Summer-Ready in Coastal Maine

Do you own or rent a summer cottage? How do you prepare for your summer stay? Join me for a week in early May as I get our Coastal Maine home summer-ready. And a little tune-up for myself too.

The frost warnings have passed,

the trees are budding,

and the Forsythia is starting to bloom.

It’s time for a jaunt to our home in Coastal Maine to get it summer-ready.

What does this mean?

Well, there are a few things that need nurturing in getting a home summer-ready. Along with the enjoyment of a few pleasantries along the way.

Starting with this;

Vintage Garden Variety Market

My first priority (haha) was to attend Sage Farm’s Spring Pop-Up Vintage Garden Variety Market.

Where I found a fantastic stack of green and white vintage ironstone, plates, and linen napkins.

You may also enjoy the post, 17 Best Summer Home Decor Accessories to Thrift.

Vintage Ford Truck

We store this old 1977 Ford truck in our Maine home’s garage during the winter.

The time is now to get it started and take it out for a drive.

And I got lucky, as it started right up, woo-hoo. Because many times it does not.

We’ve had this old truck now for over 20 years, it’s been a lot of fun but we just don’t use it like we used to and it takes up a lot of space… So this will be our last time with this gem, as we will be gifting it to my husband’s nephew next time he is in Maine.

You may also enjoy the post, White & Green Rustic Summer Flower Planters Sure To Charm You.

Mainely Grass

This is going to be the year that we work on the landscaping at our home here in Maine.

The soil is awful here, truly making it really hard to grow or garden.

When my parents owned this home they lost so many plants like hydrangeas, witches broom, and lilac bushes, that they ended up taking out most of the landscaping and planting pachysandra all around the perimeter of the home. Which fortunately filled in very nicely.

The front lawn has all turned to moss and I would like a nice plush lawn once again. So I have hired Mainely Grass to see what they can do for us. They started with their first treatment this past fall and second again this spring. Fully organic treatments.

It was also time to clean up the yard, which was filled with sticks and debris from the winter months. And the lawn was ready for its first spring cutting too. I use the EGO Cordless Electric Walk Behind Lawn Mower. I actually love cutting the lawn now. It’s so light, quiet, and fun to use.

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.”

It’s still early here in Maine for summer flower containers. Waiting until Memorial Day weekend is important to avoid any unforeseen nightly frosts. But I do prefer to keep the flower arrangements around our house pretty simple. You may see last year’s flowers in the post, Red Geranium Time-Honored Window Flower Boxes.

My mother loved having all-white outdoor flowers. Which I may choose to go with this summer, we’ll see.

Storm Windows

I always look forward to removing the storm windows! It gives the home such a bright and new perspective after all those long winter months of hibernation.

Opening the windows and letting all that fresh air in! Priceless.

Do you see Ella, our Bernese Mountain Dog peeking in from outside?

My father came up with this easy and brilliant way for storing the storm windows in the summertime so that they don’t get banged up or broken.

Simple white hooks mounted into the ceiling allow us to hang all the storm windows from the ceiling beams in the garage.

You may also enjoy the post, Chatting About This and That in Vintage Home Decorating from this same time last year.

Rose’ All Day Patio Party

I always enjoy catching up with friends that I haven’t seen in a while. On one of the most amazing first beautiful spring days I met up with one of my besties and attended a Rose’ wine patio party at Walker’s Maine Restaurant, just around the corner from our home. So much fun!

Summer Bedding

Switching out our bedding from winter to summer is something I always look forward to. I love adding fresh new bedding to the bedrooms in anticipation of summer.

This year I’m going with Schweitzer Linen’s crisp white Italian bedding sets.

Guest Bedroom

This is Schweitzer Linen’s Hampton Court bedding now ready for our summer guests.

You may also enjoy the post, Vintage Braiding Rug Stand | A Mother’s Day Reflection on this Mother’s Day weekend.

Save 20% OFF all Schweitzer Linen products except sale and clearance items with the COUPON CODE: DYGEN20.

Master Bedroom

Our master bedroom will sport Schweitzer Linen’s Windward Luxury bedding. I just love the embroidered sailboats and coastal vibe of this bedding set.

Crisp, clean, and fresh with a nautical summer vibe.

You may see more summer bedding options in the post, 10+ Best Coastal Bedding Ideas For Your Beach House.

A May Beach Day

As the temperatures reached into the low 70’s it was time to dig out the beach chairs from the shed, gather together the sunscreen, charge the earbuds, and head out for a few hours on the beach.

The beach was filled with seaweed, the wind was blowing, the bugs were flying, and a bulldozer was moving rocks. But it was still so great to sit in my beach chair with the ocean by my side

Check out My Favorite Beach Day Essentials.

And I had the best laugh as I watched these golden retrievers frolic in the sand, seaweed, and ocean. They dug holes and gathered sticks completely in sync. Now this was just pure joy!

You may also enjoy the post, Entertain with Red, White, and Blue! Easy Summer Table Trimmings.

A Spring Visit to Snug Harbor Farm

And of course, an annual spring garden trip to Snug Harbor Farm in Kennebunk, Maine is always a favorite. Accompanied by my girlfriend, we headed north to find topiaries and succulents to display in our homes this spring season. Snug Harbor Farm has the best selection around by far.

See more in the post, Go Green – A Visit to Snug Harbor Farm, Maine.

The Snub Harbor Farm greenhouses were filled with beautiful displays of topiaries and succulents in preparation for Mother’s Day weekend. My girlfriend, Lisa even got poked by a super duper succulent.

Then of course we ended our day once again with a fabulous Maine lobster roll at The Boathouse Restaurant.

You may also enjoy the post, Antiquing, 6 Thrifty Finds, and a Lobster Biscuit and Mother Nature And An Antique Millinery Hat Mold post.

Do you love lobster too?

Order your authentic Maine Lobster delivered directly to your doorstep and save 5% with the coupon code DABBLINGDECORATING from my friends at Overnight Lobster.

And we got the chance to look through some old family photos too in preparation for Mother’s Day:)

You may also enjoy the Quaint Nautical Decor Corner With a Vintage Wow Factor post and A Bernese Mountain Dog & The Gift of a Whale post.

Our home is now summer-ready, and it’s time to get my hair done and head back to Vermont until we can return to enjoy our summer in Maine. Thanks so much for joining me this week. It means the world to me that you are here!

If you are new to my blog, welcome! I hope you enjoyed visiting our Home in Coastal Maine with us today.

Be sure also to check out our Home in Vermont, where we spend winters enjoying the coziness of home in the Green Mountains of Vermont.

I’ve created the above custom pin just for this post!  Hearing from you makes my day; your comments mean so much to me! Please join me on Instagram & Pinterest to see more!

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