Cottage Green on the Lake

Easter Place Cards and Favors-DIY Mini Flower Pots

Ready for Easter and perched on a stack of plates in the cupboard, this little planter would look fitting in Old Mrs. Rabbit’s shop alongside her… “rabbit-wool mittens and muffatees…her herbs, and rosemary tea, and rabbit-tobacco (which is what we call lavender.)”

It’s hard to believe it’s time to celebrate another glorious Easter! Here’s a fun and easy DIY favor that is so whimsical and garden-esque, even Peter Rabbit would happily forgo marauding Mr. McGregor’s garden patch to come sit at your Easter table! These little flowerpots, covered in chippy white paint and decoupaged labels, have twiggy handles adorning their tops and look like rustic, little baskets! Guest’s names are written on the back and the flowerpots serve double-duty as charming “place cards” (showing every bunny where to sit) and can also be given as favors, and a sweet remembrance of the day.

Part 2 Spring in the Cottage Greenhouse…DIY Whimsical Spring Arrangements

…the wild iris kept waving and beckoning me to come over. Finally, worn down by their flirting and persistence, I stopped working and went into the cottage greenhouse to fetch my trowel.

Dainty wood violets, wild irises, perky daffodils, fragrant hyacinth’s, azaleas in all shades of pink, creamy white Lady Banks roses, and woodland ferns are making their spring debut at Cottage Green!

Our Season Bright and The 12 Days of Christmas

On the “12th day of Christmas” Richard and I finished our morning coffee, then got busy storing away our Christmas decorations. I began packing Christmas treasures and memories…music boxes…wooden pyramids from Germany…feather trees…and angels, while Richard went outside and took the Christmas wreaths from the windows…stored away our manger scene…and carefully put Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus away for another year.

In the Cottage Greenhouse…

I love winter days in the Cottage Greenhouse. On bright days, the sunlight streams through the clear paneled roof and warms my little house (as our 3 year old Granddaughter calls it.) On gray, drippy days, I close the cedar door, turn on my space heater, and I’m snug and warm, “out of the wind’s and the rain’s way” while I listen to the lovely sound of the raindrops falling on the greenhouse roof.

A little house - a house of my own
Out of the wind's and the rain's way
 
~ Padraic Colum

Last week Richard was busy in the yard, putting up a cedar fence and the weather was perfect for pre-spring cleaning in the greenhouse. I used the leaf blower and blew out dried leaves that had crept in beneath the cedar panels, wiped the potting benches and shelves with a damp cloth, then cleaned each of my greenhouse treasures. On back shelves, under the potting benches, I organized seed trays, stacked planters and peat pots, arranged watering cans, fertilizers, and insecticidal soaps, all while planning landscaping beds and dreaming of woodland ferns, coral bells, and coleus.

January is the month for dreaming
Jean Hershey

Antique seed box and cedar chest

Easy Halloween Project…”Not so Spooky” Eensy, Weensy Spider Treat Stand

Here’s one last quick and fun Halloween project that you’ll have time to finish, before you hear the doorbell ring, signaling the arrival of your first trick or treaters!

Getting Ready for Halloween…DIY “Not So Spooky” Halloween Wreath

It’s almost Halloween, and this week I’m getting ready for our family’s traditional chili fest…always a fun, pumpkin filled evening with lots to eat, and festive treats. Our dinner menu for this special evening is always the same…steamy bowls filled with Chili con Carne served alongside a topping bar, a large salad, and a crockpot filled with delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte. No tricks are allowed, but it’s, “all about the treats” for the grandchildren. There will be Candy Corn Sugar Cookies and Harvest Moon Pies. For the adults, there’s cheesecake covered in a caramel and toffee drizzle, and for toasting, later, there’s Ghost Peep S’mores…all treats worthy of a night reserved for goosebumps and thrills.

DIY Woodland Swag and Autumn Tablescape

~ by Trenda

It’s that cozy, all things pumpkin, sweater weather, cider sipping time of year…and time to decorate Cottage Green for autumn. Seeing the shadows of autumn sunshine coming through our shutters, while smelling the apple cider fragrance in our diffuser, I was inspired to make a woodland swag. A swag that looked like it was made with treasures found during a walk in an autumn forest…some bittersweet, wild blossoms, red, golden, and orange leaves, pinecones, wild grapes, and hawthorn berries, all weaved into a fir garland and mixed with discarded pheasant feathers and antlers shed from the deer in autumn.

Where the heart is the mind works best.

Louisa May Alcott

Fish Camp Tablescape and Recipe for delicious “Cajun Beans”

Oh, I love summer nights! The deep blue of twilight makes the lake almost glow in the distance and the stars grow brighter and brighter as nightfall deepens. Great blue heron squawk farewells when they fly by going to roosts high up in the treetops, ducks murmur goodnight as they come gliding by, and the tree frogs sing a craggy lullaby.

Oh, the summer night, has a smile of light, and she sits on a sapphire throne."

Bryan Procter

Summertime at the Lake and Easy Rice Krispie Favors

Family vacation…swimming and lazy afternoons on the dock…watermelon and water guns…cookouts and ice cream…July 4th and fireworks…corn hole and fishing…it’s summertime at the lake!

Antique and Flea Market Finds

“I saw this darling, heart-shaped mirror glimmering and beckoning to me before I even got to the booth where it was hanging, and felt my heart quicken. The antique floral embellishment at the top of the mirror and the sweet, scalloped edges around the heart spoke to me, and told me, “You are taking me home.”

Recently Richard, my dear Huckleberry Friend, and I went on a trip and had a great time stopping at different antique shops and flea markets along the way. Frequently, I am asked (particularly about the wide assortment of items I use to decorate the Cottage Greenhouse) where I find the items I use in decorating. So, today I’m sharing some of the treasures we “two drifters, off to see the world” found on our trip, and what each item cost.

Moon river, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're going, I'm going your way
Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end
Waiting 'round the bend
My Huckleberry friend
Moon river and me


 Moon River ~ written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini

	cottagegreenonthelak… on In the Cottage Greenhouse…
	Easter Place Cards a… on A Tablescape and Spring Buffet…
	Easter Place Cards a… on DIY Easter Bunny Treat Ba…
	Easter Place Cards a… on Bunny Tablescape and Easter De…
	Easter Place Cards a… on This Way to the Easter Egg Hun…

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