To say I am preoccupied with beautiful gardens would be quite an understatement.  I could print a hefty coffee book from all the beautiful images of English gardens and landscapes I’ve pinned.

Digitally, I’m a garden enthusiast.  Realistically, I’m the least capable person on the planet for planning, planting, and maintaining beautiful foliage.  Just ask the dozens of plants in my life who have fallen to their death over the last 15 years.  Don’t judge ; ) I try to care for them, but don’t seem to have a developed green thumb.  If I had a dime for every time I was hunched over a plant apologizing and asking in desperation, “how can I resuscitate you?!?” I’d be a rich girl.  But that won’t stop me from continuing to try!

When we moved to the bay house we were told it had not been lived in for seven years.  You cannot imagine the weeds, debris, and pure craziness going on the yard, so bad it was almost comical.  The improvement plan we hope to instill will take a lonnnnnnng time.  For now I’m thinking of potting some flowers and planting a hydrangea garden in a visible area.  Here are a few of our fine feathered helpers Saturday morning.

Sidenote: We lost our sweet little chick, Lucky, to a neighbor’s dog…so Peter built a cute aviary to keep future chickens safe.  I’ll show you that in another post.  A few of our newbies in above photo from left to right:  Miette, Pouffe, Pirouette, and Chapeau.

These little ladies are such a hoot and always keep us entertained.  If anyone is curious, their breeds are Sultan, Silkie and Polish.  Because of the fancy feathers, they’re considered ornamental chickens…and not exactly the best egg layers.  At least they look pretty running around the yard.

In sheer gardening optimism, I picked up the cutest Danny Seo shovel set at T.J. Maxx and got busy emptying our pots of not-so-alive plants.  I love the retro look and comfy feel of the bamboo handle.

Sounds silly, but I don’t like to have a garden tool unless it looks pretty on display.  Blame it on images like this (which regularly haunt my husband).  I really do believe beauty and organization go hand in hand.

Oh and in case you haven’t met Danny Seo, he is the poster child for all things green.  And my gardening hero.  Maybe one day I’ll be like him and hold healthy plants in my pimped out potting shed…

Back to the yard.  While researching plants and landscaping, I learned that English gardens are typically more square in shape.  Lovvvvve that.  Won’t even go into how obsessed I am with all things English.  So if we do any landscaping, my goal is something inspired by an English garden.  Hope to have topiaries, boxwoods, herbs, and maybe some pea gravel!

I’m equally fixated on window boxes.  That’s another goal.  Baby steps.

The chicks told me they would love a fancy place to leisurely lounge and fluff their feathers.  I think they would appreciate a scene like this.  Clearly my very favorite garden image of all time.

Feel free to cruise around and see more of my le jardin pics over here.

Hope you’re off to a great start this week!  xoxo