August Blooms: Welcome to our Patio, Balcony, Garden

In the next few posts, I plan to introduce you all to our new rented townhouse.  It is coming together finally, though I need some advice on some problem areas, paint colors, and window treatments.  I'm not really great at decorating on a budget; I just don't seem to have an eye for it.  Plus, I try to use up everything I have rather than replacing things when they don't fit.  But, I think I like most areas of our home right now.

But today, you only get to see what our neighbors do.  The outside.

Even as far out in the suburbs as we are, we still have a very tiny yard.  It was a complete mess when we moved in, and I really wish I had done a good "before" picture just to show how far it has really come.

In our front yard, Brian and his mom reset the brick, divided and replanted the hosta, and trimmed all the bushes.  They had to trim back some rose bushes, which we thought had killed them, but Brian noticed that we actually had a bloom come back on one of the plants.  It's right behind the kissing frogs that grandma brought for the boys (Theo loves them).  They also planted some yellow daylillies in the front as well.

Going in the house and through the living room, you come to our first set of French doors.  One of the best things about this rental is the large balcony off of the main floor (even though it needs restored).  Almost all of the plants are currently blooming, even some that spent time in storage that we were sure would not survive. These include dianthus, geraniums, begonias, morning glories and moonflowers, and hydrangeas.

Going through the house, down the stairs, through the play room and across the family room brings you to the second set of French doors and out to our backyard.  It basically had about three hosta, one more rose bush, and lots of weeds and crab grass.  It is now overflowing with plants (and fresh sod)! 

The left side is still a flower garden, while the right side is planted with sweet corn, squash (that is going crazy!) peppers, and more plants from Brian's mom in Indiana.

The morning glories and moonflowers climbing the fence have yet to bloom.  It is going to be exciting if we can actually harvest some veggies from here this fall!

Local Attractions: Northern Delaware

Delaware Museum of Natural History:  Interesting exhibits for parents, and this place had a great room designed just for hands-on play for little ones.  We could probably spend at least an hour there alsone.  I wish I could make Theodore's room look just like this!

Camden Children's Garden:  We had a great time here with our cousins!  This place has limited hours, but kids two and under are free and the rest are $6 if you can go a time that they are opening.  Theo loved the carousel, as well as the ability to run around outside and see exhibits.

Milburn Orchards:  In addition to picking fruit, they have a petting zoo year round and a newly remodeled farmer's market.  They also have a playground, wooden train, sandbox, and other outside attractions for the little ones to play on.

 Adventure Aquarium:  Similar to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, a great place to spend the day.  Is better in the afternoon, as school groups tend to dominate the exhibits in the morning.  They have many touch tanks for the kids to feel the creatures.

Delaware Children's Museum:  This is a fairly new museum, where we can spend an hour or two with our active toddler.  There are quite a few different exhibits, but T. spent a large amount of time at this one last time: