!

We named them after my husband’s siblings. Eventually, I’d love for all the fish to have the names of family members. So fun right?

Except Jennifer from Cottage on Bunker Hill would like one named after her so I’m reserving one just for her! xo

Since getting these guys last week, we decided to get a few more yesterday! So now we’ve got 36 fish in the front pond and they are so much fun to feed and watch!

Since we spend quite a bit of time in the potager and pond gardens this week, we also enjoyed some time by the fire.

And let me just say, how much I love this spot!

This is the garden view from the bridge. We hang out up here to feed the fish. It’s so fun!

In Our Home

Behind the scenes, we hosted Tori’s High School Graduation party this weekend and had such a great time.

It was so nice to see friends and family come to celebrate her accomplishment before she heads off to college this fall.

Was hoping we’d be outside but of course, it rained just as the party was getting started so we held it inside.

We also celebrated my father-in-law’s birthday who just turned 89!

And as an update on my shoulder…it is not good. A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder).

Let me tell you, it is no joke! The pain is pretty bad and my motion is even more limited than it was a few weeks ago.

I started acupuncture to hopefully help with it and got another steroid injection to help break up some of the adhesion.

Hopefully, next month I’ll be able to start serious physical therapy to get some motion back. Right now, my shoulder is too inflamed and painful to do much with it. So…I have to wait.

What I’m Shopping For This Week

I was a little all over the place this week with items for the garden, myself and the house. Here’s what I shopped for this week!

• I shopped around for some green garden stake toppers. So far, I’m gravitating to these. They are a little basic but might be a good fit if I want them to just disappear.
• I just bought a few of these charger plates for some tablescape ideas I have.
• These vintage bud vases.

Workout Gear

I’m not sure I told you, but I started running again. I used to run long distances but slowly stopped when my uterine fibroids started affecting my stamina.

Now that I’m passed all that, I’m able to run distance again. I’m running about 3-4 miles 5x a week now. So this girl is rewarding herself with new running shoes and some gear.

If you are looking to get some new walking/running and workout gear, you will love some of the things I bought.

And I’m also a believer that new workout gear inspires us to keep going.

• This is the brand of running shoes I usually wear. They are great for running or walking because they offer a lot of support which is better if you have aches and pains when you exercise. As a side note, it’s good to upgrade your kicks every 3-500 miles you cover because the support wears down. I tend to upgrade mine as soon as I notice my knees start bothering me when walking or running.
• I just reordered them, but I have say, I was thinking about switching over to this brand that everyone raves about. What holds me back is I don’t have problems with my current brand – so I think I’m sticking with what I know.
• Because I’m not a fan of carrying stuff when I walk or run, I picked up a new running belt for my iPhone. I used to have one when I ran long distances but can’t find it. This one will fit larger phones so perfect for me!
• These are the best-running tanks. I stock up in as many colors as I can because I wear them all summer long.
• But I’m also a fan of these too. This is my favorite brand for activewear because they often have so many deals and the clothes are very comfortable. Sometimes activewear has tags or seams that itch. Not these!
• And while we are on the subject of comfy tees, these are my favorite v-neck shirts. I wear them a lot when I garden.
• I’m also a huge fan of these high-rise running shorts. Because they don’t fall down and provide great coverage. I wear them all the time when I run or am working in the gardens. But sometimes, I’ll even wear them just kicking around the house. And they fit true to size.
• And finally, I stocked up on some running socks. I opt for this length now because the lower ankle ones ALWAYS slip down while I’m running. If you have a brand you love that doesn’t slip, let me know in the comments below!

What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms

It was a fun but really busy week on the blog!

While supper club is one of my favorite times of the month, it seems to be the busiest week on the blog!

This month, the girls and I celebrated the summer season with a cocktail party.

I shared a tasty appetizer that we enjoy all summer long here. While I bring it to parties as an appetizer, we often use it in this recipe.

Wait until you see the tropical-inspired menu ideas from this month’s gathering. You are going to love them!

In addition to hosting supper club this month, I shared some recent finds at the outdoor flea market in Vermont. Wait until you see what I bought!

But I also regret NOT buying one of the items I found and I’m still kicking myself for not just getting it.

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.

Love these thrift store decorating ideas.

These DIY tropical napkin rings.

This vintage shopping trip on the Puget Sound.

These tropical appetizers sound delicious!

These fun ideas for a fun summer cocktail party.

This easy summer frittata recipe.

This strawberry and cream dessert recipe.

And I love this recipe for watermelon and feta salad too!

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

And… If you’re catching up on blog posts you may have missed, be sure to sign-up to get my newest posts via email to stay up to date with everything that’s happening here on the blog and more.

Garden Supplies I Use

I’m often asked about the garden supplies and tools that I use most. From pruners to deer repellents, here are some of my favorites in no particular order.

• I like to use a good-quality, potting soil, garden soil, compost, and perlite when planting. While I make my own compost, you can easily buy it ready-made for use.
• I have used this deer repellent with great success. But now, I’m all about this deer repellent that is systemic instead of topical. This means the plant takes it in as opposed to it just smelling bad.
• Hands down this is my favorite hand-weeding tool. You can use it to get underneath roots and loosen soil, and it cuts down on the weeding time because you work much faster.
• But I also love this long, stand-up weeding tool to really get around roses from afar.
• I use THIS ORGANIC FERTILIZER for roses because the blooms are more prolific and it’s organic.
• And I use this organic fertilizer for my vegetables and herbs in the potager garden.
• You’ll need a sharp set of pruners when working with plants and flowers. I buy a few so I can stash them around.
• I use these garden snips to deadhead and cut flowers from my gardens.
• Where pest and disease problems are concerned, if I need to, I generally use this insecticidal soap or neem oil to help control infestations depending on the issue. When using, only apply when pollinators are less active.
• This is my favorite set-and-forget slow-release fertilizer for houseplants, annuals, and container gardens.
• Whenever I stake my peonies or other plants, I generally use these grow-through garden supports because they work really well and keep the blooms upright.

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