Garden Centre at Hardware Store

We've begun the tradition, since our daughter became a Mom....to gift her with flowers or a perennial on Mother's Day.  This year was no exception...and since we have a small garden centre close by...a visit was in order....

Entrance was through the store...and I couldn't help but notice beautiful displays of outdoor furniture.....and pretty cushions...

Some furniture pieces are huge sectionals....you would need a large deck or patio area....but they are beautiful.  There was a bin stocked with outdoor cushions.....

Once outside...there were stands of beautiful annuals.  Little too soon to plant just yet...as we are still getting frost most nights...

A very brooding, overcast sky that day...and it was quite chilly.  Not the type of day we want to spend checking out flowers and shrubs.  We will wait a week or two before we visit a couple of our favourite garden centres.  Geraniums are a hardy flower for our climate....

And then I found daughter's favourite perennial shrubs.....rhododendron....she currently has a pretty mauve one....as in the shrub pictured on the left....

This beautiful pink and white shrub was chosen.  We really were looking for an orange one...but none were available.  I happen to love this one a bit more...so pretty.....and when these shrubs mature....they can be quite large...and absolutely glorious when in bloom.  

I'm not certain why ours has taken 30+ years to finally show off it's beauty...but it has been worth the wait. Most bloom within the first year or two....but ours was more of a slow burn variety!

Mr. Seventies has begun to extend the back walk way...he intends to put enough patio stones down to reach the storage shed.  Here he was just getting started.  The cement stones are heavy...so he's breaking the job down to laying a couple down at a time.  The stones require the grass to be removed, landscape fabric and sand laid down, with the stone levelled on top.  He also plans to extend the vegetable garden rows to the stones as well.  The patio stone, in the far left of the photo beside the storage shed is where my new fire pit will sit!

An update on the thong Birkenstock sandals!  They were a no-go for me!  The thong part was plastic...not leather as you would expect!  I knew the minute I slipped them on they would chafe and/or blister...so they are not the right sandal for me!

Instead I found these comfortable looking ones from Sketchers.  They have memory foam footbeds...which means a bit more softness.  We don't have a Sketchers store... I was required to order them online...but I will give an update once they arrive....

And this is happening tomorrow!  If you recall, my daughter in Nova Scotia gifted me an appointment to have this done for my birthday in March!  I'm so excited.   I haven't decided if I'm having the finger done...I'll have a chat with my tattoo artist and decide at the appointment.  And yes....tattoos hurt.  But to quote my daughter, "It's a good hurt"...lol.

We had a wonderful Mother's Day celebration...and this Mama was spoiled with a delicious barbecue and along with my new fire pit...I received awesome gift cards.  Even Liesel got in on the action....giving her Mama a gift card to Home Sense!  And gifts, held up in shipping....yet to be received.   It's good to be me!

I hope all Moms out there had a beautiful day as well!  The sun is out here today...and the weather looks amazing all week.  I hope to pick up a couple of gallons of stain...in preparation for staining our decks and front step.  It's a pretty quick job...as the deck floors and ped way to the pool can mostly be done with a paint roller screwed onto a broom handle.  Just the steps will need a brush to cover.  

Have an awesome day wherever you are and thanks so much for stopping by.  As usual, on Mondays I will be sharing at  Metamorphosis Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch!  Stop over and meet some amazing bloggers!