All rested from a great family vacation.

We just got home from a very nice vacation. It was so much fun.  We go on a family trip each year all together.  With having firefighters and nurses in our family there is always someone missing at the holidays with working.  So this vacation is always a special one since we can all be together as a family.  Getting everyone's schedules to match is always an issue so this time with us all together is such a blessing to have.

We came back from beautiful sunny Florida and Fun Fun Fun Disney.  I wanted to show you just in the 10 days we were gone how much my flowers have tripled in size.

I guess the cooler temps and all the rain was good for them.  Not to mention the miracle grow I doused them with before we left!!!!!!!!!


The summer house is in full bloom.

My bike flowers are starting to really fill in nicely in the baskets.


All my pretties on the porch are doing really great.


The bag on the old door on my front door is loving where I hung it. It has tripled in size.  It loves the late afternoon sun.

Remember the chippy old barn door table.  The flowers on there are doing really good.  I love love love that blue chippy table so glad I found a home for it in the garden.

Since the scare of the impatiens and the mold I did not want to chance it this year in the beds so I went with petunias and they are doing so great and bushing up nicely.

Even my cherub is loving her place in the garden this year.  My Robin couple love to take their morning bath in the cherub bird bath.

My lilac bushes filled in so nicely.  I had a lot of flowers on the back of the house but I think with this crazy spring we had they just greened up more than bloomed this year.


The flowers I potted on the old ladder filled in so fast.  They are already half way down the ladder!!!!


It is amazing what some nice temps and miracle grow can do for your flowers.  Petunia's are a little more maintenance with having to deadhead them but they give such beautiful color and they love the sun so they are perfect for the deck.

I still need to get a plant for the fire truck.  Am going to work on that this week.

The plant on my table by my chair got so big I cannot even put my drink or magazines on there any more!!!!!

It was a beautiful vacation but it was nice to come home.  Hope you are all enjoying the nicer weather.  We had a little sun poke out today in between showers so I thought I would grab some pictures while the sun was shinning.
Kris
:)


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71 comments

  1. Your flowers all look great, Kris! You are definitely a role model for petunias! : ) I've used some of the miracle gro potting soil in my pots, too. It helps with not having to water them as much, which I am happy about.

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  2. Oh Kris, everything is just simply beautiful. I can't get over how everything filled in so nicely. What a great surprise to come home to a Stunning Garden! Miracle grow really works..... But I think the flowers know you love them also.
    So glad that you and your family had a wonderful vacation all together.
    Have a great week.
    Mary

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  3. Very pretty! With all this rain it sure made yours bloom. I still haven't planted all my flowers. Too much rain!
    What a great vacation!
    Warmly,
    deb

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  4. How luvly Kris. Everything is just so beautiful. Mine are in full bloom as well. This has been a weird spring, but I am NOT complaining everything is pretty and fragrant and I luv it. Not nearly as pretty as yours though :-)
    Glad you enjoyed your Florida vacation with the family .
    Hugs, Gee


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  5. Oh my goodness!!! What a lovely porch you've got and those flowers are loving the warm weather.. Love the bike idea!!

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  6. Holy Crow Girl, you have the Greenest Thumb ever! Those flowers on the front door are to die for...love it all!

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    1. Hi Susan,
      I think it is the miracle grow and this cooler weather with a lot of rain. I think they are loving the rain. Thanks for coming by and for your sweet comment. Have a great week.
      Kris

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  7. Your flowers are incredible, Kris! You must be the envy of the neighborhood! I've never planted petunias in the ground...they really look beautiful!

    Because of the rain I haven't gotten to planting, here or at the lake. I'm always a little late so there's nothing new about this! lol!

    Going to read your Disney post now.

    XO,
    Jane

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    1. Hi Jane,
      Thanks so much. I am loving my flowers they are doing really good this year. I am so excited to see them getting big early that is a good sign for summer. I think they are loving all the rain we are having. Hope your week is going good. I miss the pool and Disney and just being lazy. Back to the grind!!!!
      Kris

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  8. Whoa Kris your flowers look amazing!You must have that special touch!
    xx
    Anne

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    1. Hi Anne,
      I think the flowers are really loving all the rain we have had plus they love the miracle grow. It lives up to it's name!!! Hope you are having a great week. I love your new header on the blog. So pretty.
      Kris

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  9. Your flowers are just gorgeous and have really grown so lovely. I must get out the miracle grow! It must take you hours and hours to get them all planted. Glad you had a nice vacation. We have the same problem coordinating schedules and don't have fire fighters or nurses in our family!! Nancy

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    1. Hi Nancy,
      It is a real challenge when we try to do things as a family now. Everyone is always on different schedules so I really love this trip. So nice to all be together in one spot!!! Hope you are having a great week.
      Kris

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  10. WOW! You have a floral bonanza going on over there! I'm so jealous. It looks beautiful Kris! It was great to see you and Terry the other day, and to meet Susan. Thanks so much for bringing her in. Enjoy your rest of the week.
    Julie

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    1. Hi Julie,
      It was so much fun to meet Susan in person. So far my two dates with bloggers have been good ones!!!! No one has turned out to be a serial killer!!!! Ha Ha!!!! It is fun to meet in "real" life. Susan loved your shop and also did a little shopping at my house. I don't know how she is going to get all that stuff on the plan. She took a small cabinet from me that I was done with!!!!! I hope she got it all home. It was fun to see all of you too. I am still thinking about a couple of things in the shop so I may come by this week end.
      Kris

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  11. What a gorgeous home to come back to with everything in bloom. The yard is just amazing, I'm sure your neighbors must really love being on your street! Love all the fun touches that you incorporate in your design.
    Hugs,
    Patti

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    Replies
    1. Hi Patti,
      I am loving my flowers getting this big already that is a good sign. I love my garden flowers and love to mix old pieces of architectural elements in with the flowers. I just love the character it gives to the yard. Hope you are having a great week.
      Congrats on your 2 years in blog land!!!! Woooo Hoooo such a wonderful accomplishment. Congrats.
      Kris

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  12. Your containers are amazing! Have you ever done a tutorial on putting one together? I'm new to following your blog so I may have missed it. I hope mine fill in this well.

    I haven't seen the impatien problem in my area yet so I went ahead & bought some but not as many as I usually do. I'm hoping we're safe for awhile yet.

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    1. Hi Jenny,
      Most of these come already made up. We have a wonderful nursery that I get my flowers from and they come already put together. I do make my own in the back on the deck. I usually just get the flowers that all love sun and mix them up. I always love to see what will do well together. I only have one impatiens plant this year. Just did not want to take any chances if that mold hits us in the Midwest. Have a great week.
      Kris

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  13. Oh my....your flowers are just beautiful!! I use Miracle Grow on my flowers too, but mine are not as pretty as yours. We really could use some rain here. I do water them, but they really do look better when it rains.
    hugs,
    Cindy

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  14. My garden is an embarrassment after seeing yours, and you were gone for a week. It is just one week exactly now and then I will have the time to plant, weed and throw on the Miracle Gro. My weeds are doing fantastic. I have to spend the entire coming weekend pulling weeds so the yard will look good for our party.

    Glad you had a great time.

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  15. Your flowers are amazing! Mine were going crazy but then we have had about a week now with no sun and they are totally stunted. It is suppose to be nice this weekend--hoping for the best! I just adore the petunias hanging on your door!

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    1. Hi Sandy,
      We have been having a lot of rain too but the sun does peak out for a few hours during the day so the petunia's are loving that. I think the mild weather and not a lot of heat yet are helping my flowers really expand early. I love being surrounded by my flowers all summer. With our crazy weather in Chicago land you only have a short period of summer so I enjoy every minute of gardening when I can. Hope you are doing great.
      Kris

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  16. Wow, you have quite the green thumb, even while away on vacation! How fun is that to come home to so much color and all those full, lush plants. How does your cool table and your fire truck and whatnot handle the weather? I'm absolutely loving the front door area with the bag of flowers and that planter box on the old panel along side the front door. Just gorgeous! Good thing you are back to enjoy the beauty!
    Liz

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    1. Hi Liz,
      I had a little help from mother nature with all the rain and also the girl that stayed with my dog watered for me!!! She did a great job. I love petunia's because they do well and are very little maintenance. They love heat and sun and if you give them water and miracle grow they go crazy. There is something about being surrounded by the beauty of flowers for me.
      I love the front door too. I love mixing in old vintage architectural things with flowers in the garden.
      Kris

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  17. The home magazines will be knocking down your pretty door asking for photos. Everything is just beautiful Kris. xo

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    1. Ha Ha Lynn I wish. I just love having the flowers all summer long. This is a good sign when they get this big so quickly. They are loving the rain we have been having.
      Hope you are doing great.
      Kris

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  18. Oh my goodness! Your flowers are GORGEOUS! And I LOVE your vignettes! Truly lovely! I'll be posting more garden pictures throughout the summer as my perennials bloom...unfortunately they're the only thing I can grow (I'm not so great at the watering thing!). But they are beautiful just the same! Here was my first post for the summer: http://athankfullyimperfectwoman.com/2013/05/16/my-babies-are-blooming/ I hope you enjoy it!

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    1. Hi Patty,
      I love all your flowers too. I just took a look. Love the little bunny too eyeing up a meal!!!!!!! Thanks for coming by.
      Kris

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  19. OH MY GOODNESS so many pretties I could hangout here for hours..
    Truly a treat to see thank you for sharing... hugs, Cherry

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    Replies
    1. Hi Cherry,
      Thanks so much. I love hanging out on my deck in the summer. Love the beauty of all the flowers.
      Kris

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  20. WOW! everything is so beautiful. I pinned to my pinterest in the garden board xo P.S> I hope you will share this at the hop today.

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  21. WOW! Love your flowers!! We have had soo much rain lately, its nice for watering but we need more sunshine to make my flowers bloom. They're looking a little rain soaked.
    Yours are Beautiful!! I soo enjoyed your pictures.
    Thanks, Faye

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    Replies
    1. Hi Faye,
      We are having a lot of rain too but the last few days the sun had peaked out during the day so my flowers are loving that. Thanks for coming by and your sweet comments.
      Kris

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  22. OMG I only use that when I am really impressed. I have never seen so many flowers. I feel proud if I get a dozen flowers from a plant.

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  23. Kris, I am SO happy that I got to see all of this in person! It's just stunning! You definitely have the touch-now I just have to get you to come to Ohio so that you can work your magic on MY yard-ha! :)
    Susan

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  24. Fantastic! So many beautiful things to see. I love your bike with all the wonderful flowers. Yes, your flowers have tripled in size, you're garden is heaven! Thank you for sharing all your gorgeous photos!

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  25. such pretty vignettes, kris! your petunias are so beautiful, so huge--they must be gulping miracle grow! so glad your vaca was great, and glad to see you back:)

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  26. What a happy inviting place!

    I'm visiting today from Thursday's Favorite Things. Happy to see such pretties over here at your place. :)

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  27. Your flowers look amazing, Kris!!! They're all so gorgeous!
    Your family vacation sounds really special and such a good time.
    Mary Alice

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  28. Oooooooo, your flowers are so pretty. Thanks for letting me stroll around your garden. Now...I want an old bike!

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  29. Absolutely gorgeous!!! Fantastic tour :-) If I left for 10 days, I'd probably come back to a flower grave! Haha!!

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  30. Cottage sweet Cottage is all I can say! what a beautiful garden bed of floral to rest your heart on after a long Disney trip. Kris are you sure this place you call home is not a garden house florist? How does your garden grow with such lush beauty and all at once beauty in bloom :)

    All your pretties add the right kind of rightness to your garden, my onnly wish is to be a neighbor of yours so I can see it all up close and personally :)

    Thank you sweet friend for taking the time to visit me and add joy and inspiration to my weekend....You know what I will be doing?... Gardening !!!

    love and inspiration to you and your garden home.

    xx
    Dore

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  31. Wow!!! I am amazed and of course I love the old bike with the flowers :)

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  32. Your garden is stunning! I featured it today on Friday Finds! :) Have a great weekend!

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  33. Wow indeed! So many beautifully overflowing vignettes in your yard!! Enjoy! :)

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  34. Hi Kris,
    oh my goodness, your garden looks amazing! what a fun place to be.........
    Love all the vignettes you have made in your yard, great yard art!
    All your plants are so lovely and abundant, a wonderful cottage garden,
    with so many cute elements.

    Looks like yall had a wonderful vacation too with family. Thanks for
    coming by and for your sweet comments, they were appreciated.

    Blessings, Nellie

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  35. I think I'll just come by once and week and look at this post over and over again Kris -
    How gorgeous - you've really outdone yourself creating an oasis..............
    XOX

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  36. Hey there Kris! I'm so glad you enjoyed your vacation. What a blessing! And what a treat to come back home to all those beautiful flowers. You really are talented - inside and outside the house! Hope you have a great weekend friend!

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  37. You have such a green thumb! Just loving your gardens!

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  38. Such a beautiful garden! Love it!!

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  39. Omigoodness!!! Well add me to the long list of commenters here. Your garden is jaw-dropping gorgeous. I see your sign that says Garden Tours for 25 cents. I'll be over tomorrow for my tour after I get done at the flea market. ;) When I saw the first photo of the bike I just sat there and stared at it dumbfounded for awhile. Truly amazing. You don't have a green thumb ... you have 2 green hands!! This is just so pretty, Kris. You've outdone yourself. :)

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  40. Can I just say WOW!!! I can't believe how much your flowers have filled in over the past few weeks! Your yard is a show stopper! I planted the same creamy wave petunias in my flower boxes and they haven't even started to grow yet. Send some summer my way, please.

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  41. darling, darling, darling! I love your post....thanks for linking up to Fishtail Cottage's Garden party! hope you are having a great weekend! xoox, tracie

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  42. Hi, You have some of the prettiest flowers I've ever seen. And the way you put them all together is fabulous. Love the bicycle...Connie

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  43. I sure do wish my petunias were doing as good as yours....they are gorgeous! They have went wild!!!

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  44. I am in love with your garden Chris, it's absolutely gorgeous, lovely petunias, I didn't hear about the impatients thing, I planted a whole wack of them in my beds hopefully they'll be ok , what should I be worried about? I'm in Ontario, Canada do unthink I'll be affected? Have a wonderfull day and thanks for the lovely garden tour it was just fabulous Xo Elle@ sweetpeaschicnshabbies

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    1. Hi Elle,
      I am not sure if you would be effected in Canada. It started out at the East Coast and is on the move. They are not sure if it will hit us in the Midwest or not. I am hoping not. They say it will wipe out all the impatiens if it does. I usually use them everywhere but I did not want to spend all that money and take a chance and have that mold hit us and wipe out my whole garden. Time will tell if it comes our way. It is air born and nothing can stop it if it does come. That is the scary part. I just hope they contained it out East and it will not travel. After this summer if it does not hit us then we should be ok from then on.
      Thanks for taking time to leave a comment. Very much appreciated. Have a great week.
      Kris

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  45. It is nice to hear that your vacation went well. That miracle grow, especially when mixed with rain, really can do wonders for a garden. I love how colorful the porch is and I love the barn door table as the effect really works in the garden. I really enjoy those lilacs, good stuff.

    Please visit My Webblog

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  46. hello
    je découvre votre blog
    il est superbe
    que de fleurs , vous avez un meilleur climat
    que par chez moi
    et toutes ces décorations de jardin , j'adore
    cela doit représenter beaucoup d'heures de travail
    bonne journée
    tendresse
    edith (iris)
    France ( Normandie )

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  47. I just want to move in with you:) Beautiful!!

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  48. I just want to move in with you!! Beautiful!

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  49. Pour me a cup of tea and I will be over. Just lovely, I love the bike but then there is that great door. Each nook is wonderful. I am your newest follower. Great Post. Kathy

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  50. Oh, my word! I want to go out and get more Petunias - what a gorgeous garden you have - so very striking and beautiful in color and beautifully done. Your post will be featured in this week's Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  51. Beautiful! Love your garden! :) I am in Western PA and have heard we are good to go with New Guinea Impatiens so I bought one little plant to see how that goes. So far so good but it's only been a week or so! :)

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  52. I am breathless your gardens are just beautiful...love the bike! Would love it if you came by and shared it over at One More Time Events.http://www.onemoretimeevents.com/2013/05/share-it-one-more-time-features-and_26.html New Follower...

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  53. How gorgeous! I can't believe how fast your flowers have grown! All of the arrangements are so beautiful! I could admire them all day! I think I'll just take over your chair on the deck for a little while and take in all the beauty. Have any ice tea? LOL! Hugs, Leena

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  54. Hi, First I want to Thank you for sharing and second I would like to let you know you have been featured at One More Time.. Thanks again and hope you can make it again this week....xo Tammy
    http://www.onemoretimeevents.com/2013/06/share-it-one-more-time-features-and.html

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  55. Your flowers are so beautiful. I just love how you designed all the planters. And those petunias, OMG they are beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I hope mine get that big too.

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  56. I didn't see the link to get emails from you. I love your blog. Please sign me up.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Barb it is at the right side top of the side bar on my blog to sign up for emails.
      Thanks so much.
      Kris

      Delete

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