Paint the trim to match the windows so they aren’t screaming “I’m a new vinyl window!” Don’t paint/limewash/whatever over that pretty brick. It’s already made to look aged and interesting. Expand the foundation planting out further into the yard, add some curved lines to it (ask for help from folks here if you need ideas), put in some interesting plants. You have a pretty house with a lot of potential!

Pink, I hope your new plot works out well. You are generous. House sparrows: you might already know this, but you can put two boxes on a pole, back to back. That way row different species can nest on the sa,e pole duplex — bluebirds with tree swallows, for example. I would gulp and destroy the house sparrows. Ugly work, but there are fairly quick ways to dispatch them. Toss their bodies into the woods and something like an opossum or fox will have them for dinner. The house sparrows are destructive pests. The nest early, they not only attack nestlings, I’ve seen the lock onto a tree swallow and put it to the ground pecking at it fiercely. There are traps that can trap live house sparrows. Of course you must keep an eye on any trap so that no bird sufferers and you can release any desirable bird. Do not let the caught house sparrows free. They will just keep breeding, snack at fast food joints and destroy other desirable birds and nestlings. A person at a wildlife place showed me how to quickly and relatively humanely dispatch one of these destructive birds. He also was careful that I was not an over the top animal rights activist. I like animals, let snakes, spiders, wasps and bees be, but I do slap black flies and mosquitoes and don’t have pangs of guilt when destroying a deer tick or horse fly. You could find some flat stones and put your name on them in your new spot. Lugging water is a drag. A seventh generation dairy farmer I rented from had a garden 1/8 mile from her spigot. I was given a plot. She cautioned me not to water. Just leave the plants alone but for weeding and okay to sort of mulch w loosened loam. Keep it weeded. She said that then, without watering, the plants roots will grow deeper and unless there is a severe drought, the plant will be fine. I did this. Even my basil was lush, full and green. This was in western Massachusetts and the summers were quite hot. Have fun!

The green grassy area behind our little home garden is the neighbor's yard. In fact, our home garden backs right up to the property line. And while we have a cordial relationship with the neighbors, there is a whole host of reasons why it wouldn't work for us gardening in their yard. Gardening is something I do for the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of my labor, and for the joy of having the end results. There are challenges and setbacks to be sure. But there is a certain satisfaction one gets from meeting them. I'm very down because when I found out they were offering community garden plots at our local career center where they teach horticulture, I for-sure imagined it would be well-run and I got excited and started all kinds of special tomatoes to plant there. We created a little mini grow house out of our large unused extra bathroom with the walk-in shower. We nurtured the tomatoes for two months. And now they are all pot-bound and dying and this community garden thing is just another negative hassle. Sigh. I have been anticipating planting this garden for three months. It was one bright spot in a lot of darks. That's why I am so bummed. And I certainly am not looking forward to this being another "project" full of administrative issues I have to solve. I was looking forward to puttering with my plants, beings who require attention but don't respond in annoyingly nasty and illogical ways. And now I'm back to more of same, arguing with people about things that should be no-brainers and extra time and work for me with little positive to show for it. The bees Oakley, were a thought I had because of the comb-like appearance of the chicken wire we used for the varmint fence around our home garden. It's not pretty but absolutely necessary to keep deer, chipmunks and groundhogs out of the garden. So I thought about adding a touch of whimsy. The white hoops were something we did quick last year before covering the garden with clear plastic to extend the growing season on the tomatoes. We plan on painting them this year and growing beans up and around them. When we put them up last year it was too cold to paint. If time and money allow, I'd like to add some other metal bugs for fun, like butterfly or dragonfly or ladybug. Not going to be a priority though I sure wish we didn't absolutely need that ugly grey plastic shed. If there was any way I could get rid of it I certainly would. I don't need suggestions for that, it's on the "to do" list but not this year, too many other things have to happen before it can go. In addition to having garden issues we have storage issues at our house, which I struggle to overcome daily. That's why I am so bummed. One bright positive thing I thought was happening in my life has turned out to be a bust in the "spark joy" department. Just adding also, that cash and staff strapped schools and other organizations are cutting back, not looking for new ways to do more work for the community. Community service does not generate income, in fact, it requires expenditure of both time and materials. There is a huge volunteer shortage in our community, we hear that everywhere, and also budget cuts have left many organizations with staff doing what was once two or sometimes even three jobs. When I quit my horticulture job last year they never rehired for the position, just added my job responsibilities on to someone already working there full time. People can complain all they want, there is no way that isn't resulting in a downgrade of service and maintenance. That's an example of how these organizations are going. My current job used to be full time but no money to pay anyone to do it full time, so they have full time expectations and then some, for a 20 hours a week job with low pay. So I imagine the school is no different. The teachers are already involved in other community things too. That's how I found out about the community garden, trying to get the teachers to either volunteer or recommend a volunteer for something I was involved with. No way, they are maxed out. I imagine if there are too many problems they will just cut the garden out all together, what they do for actual enrolled students is what pays the bills and where their limited time and budget get allocated. If this garden requires too much attention, I imagine they will just jettison it like they did once before.

I purchased this outdoor furniture through Houzz. It has beautified my patio. The 4 piece set is a perfect size and color.