Home and Garden

We have been transferring some flowers and plants in our garden since two weeks ago. When it will be raining in the next days, I will be doing it again. I find it not good digging plants and transferring it when the weather is hot. I am afraid the plants will die.

We are almost done with the roses. I still have some more that needs to be transferred. Anyway the roses below was taken last summer 2010 in our garden.

did you see the castle tower on the picture..yes, we live near a castle ruin and I love it.

Good day everyone! Another sunny day is here! I can truly feel the spirit of spring time! I will be hitting our garden this week since the weather is getting very friendly now. Hubby also took some vacation leave days to help me in the garden makeover. I am also planning to buy more garden accessories. I already have some but I want some new and styling ones. Last year, I spent some hundred Euros only for my garden stuffs. I am quite excited for the coming weeks especially when everything will be done.

a very nice garden figure I found in a garden center the other week. I am planning to buy it once our garden makeover is done.

My shopping wishlist for our garden this year is quite a myriad. I would be happy to buy garden baskets since I don’t have it in our garden. I also want some new flower pots. Either a zinc one or a ceramic is fine for me. A solution for a rainy season is a new mud hog. This is good especially if it gets muddy and this Mud Hog will help us scrape off the mud before going inside our house. It is also very easy to clean. Ours needs a replacement because it is already old and dilapidated.

What’s else do I need in our garden? I believed I have a long list. I also need to buy some flowers, gardeners half apron (I have been gardening for years now but still did not have one), a bigger watering can, garden kneeler, garden solar lights, plant supports, flower stands and other garden accessories that I might need. Anyway, I am still starting to note everything. For sure this will be another fun in our garden. I am quite excited!

Have a lovely day!

The Anthurium, also called as Flamingo Flowers or Boy flowers as being called as such due to its structure, the spathe and spadix. It belongs to arum family (Araceae) with around 600 to 1,000 species.

different colors and forms of Anthurium. I took this image during our visit to a garden center.

Anthurium flowers develop crowded in a spike on a fleshy axis, called a spadix, a characteristic of the Araceae. The flowers on the spadix are often divided sexually with a sterile band separating male from female flowers. Like other Aroids, many species of Anthurium can be grown as houseplants, or outdoors in mild climates in shady spots.

Spring is finally here! It officially started in Germany last Monday March 21, 2011. I am quite excited because I already see some flowers blooming in our garden. The crocus are the first ones that are currently blooming. Spring time is garden time! It is time to slowly shop for garden accessories. In fact, we went yesterday to the nearest supermarket to window shop for garden accessories and garden furniture. The supermarket is so big that you can see a lot of goods and merchandise including house and garden decors and accessories.

garden accessories at the supermarket we visited yesterday. I love especially the shades of these garden decors.

I am also trying to look for garden ideas because there will be a garden makeover very soon. We are only waiting for plan and we will submit it for approval in the proper authorities. It needs to be approved because it is quite a big project. Actually it is the making of a garage and at the back will be a garden terrace. An architect is still working on it.

Hubby is also planning to install some lighting. I am quite excited how our garden will look like after everything will be done. I already browsed some garden ideas last week and I hope that we can finalize it before the end of the month. Spring is one of the best seasons of the year for me. You know why? I simply love flowers and I can’t wait to start gardening again. Have a lovely day!

I am happy to see the first flowers that are currently blooming in our garden this spring time. The crocus are finally here! Who tells the crocus to come back in our garden every year? That is the power and magic of nature and its Maker! It makes my day happy everytime I see it outside…amazing beauty of nature!

I took this photo last week in our garden. Spring is finally here!

You might probably wonder why a lot of tourists love to go to Italy. I also find Italy very inviting. I was there four times already and I still want to come back. “La dolce vita” which simply means “the sweet life” is the reason. Others would say, Italy is pasta, Pavarotti and the Pope. Italy’s fashion, its wine, nice villas, the Ferrari–it’s all the favourite things that culminate the words, La dolce vita.

I would love to specifically share about the beauty of Northern Italy. There are a lot to explore in this beautiful part of Italy. You might also wonder why most and maybe all of the lakes and mountains holidays in Italy are always fascinating? It is simply because of its wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, this part of Italy has been a popular tourist destination.

Here are some of the interesting places not to miss when visiting Northern Italy;

Venice

I am proud to see this city twice and I might be seeing it again this coming summer. I am currently organizing a trip to this lovely place. There are a lot of things to do in Venice. You might want to experience a gondola ride to see most of the city, a visit to St. Mark’s Cathedral, shopping for famous designer brands, or maybe a walk along its canal. Don’t miss to try the Veneto specialties like polenta and risotto with cuttlefish ink sauce.

St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy. This was taken during my second visit last April 2006.

Milan

What do you expect when you visit Italy’s capital of fashion and business? I believed it is self-explanatory. A friend asked me last week if we can go to Milan to do some shopping. Why not? Don’t miss to visit the city’s stunning Gothic cathedral, the Duomo di Milano. It has also a lot of interesting museums to visit like the Pinacoteca di Brera, Bagatti Valsecchi Museum and many many more. Historical monuments such as the The Castello Sforzesco, La Rotonda della Besana, are also worth to see.

Lake Garda

This is a perfect place for people who love nature and want to enjoy a quiet and peaceful holiday. Spend an exciting day in Gardaland, a big theme park located in the south of the lake.If you don’t have a fear of heights, cable car rides are available in Malcesine. You might also want to go boating with peddlos or peddle boats.

Lake Como

The Lago di Como, as it is called in Italian is known to have a a kind of a flair and sense of history that tends to impress its visitors. This part of Northern Italy has been appreciated for its uniqueness and beauty. Take at least a boat trip to Varenna, Bellagio and Menaggio. These are some of the most famous tourist destination near the area. I love the Gelato in Italy and don’t miss to try it in any gellateria’s in Lake Como.

If you still have time to explore Verona, Genoa, San Remo, Merano, The Cinque Terre are also a must-see. I can’t wait to visit the last three towns next month.

We went last Tuesday in a supermarket in the next city. We did some grocery shopping. While going around this huge supermarket, I found out there are already a lot of garden decors in one of the areas of the store. I wanted to buy some but I still don’t know what do I really need. We will have some garden makeover this spring until summer time, the reason why I did not buy some.

garden decors in Globus supermarket in Schwandorf, Germany.

Did you just see the second image I posted here? This is a part of our yard and garden. Have you seen the dilapidated walls near the stairs going to the pavilion? I believed it is very clear now why we need to do some yard makeover. Our yard will have a new face before summer comes. I guarantee that. This is also the reason why until now, I am still searching for good ideas on how to transform this space into an enchanting part of our garden.

I have been looking for garden ideas in magazines and in the internet for the past weeks. Good to know that I already found some. Hubby and I only need to decide what is the best one. We are also planning to buy new set of garden furniture and maybe some outdoor toys like sand pits and slide for children to play. The latter is quite a good idea since we don’t have a room inside the house for children to play. For sure, my friends’ children will be surprised about this.

Here are some images from our chaotic garden.

Some of the flowers I grow in our garden. I hope to arrange them better this year especially with our yard makeover project.

This is a part of our yard that needs some make-over. See how scattered and disarranged were the stuffs that you see here? In fact, our garden needs a new look soon. Something that is quite appealing and charming. This was taken last year in summer. This lawn space will be transformed into a charming outdoor living room this coming summer season. For sure, I will share some pictures when it is done. I also wanted to put here a new garden set. Watch out for its new look in summer.

Are you ready for the next season? Spring is coming soon in Europe. As far as I can remember, it was still snowing at this time of the year last year. I am so happy because this month, I can already feel the spring air. It is time to slowly do a lot of things outside. I am also looking for helpful home and garden ideas because we will be doing some home renovation soon. Our garden also need some make over.

the beautiful tulips in our garden from spring 2010. I can’t wait to see them again very soon!

I went outside this afternoon to look at the plants especially the tulips that are slowly growing. The crocus flowers are also blooming now. I am excited to make a new landscape in our garden. I am also planning to buy some outdoor toys so that my friends’ children can play outside. This is always my problem every time I host a party because I have no toys for children to play. This year might be a different one. Children will soon have the chance to play and enjoy outside.

Since we will be building a terrace this spring time, I would also love a coffee table set in it. I am already imagining drinking a cup of coffee in our terrace while watching the beautiful flowers in our garden. That is quite a lovely experience.

I hope we can decide for a charming and appealing home and garden ideas as soon as possible. Thanks to computer and internet. It help us find ideas on how we can improve our home. I can’t wait to see all the improvements being done this coming summer season.

It is almost three years now since I visited United States of America. I stayed most of the time in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was one of the most memorable vacation that I had. First and foremost, it seems that I had a luxury accommodation during that two months holiday. I miss those times and I hope to visit United States in the future.

One of the sights we visited was Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River in the states of Nevada and Arizona. It is formed by water impounded by the Hoover Dam, a wonder of human engineering that I ever seen.

This lake was named after Elwood Mead, who commissioned the planning and construction of the Boulder Canyon Project that created the dam and lake.

Nature’s beauty like Lake Mead is always pleasing for me. I love watching bodies of water and I always appreciate nature like this. It was truly a wonderful trip to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam last 2008.

Last but not the least, I also had a wonderful time going around the super luxury hotels and accommodation in Las Vegas. Some of which include Caesars Palace, The Ballys, The Venetian, Excalibur, Planet Hollywood, Wynn, Mirage and other luxury hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada. I love it!

I personally took this image during our visit to Lake Mead last 2008.