Summer garden projects

This unusually mild weather has me thinking about what garden projects to take on already.
I know, it's only the end of January and winter can still rear it's ugly head still; I can still do some research, make a few sketches, look through some gardening books and get ideas as to what to accomplish.

I've recently discovered the site 'Pinterest'. it is an online pin board of sorts that you can post, like or even re-pin images, ideas, recipes, etc. Ive have gravitated towards the "garden" board & have found a lot of various ideas and likes. The trick is now to narrow down those ideas and actually incorporate one or two of them into my garden.

Talking to hubby last night after showing him an image I found on Pinterest of a wooden garden bench built within a pergola; we thought it may be a unique task to build it on our own with 'found' wood. Our property has a few acres of woods around it; rather than spending $$$ at a hardware store, why not use what we can from within the woods? I discovered a book I had given my father a few years back called 'Making Rustic Furniture' By Daniel Mack and in it, I found some good ideas for really unique looking garden benches. With some imagination, building a pergola around it might just be doable. I could replant my John Clayton honeysuckle around it, maybe an Iceberg climbing rose....possibilities are endless.

I'm also toying with the idea of putting a container rose or 2 on the deck. We bought some patio furniture last summer with dark orange, almost pumpkin colored cushions included. I like the idea of a similar color or blended color rose on the deck to compliment it. My deck pots usually consist of at least 2 basil plants, sweet, Italian, various pepper varieties, rosemary, thyme, alyssum and a mix of annual flowers (I like to try something new each summer). A large potted rose might be a perfect addition.

On the larger size, I really like 'Benjamin Britten.' A David Austin English rose, this can be planted in a pot, at least a 1/2 barrel size since it can still grow to about 4X4 feet. This is more of a red tone with orange mixed in & has a pear/fruit fragrance. Slightly smaller roses that have caught my eye are 'Tamora', an other David Austin, ideal size for a pot, apricot in color with a scent of myrrh, 'Judy Garland', 'Louis Clements' & 'Painted Moon'.

My to-do list continues...I'll be back soon with more ideas.

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."-- Abraham Lincoln