Okay, it doesn't look like much now, but I'm hoping soon my hard work will pay off, this garage was once lined with nothing but day lilys, which are lovely, but I like a little variety. Last year I grew lovely sunflowers along side our house, but I decided to stick with
vegetables and herbs in that location, so I decided to make this my sunflower location. They are already starting to sprout.
This corner was a mass of tree saplings and an old tree stump. I managed to hack some of the old stump away and then decided to just roll with the punches and make it a bit of a
focal point, note the birdhouse.
again, this was nothing but day
lillys. Now there is a peony bush, a
variegated willow bush, some
bugle weed, yarrow,
Russian sage and a lilac bush. I filled this flower garden with items donated to me by my neighbor and from items that I planted last year that I decided to move.
I donated the day lillys to people through freecyle.com.
Nothing is bloom but I think it is already a big improvement, now if we can get the grass to grow and the darn dogs out of it, we'll be set.
The buildings pictured belong to my neighbors and the adjoining property is theirs. It runs the entire
length of our driveway and it's what we see when we look out the dining room window.
Last year, I asked the neighbor belonging to the far garage if she would mind if I made it a flower garden... since she doesn't even see the area, she was very obliging.
This year, my other neighbor said I was welcome to plant the area along her garage. It only took me about three days to rip out all the sod, but I think the effort was well worth it.
I really wish I could put a window box underneath that window, but asking someone to let you attach something to their building is probably a little much. (:
A thrift store $1 tool box packed with flowers and Jack's little shovel, which he calls "baby shovel."
If a picture is worth a thousand words, than this picture was definitely worth the $3 admission to get into Michigan State University's Hidden Gardens in the Irish Hills of Michigan.
The hosta garden was by far my favorite part. My mom lends a hand to the pictures just to demonstrate the variety of sizes. My favorite was a tiny little hosta called the Teeny Weeny Bikini!
A nice way to spend a day. 
I just love me an old locker basket filled with flowers!
This corner was a mass of tree saplings and an old tree stump. I managed to hack some of the old stump away and then decided to just roll with the punches and make it a bit of a focal point, note the birdhouse.
The buildings pictured belong to my neighbors and the adjoining property is theirs. It runs the entire length of our driveway and it's what we see when we look out the dining room window. 
I looked for an old high chair I could pull up to our table for Jack, but it wasn't until late in the day that I realized I could cut one down, instead trying to find one in the right height. I didn't find one in Midland but I found this very cute when at my local St. Vincent DePaul's. It even matches my table and Jack likes sitting at the table with the rest of us and I like not having to worry about him tumbling off the edge of an adult chair.
I've also been wanting a wine rack, but could never find one I liked that wouldn't take up too much room or wasn't too expensive. I found this one in Midland and I couldn't be happier. (I guess if I actually drank the wine, I could be happier.)
A while back, I got an old school desk for Jack and painted the top with chalkboard paint. I loved the look of it, but the thing was very tipsy and Jack was always knocking it over. So, I've had an eye out for a sturdy little desk for him and Midland had just the right one for me. It even came with the chair.