Tag: gardening

Tin Can Herb Garden

I have never grown herbs!

The reason, I suppose, is that I am not a great cook, although I am trying to improve in that area.

But…I have been looking at my so-called “bucket list” and growing herbs is on it!

Most folks might have wonderful, amazing trips, and daring adventures on their lists, but not me.

My wants are simple ones!

Cookie tins purchased at the thrift store for 25 cents each, was the start of my herb growing project.

I spray painted the tins with a black matte paint.

Punched holes in the tins for drainage, and placed several stones in the bottom of each tin, before planting my herbs.

I purchased three herbs at my garden store to start, basil, oregano, and cilantro.

Made some cute tags to finish up, tied on each tin with black and white twine.

There are many free herb printables on Pinterest, or simple wood sticks would also work if you wanted markers.

My plants will stay out on my back porch for now, but will be moved inside later.

I have a large garden window in my kitchen which will allow plenty of light for growing in the winter.

My sweet kitty loves to sit in the window.

Isn’t she so beautiful?

We love her so!

Crossed off my “bucket list”, herb garden!

This was a fun, simple, one day project, and I am so very pleased with the way it turned out!

Love them!

Thanks for letting me share today, it has been awhile!

Life brings highs and lows to our daily lives, interruping our everyday routines, doesn’t it?

Hope your day is filled with nothing but beautiful, wonderful highs today!

Love to all.

My Quiet Place

I have a place I go, a beautiful simple place, my quiet place.

I go there so many times throughout my days, to release stress, worry, loneliness, sadness, and sometimes to have a private cry.

It’s just a small outside corner at the back of my house.

An old, worn, chippy, picnic table, made into a potting bench for me, by my son on Mother’s Day, many years ago.

There is just something overwhelmingly calm about working with flowers, dirt, and old pots.

I am always adding fun things to this area, a sweet little bird, a garden sign, that is probably 20 years old, and of course, a banner of seed packets!  You all know I love to make banners!

How can anyone look at flowers and plants, and not believe in God?

It is rare when my husband complains about all the issues he deals with everyday, living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Yesterday, he told me the pain and burning in his right leg is spreading to his left leg.

What could I say or do?

He will not see a doctor, he does not believe they can help him, he knows there is no cure.

I went to my place of quiet to pray, as I often do, alone.

How can I help him?

I am thankful for this place I go, to sit sometimes, to be still, and know God is with us!

Thanks for letting me share such things, it helps!

Love all of you!

Hope you have that special place in your home, that is yours, to be still, to be quiet.

Have a blessed holiday weekend.

 

Whimsy Flower Boxes

Just loving the weather we are having!

I remember, in the cold of winter, looking out my kitchen window, longing for the warmth, the green, the colors, the sounds, of this glorious time of the year.

It’s here, I am so pleased and thankful!

Love to add whimsy things to my porch and yard, simple fun things.

Found this plain wood box at the thrift store some time back, stashed it away, I knew I would find a way to use it eventually.

I also found this old flower box in my garage, from years ago, when I displayed at craft fairs.

It was a popular item I made and sold some 20 years ago!

Both boxes just needed a bit of sanding, some paint, and little time to turn into two whimsy flower boxes.

Take a look at my old boxes now!

Love them!

The addition of a knob from Hobby Lobby gave the plain box, now painted white, that little extra it needed to be special.

The picket fence box didn’t need much, I still loved the primitive look from so many years ago.  Just repaired the mini birdhouse on the fence, sanded and cleaned.

Adding flowers was the final touch.

Oh my gosh, to me, they are so beautiful!

Do fun, whimsy things today!

Giggle and love today!

See ya!

Adding Whimsy To My Yard

Whimsy is defined as, “playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor”.

Add whimsy to your life when you can, it’s happy stuff!

That is what I did this past Saturday, I added some whimsy to my yard!

No need to go into much detail for this fun project.

I purchased two unfinished decorative dowels at Home Depot, sanded and painted.

Selected a small birdhouse from my garage stash of unfinished wood items, and again sanded and painted. Small birdhouses can be found at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby.

Added extra whimsy to the birdhouse by attaching an old knob.

Nestled the birdhouse in my vinca vines for just the perfect spot.

For the birdbath, I simply added a rescued tin pan from the thrift store to the top of one of the dowels.

I pounded the dowels into the ground first, and then using E6000 glue attached the birdhouse and tin pan.

Love the color of the birdbath dowel and the contrast with the old tin pan.

This was just a simple, one day project, that has added a colorful, delightfully friendly, and of course, whimsical touch to my yard that I will enjoy the rest of the summer.

They make my heart smile.

As the week goes on add some “whimsy” to your days, giggle, laugh at yourself and by yourself, wear some color, be yourself when no one else is looking, let your heart smile.

Love and “whimsy” thoughts to all!

 

Filling My $2 Basket

Every morning before the sun is too hot I have been working in my yard, potting, planting, weeding, just enjoying the alone time.

So much yet to do, but no complaining.  My home is my happy place, my place just “to be”!

I found this twiggy basket at the thrift store and immediately knew what it could “be”!

The $2 tag was hard to pass up.

I lined the inside with an inexpensive foil pan, poked holes in the bottom for drainage, and filled it with garden soil, geraniums, and vinca vines.

To finish up I added more soil to cover the foil pan.

The thick twig handle is what I noticed first and sold me on this basket.

The pink and white geraniums are so beautiful and I knew that this basket would be just a lovely welcome on my tiny front porch. On my trips to visit my brother in New York City, I loved all the small shops that sold flowers, the ones that lined the fronts of their stores with pots and baskets of plants and flowers.  No doubt my $2 basket could be displayed perfectly in front of any lovely, sweet, flower shop.

New York, NY: flower shop

Have a lovely Friday, hope you “fill” your day with joy and love!

 

Changing Seasons

Monday was the first day of autumn!

Our weather the last few days has been absolutely spectacular!  So much sunshine,  temperatures around 75 degrees.  Perfect!

Knowing these days are numbered I walked around my yard thanking God for all the joy, and the many peaceful days I spent outside this summer.

My burlap flower bags laying across tree branches.  I will definitely do this again next spring.

Burlap Flower Bag with ImpatientsBurlap Flower Bag

Hours of joy potting and caring for plants at my planting work space my sweet son helped to fix up and recycle.

Potting Work TableRemember how it was in early spring?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAJust needed a little paint and some loving care!

How wonderful to see how all my plants have grown and thrived this year.

Potted Geranium

Most of all I will miss my “quiet place” as the weather turns and cold times arrive.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Oh the joy of sitting out here, especially mid morning, feeling the sun, having my coffee, reading and praying.  No stress, just peaceful quiet time.

But there were signs of change as I walked.

The last daisy of the summer, holding on, all others withered and gone.

IMG_0240[1]Leaves beginning to change, falling here and there.

My son working hard chopping and stacking wood for the cold ahead.

My son stacking wood for winter!

As time and days pass, everything changes.

This life of mine has changed over the years, maybe because I am growing old, but how I regret all the days of my life I wasted.

Wanting more things, acceptance and approval of people, trying to be whatever someone else at the time, wanted me to be, only to turn and go!

It is easy to think that we are without in this life but I have learned, as I have mentioned before, the first step in finding happiness is appreciating all that you have right now. We all really do have so much and I am not talking about money!

These glorious days of being outside make loving life easy.

Good bye summer!

Love to all, and please don’t forget to love your life!

 

Burlap Flower Bags

Today I want to share a unique gardening project.

Planting flowers in a burlap bag and placing the bag across tree branches.

I have many large trees in my backyard, which provide shade, and gives our yard a park like feel.  Some folks don’t like trees but we really love ours.

Take a look at my burlap bag across one of the tree branches in my yard.

Burlap Flower Bags!

It is really lovely, don’t you think?

This is a simple to do project taking only a couple hours to complete.

Supplies needed:

Burlap  –  Decide the size you want your bag to be depending on the size of the tree limb and how far you want the bag to hang from the limb on both sides.  My bag was 24″ when completed.

1 large bag of potting soil

Flowers of your choice

That’s it!

I had a roll of burlap which I had purchased at Michael’s for another project so I just used what I had.  It worked great since the edges were finished, but you can buy yards of burlap at Wal-Mart or any fabric store.

Burlap Flower Bags!  I simply folded the burlap over 26″ inches on each side.

Burlap Flower Bags!

Sew up one side, and then the other, leaving the top open to fill with the potting soil.

I have a friend who has done this, not sewing, but using hot glue.  It worked well for the entire growing season.  If you are not a sewing person, try the glue way.

Once the soil is placed inside the bag, sew the opening shut.

Burlap Flower Bags!  You now have a burlap pillow filled with soil.

Next, just cut slits in the bag large enough to plant the flowers in the bag. You will need to move the soil and play with it to secure the plant.

Burlap Flower Bags!

Water thoroughly, and also fertilize time to time during the growing season.

Burlap Flower Bags!

I used impatients since they like shade, and I also planted a vinca vine here and there to trail down the bag and the tree.

You can use most any plants that you like.  I have used small ivy geraniums, and trailing type petunias for branches that get some sun.

Try this, I think you will be pleased at the way it looks in yours trees, and the color it adds to your yard too!

Burlap Flower Bags!  Enjoy this project, enjoy being outside, and love your life everyday.

Remember each day is a gift from God.

See ya!

 

This is How my Garden Grows!

I spent my entire day outside in my yard.

There really is something so peaceful about working in the dirt with plants.

Old Garden GlovesMy garden gloves look as tired as I am right now!

I potted flowers today, some are really beautiful.  Take a look!

Air FernThis is a fern, so light and airy, in fact it is called an “air fern”.

DahliaThis is a larger variety of dahlia.  So beautiful!

Hoya PlantThis is an indoor plant called Hoya. I have brought it outside now that the weather is warm.  I pampered it all winter.  I can see it loves the warm weather as much as I do!  It is really growing.

Flowering Shrub This is a flowering bush that has been in my yard for years.  Sorry, I do not know the name.

Vinca VineThis is a vinca vine.  It comes back and multiplies every year.  I love the variegated look.

RhododendronsMy rhododendrons are blooming, so happy that they made it through the really harsh winter.

GeraniumAnd finally geraniums, I potted many today, to put here and there.

Hope you enjoyed the stroll around my yard.

Time for this old lady to get a shower and a nap!

See you all tomorrow!  Be happy, and get outside if you can.

When I write in my journal tonight I will write how thankful I am for this fun working day!

 

5 – Minute Birdbath!

On my post from Saturday, I told everyone about my stacks and stacks of old magazines that I was sorting through. I shared some ideas and articles, well, here is one that I tried today.  It is from a Country Gardens magazine article from 2001.

5-Minute BirdbathThis is so simple, after you get the correct size pots, it actually takes less the 5 minutes to assemble.  Here is the one that I made today!

5-Minute BirdbathThe article suggests using one 16″ and one 12″ pot for the base.  I already had a 10″ and 12″, so I used those and just had to buy the large saucer, which is 12″, found at Home Depot.

So simple and I love the terra-cotta look.

All I need now is to add water and wait for some visitors to stop by for a drink!

Hope you take 5 minutes and have fun putting one of these in your garden!

 

Broken Pots!

Been working in my yard planting a few flowers here and there!

I am not the most knowledgeable gardener but, I love flowers, and the color they bring to a home and yard.

When going through my little “potting bench” getting ready for the new one my son is working on for me, I had a stack of broken clay pots.  Not all of them were really bad, some had cracks, some missing just the bottom, so this is what I came up with to still use them.

What you can do with a broken flower pot.I planted this pot partially in the ground with the broken side down, and added plants to the soil as if the pot is on it’s side.  I love the look in my little garden.

I used this one in a somewhat shaded area using a begonia and a vine.  It should be beautiful as it grows.  I will give you an update in a few weeks.

If you have some broken pots, why not try this idea instead of throwing them away!

So simple!

Happy Gardening!