Recently in Gardening 2007 Category

In mid May, we attended a dinner party at the home of a customer of Bill's. The man and his wife have a small home with a large backyard - lovely large backyard - with lots of flowers and plants for me to admire! There was also a large, vine-covered pergola with a bench swing hanging from one end of it... I fell in love with the swing!!

Because Bill is such a loving and thoughtful and can-do kind of husband, he got busy within a week or so of the dinner party building an extension on the shade structure at the back of our backyard where he had earlier this year removed most of a large Bay tree when the neighbors wanted to replace the fence bordering our properties. Anyway...

We had some difficulty finding a swing or bench to hang from the shade structure - even online we didn't have much luck. I wanted a swing wide/long enough that I could lie down on it - so over 5 feet - and comfortable for a short person (me!) to sit in (feet touching the ground when sitting). I looked online, but the closest I found was a bench at Bass Pro Shops which doesn't have a store in California (yet). The swing project was delayed...

...until last weekend when Bill said we should go look at what Lowe's had in swings and benches. We didn't see anything that fulfilled my ideas of a proper swing until we wandered into the patio furniture area - where lo and behold there it was! A cushioned 3-person A-frame swing for $99.00. It is light enough that it can be moved anywhere in the backyard - and, therefore, can be moved as the sun moves (since I'm fair skinned and try to stay out of the sun).

It's wonderful. I've crocheted there, napped there, swung there, relaxed there. I can see my beautiful flowering garden plants, hear the birds, enjoy the Bay Area evening breezes after work while Bill cooks dinner on the BBQ. The swing is a perfect addition to our backyard!

And, the extended shade structure area won't go unused! Bill is using it as additional covered workspace for his 1947 Ford Truck restoration project - the one he's been working on for about 10 years now!