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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!

We are taking some time to ourselves and spending the weekend in Vermont.

It’s so nice coming up here.

The weather was in the low 70’s and beautiful.

So we enjoyed some time on the lake, did some hiking and dined out at some of our favorite local restaurants.

Family Life

Chris and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this week!

Can you believe 25 years???

That’s such a long time!

I can’t get over how fast time has flown by.

We’ve been together since the fall of 1994 when I first started law school but got married in the summer of 1996.

Home and garden blogger stacy ling and christopher d. ling

I remember the day we met like it was yesterday.

And it was so cliche!

It was my first weekend after starting law school, and I told my friends this was my swan song because I was buckling down and getting serious about school!

We went to Hoboken, NJ that Friday night and couldn’t find much parking around some of our favorite spots.

But amazingly, one opened up right in front of the Uve’s, a bar on the corner of 10th and Willow.

home and garden blogger stacy ling and her husband christopher d. ling

My friend and I were on our own and when we walked in, the bar was filled with guys.

Apparently, there was a bachelor party going on and Uve’s was the pit stop before.

Anyway, my friend and I were pretty much the only women in the bar.

So as you can imagine, being two twenty-somethings in a bar with a bunch of guys heading off to a bachelor party, we were pretty popular at that moment.

(This has never happened before and never happened again but hey, it’s part of the story).

home and garden blogger stacy ling and her husband christopher d. ling

I saw Chris from across the room.

He was there with his buddies getting set up on a blind date.

We locked eyes and that was pretty much it!

It was one of those dream weaver kind of moments.

He blew off the blind date – I managed to shake off the bachelor party dudes (LOL).

And the rest is history!

Tour my gardening zone 6a cottage gardens

In the Garden

And the groundhog saga continues…

Remember last week when we sealed up under this shed?

Well, I’ve been looking for new holes and don’t see any.

But Tori saw a new FAT groundhog up on my deck trying to eat my sweet potato vine the other day!!!

Oh my gosh, will it ever end???

#savethedahlias

At this point, I don’t even know what I’m going to do.

But I am praying they survived the weekend while we’ve been in Vermont!

My gardening zone 6a summer flowers

What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms

It was a fun week on the blog!

We did SO much this week!!

For starters, I’ve been harvesting a lot of basil lately.

Basil from the Garden for Pesto Homemade

Whenever I grow it, there’s always so much! And it’s so important to keep it from going to seed.

So what’s a home gardener to do when you have a lot of basil?

Make pesto of course!

HERE’s a great recipe for it.

How to make pesto homemade

I also got together with my supper club buddies and shared some summer picnic date ideas.

We’ve been doing these virtual supper clubs for a few months now, and I have to say, THIS one is my favorite!

In addition to sharing some picnic date ideas, we also shared an amazing menu.

Everything is so fresh, easy, and delicious to make!

Wait until you check it out HERE.

Black lab in backyard garden

Have you noticed I’m sharing a lot more videos lately?

I’ve always enjoyed editing videos and used to do a lot more when my kids were younger.

The blogs and static photos can only take you so far into the gardens.

And I really want to share more about them with you, so I’ll be bringing you on a lot more tours where we’ll chat more about gardening tips, tricks, and inspiration.

tall phlox, balloon flower and other cottage garden flowers in summer

This week, I shared two summer tours that I’ve been getting some questions about.

The first is my front yard cottage garden along the walkway to my front door.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know how much this garden means to me.

I’ve been tweaking and honing it to be an everblooming colorful garden since remodeling our home 15 years ago.

And this week, we talked about what’s blooming here today.

So if you want a flower garden that blooms from the first signs of spring through fall, you’ll want to take some notes of the plants.

YouTube video

In addition to chatting about the front yard garden, my evening stroll around the backyard fire pit and shed garden really struck a chord.

Wait until you see it – because I’m totally feeling Neil Diamond lately!!!

He’s the bomb!

After sharing this on both Tik Tok and Instagram, SO MANY of you have been asking about this garden.

So I brought you all on an in-depth tour where you’ll get a closer look at the cutting garden.

YouTube video

Seriously, the zinnias and sunflowers look SO GORGEOUS.

Wait until you see them up close!

gardening zone 6a summer flowers

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.

I’ve been wanting to do this for so many years but haven’t found the right piece for it yet.

But my good friend Rachel from the Ponds Farmhouse did!

And this DIY yard sale headboard is awesome!

neutral bedding and headboard in farmhouse bedroom

And I love finding ways to use fresh ingredients in recipes.

My good friend Mary from Life at Bella Terra shared some amazing watermelon recipes.

This one is made with cucumbers. And you know how much I love homegrown cucumbers in a dish!

bricks n blooms weekly

And here is some more inspiration you’ve got to see!

THIS recipe for vanilla bean ice cream sounds SO YUMMY!

THIS piece is beyond gorgeous and I love how she styled it!

I love THIS no-bake cheesecake recipe!

THIS lighting DIY.

And THIS ONE is my absolute favorite of the week!

blooming cottage garden with black Labrador Retriever resting on lawn

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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9 Comments

  1. Stacy,
    I loved seeing your before photos! Y’all were so cute and still are.
    Thanks so much for sharing my headboard!
    I appreciate you so much for your continued support and encouragement!

  2. I hope you had a fun and cool weekend in Vermont. I’m so glad you liked my old sewing machine find😂

  3. I love how you too crazy kids met!! Enjoy your time in VT…don’t obsess over the state of the Dahlias too much!!

  4. You had a great week. Unfortunately, groundhogs multi so fast. I think they have their own Morris code.

    Hang in there. As much as I miss gardening and the size of our old yard.

    I don’t miss the wildlife. Her it’s bunnies. They eat most things but I have been smart.

    Good luck.