I’ve always believed that the simplest things can bring the most joy in life. People have said it over the years in various clever ways because you can’t escape its truth. For me, the presence of a simple botanical that costs me nothing and is within reach just a few steps from the back door brings much happiness.

I love our hydrangeas and roses and grapevines too, but if you asked me what my favorite blooming perennial is, I wouldn’t hesitate to answer “Viburnum!”  (Although ask me again next spring after the new lilac bush I planted has blossomed and I may have changed my story.) There are over 100 varieties of viburnum and the one growing in our yard is ‘Chinese Snowball’ which blooms in small white puffs that resemble mini hydrangeas.

It grows tall and wild on woody stems each season, but unlike the hungry citrus or temperamental grapevines, it tolerates my frequent neglect and still gives me the most beautiful white blossoms every April.

They first bloom in a vivid lime green color (pruned and placed in a vase, seen here) and then quickly turn to white puffballs in the spring sunshine. They only bloom for a few weeks but when they do, I hurry to gather many arrangements and fill up vases around the house.

In early fall the viburnum gifts me once more with gorgeous stems of leaves that have turned all shades of amber and gold (see them on last year’s autumn mantel). Wherever I live, I know I’ll always have a viburnum planted somewhere in the yard.

What is your favorite perennial that blooms each season?

Related Posts:

Summer Garden Tour	DIY Potting Bench	Growing Healthy Hydrangeas

I’ve got a fever…. and the prescription is …to build planters for spring! I really do have a big case of spring fever right now and I’m sure do you too. I’ve got my mind set on filling up our courtyard with small trees and some climbing vines, and also sprucing up the front porch with beautiful new planters.

The old urns I’ve had there for years I can use elsewhere but right now I’m pretty much in love with these Chippendale style planters I’ve seen around the web. I want to make them in a larger custom size and for less money, so these are on my list as my next outdoor spring DIY project.

In my research for tips and materials and step by step instructions on building square and rectangular styles, I stumbled across plenty more inspiring outdoor planters that savvy DIYers have assembled, here you go:

from top left: square planter with finials at ana white / chevron planter by zelo photo / simple planter by popular mechanics / tall dark and handsome planter by cleverly inspired / square cedar planters by being brook / tall white planter by lowes creative ideas / pallet planter by esprit cabane / white and steel planter by lowes creative ideas / cedar pine planter by infarrantly creative / pottery barn inspired reclaimed wood planter by the money pit / white planters by the accent piece / scrap wood planter by the book of jimmy / recycled wood planter by zelo photo / fence board planter by that’s my letter

If DIY is not your thing, here are some square and rectangular planters under $100:

from top left:  20” white square from Target, $50 / 16” blue wood by Simply Planters, $59 / 28” tall mayne fairfield from Amazon, $99 / 18” stained wood at Hayneedle, $80 / 14” Chippendale at Home Depot, $49 / 22” self watering colorful tapered by Improvements, $80 / 18” Wayfair square cedar $59 /  15” concrete planter at Target, $99

I’d ask you what spring projects you’re planning since I’d love to know but my comments are still not working, so sorry!  I’ve got my IT guy looking at it and the glitch will be fixed soon.

Related Planter Projects from the Archives:

*** UPDATE: Comments are now working!!! 

.   *** UPDATE: Comments are now working!!!

A few weeks ago, Matt and I agreed to host an outdoor party in early summer in our backyard to raise money to benefit the local public elementary school that my children attend (the committee twisted my arm!) so I thought I’d get a head start on sprucing up the rear yard. We had a bare patch of wall looking a little blah and I’d always envisioned a bench with planters to dress it up.

I went searching online and discovered an affordable ready-to-assemble planter bench, but in its natural state it felt a little too rustic so I thought I’d give it a more sophisticated stain + paint treatment.  As you know, I’m a lover of gray and white but I didn’t want to completely cover up the wood grain so I opted for a stain and paint combo and I’m really thrilled with the results.

I started out with this rustic cedar bench I bought for $70 and with a little DIY elbow grease turned it in one day into something more suitable for the style of our home with a few simple products.

This project was pretty simple, I assembled it when it arrived then gave it a two tone stain + paint treatment, trying out a new stain from the Rust-Oleum line of products.

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Do holidays in the middle of the week make you feel strange?  They do for me.  It’s weird but wonderful waking up late in the morning in the middle of the week, then puttering around the house, doing all those little things you don’t have time for during the hustle and bustle of an ordinary workweek.

I was wandering around the yard yesterday in the late afternoon, glass of sauvignon blanc in one hand, camera in the other, as the sun set over the back hill.  The children also we’re running around the yard, picking strawberries before they’re ripe,  discovering lizards and spiders, and noticing other mini magical moments in nature, it was a blissful afternoon. 

As I wandered I listened to the comfortable repetition of the “snip, snip, snip” as Matt pruned back hedges and pulled unwanted suckers.  I appreciated the new growth around every turn, blooms and buds and fruit that didn’t exist just a few weeks ago.  Here’s a tour of what’s growing in our yard this month, it amazes me year after year. 

Bower vine is blooming in the courtyard and creeping up an old iron trellis.  It lingers over our broken fountain that still needs a new pump, but I think its aged finish is a beautiful focal point, functioning or not. 

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