I’m In Love With My Mailbox Flowers

It sounds crazy, but here we are. I love gardening. I can't wait to have some color in the Spring. I try to gear my flowers so that something is blooming at all times, but it's more than that. My flowers are a seasonal scrapbook. One of my favorites: my mailbox flowers.

I have flowers from friends' and family's yards. Double daylilies from Grandpop's yard in Philadelphia. Iris from our home in Maryland. I have a ton of flowers from my mom and dad's yard in Flushing. My dad loved to garden too. It's something we did together. When their home was sold, I actually put it in the rider that not all flowers would remain (my brother was pretty annoyed by this, but he still let me do it).

I dug up daffodils, succulents, iris, hibiscus, and lilies. I even have flowers from my son's elementary school flowerbeds.  I didn't leave messes behind.  I just took a piece and left the bed better than I found it.

I love all my flowerbeds, but my favorite is a tiny spot surrounding my mailbox. My mailbox flowers have a little bit of everything shoved in there. lol... daffodils, daylilies, iris, succulents, tiger lilies, and clematis. The clematis is blooming right now and I am in love with my mailbox.

Scroll down if you would like a few notes on how I did this. I also included pictures of my band of gnomes. My sister, Mary, painted them for me. She is super talented.

It's not hard. I re-purposed some bricks from our old patio for the frame. I planted small amounts of each (although currently, the irises are trying to take over). I bought one of those trellis pieces from Home Depot and attached it to the mailbox. Planted the clematis at the bottom and let them do their thing. If you have a metal mailbox, this may not be for you. The mailbox gets smoking hot in the sun and the clematis definitely do not like it. I really did NOT do a lot to achieve this look. I just guided the clematis a few times to stick with the trellis piece and that was it.

In addition to my gardening, I am home to gnomes.  My sister, Mary painted these for me and then DROVE THEM from Texas, up to Michigan.  I 100% love them... and her.  I wish I knew how to paint like that, but sadly, I don't.  Meet Keith.  He's my drummer.  He likes shrooms.

Jerry is my front man. He keeps on truckin' his cart through my flowerbed. Sidenote: I also have stepping stones in my gardens from my kids at different ages. I HIGHLY recommend stepping stones. It's such a cool moment in time to preserve.

I chose Brian for my guitarist because he's reading.  You don't get to be an astrophysicist without reading some books.  My gnomes are the champions, my friend.

This dude is just chilling.   That's what I think you need for a great bass.  John Entwhistle had to be chill to handle the very big and, sometimes, crazy personalities of The Who.  Take a load off, dude.  You deserve it after such an amazing career lifting the bass to a lead instrument through your talent and technique.  Rest easy, brother, and thank you for what you did for the world of rock and roll.

I LOVE Summer and gardening AND rock and roll... check out some of my favorite summer tunes.

We live for summers in Michigan. 9pm sunsets, heading Up North for the weekend (gas prices permitting) and the occasional bonfire. Whether it's a vacation or staycation, here are some of my favorite summer classic rock favorites for summer nights and summer days.

Yes.  I started with the obvious choice.  "Summer nights and my radio."  Sammy Hagar, you are a genius.  What radio station wouldn't want to play this?  It puts you in the moment.  "Ah, hot summer nights, that's my time of the year."  Michigan hears you, my friend.  See you August 23rd at Pine Knob.

The video is worth watching just for the playing of the glass jug.  I love the vibe of this song, but two lines bother me.  "If her daddy's rich, take her out for a meal.  If her daddy's poor, just do what you feel."  What exactly are we saying here, Mungo Jerry?  I still love the song, so I guess I'll burn my bra later.

Sucks that they didn't do a video for this song.  I always picture Diamond Dave from his "California Girls" video and wish the two could become as one. lol "Ah now summertime's here, babe... need something to keep you cool... you better look out now, cause I've got something for you." DLR on blast with his swagger.  I love it!

The highly under-rated Y&T created an 80's summer masterpiece.  Having said that, please note that one of the band members looks like he's heading to his second job at Hooters after the video shoot.  In all seriousness, I totally love this song.  The energy is amazing.  "Summertime girls, you make my whole world go around."

This is a great summer song even though it's actually talking about missing summer:  "The summer's out of reach."  The lyrics were written by Don Henley, but it was Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers who composed the music.

The song starts out preeettttttyyy dark, but also popping with sexual tension.  Meatloaf had a very specific, broadway-style.  It really set him apart from the rest of the wolves. :)

Bryan Adams has been taking sass since he released this song.  Great song, but we all know he wasn't doing that stuff in '69... he was ten years old.  Don't ask him about it, he has run out of patience on the matter.

"Summertime Blues" was originally written and performed by Eddie Cochran in 1958. Since then A LOT of artists have covered it including Joan Jett, T Rex, Van Halen, The Stray Cats, and of course, The Who. Who did it best?  Yes.

"Saturday in the park, I think it was the fourth of July."  Chicago paints us a beautiful summer picture.  Robert Lamm wrote this song after a fourth of July he spent in NYC.  Robert and Peter Cetera sing lead.

What happened so suddenly last summer?  According to lead singer, Martha Davis, the song is pretty deep and definitely based off of her memories. "'Suddenly Last Summer' woke me up at 3 a.m. one morning. It seems that it is a time travel tune because it conjures up images as far back as when I was 12. I believe the song to be about irrevocable change, the loss of innocence, and the melancholy associated with not being able to go home again. When I was still living in Berkeley, in my early 20s, I remember sitting in the back yard of the little house I bought after my parents died. It was the end of summer. From down the street, I heard the sound of the ice cream truck with its haunting little song. As I lay there, the first cold wind of autumn started to blow and I knew I would not see the truck again that year, and that summer was over. That incident resonated with me and I think the bells from that truck became the concept for the repeating melodic line that runs through 'Suddenly.'"  I have a sweet spot for The Motels even though their music was mostly dark and brooding.  YEAH SUMMER!