Saturday Snapshot: My Parent's Garden

When I was in third grade, my family moved to a different neighborhood.  I was devastated.  Our backyard was a huge, flat, grassy oasis.  It had flower beds, climbing trees, a swingset, and a sandbox.  It was every kid's dream yard!  My new backyard?  Not so much.  But as I got older, I grew to appreciate all the plants and beds that filled our woodsy backyard.  It's its own kind of oasis.

Saturday Snapshot: Herbs

Herbs are one of my favorite things to plant.  I have several pots, each filled with an herb along with an annual flower or two.  Of course the plants are functional, but they are also beautiful: from the fuzz of sage, the shiny leaves of basil, or the sweet little lavender flowers, herbs are a surprisingly lovely addition to the garden.  I absolutely adore being able to go to my patio, pinch off some basil, and add it into whatever I'm making.  My new favorite is adding a generous amount of mint along with one or two basil leaves to my water.  It's so refreshing!

Do you plant herbs?  What is your favorite way to use them?

Sea Shell Bird Bath

Now that it is summer, I have been trying to do as much work as possible in our yard.  We moved into our home in September, so this is really the first chance I have had to make some gardening decisions.  I'll be showing some pictures of the flower beds in our front yard in a little while, but I've also been doing some work in the backyard as well.  One thing I wanted to set up was a bird bath.  It's so nice to see the bird enjoying themselves in the yard!  I think we might even have a cardinal's nest in one of our trees out back!

I don't know about you, but I somehow always seem to end up with a big pile of seashells.  I don't know if they're from the dollar store, collections from past vacations, or if they just materialize out of thin air and into my craft room.  However they get there, I always have a heap of them.  So I thought I would use them in my bird bath!  I actually got this idea from one of my parents neighbors as I was raiding her yard for plants to steal :)

I used some plain shells, a small flower pot, and a few metallic shells from an old DIY project I featured on the blog.  Then, I just added water!  It turned out pretty cute, and I've already seen a few little birdies hanging around their new pool.

Vodka Basil Gimlet

I love this time of year!  The weather is warmer, the breezes are beautiful, the trees are leafing out... It's perfect for a cocktail on the patio.  I am loving this drink right now.  The tart lime along with the fresh basil is a perfect compliment to some stoop sitting.

To make your own, you will need:

• 1 1/2 parts vodka
• 1 part Rose's lime juice
• 2-3 basil leaves per drink

Simply muddle one or two basil leaves at the bottom of a glass.  Top with ice, vodka, and lime juice.  Stir gently and garnish with a fresh leaf of basil.

What is your go-to summer drink?

Life Lately

Hi all!  I hope you've all had a wonderful month of May.  I can't believe it's already almost over!  This month has been CRAZY busy for me (I actually took a little break on Tuesday).  So, a big apology to all my blogging friends because I've fallen way behind on all of your lovely posts (I'll be catching up soon!).  I've been on the job hunt and then in the process of getting my teacher's license.  I'm almost done with it all; next week is the last week of student teaching, I've got a job lined up for next school year, and almost all of my paperwork is ready to go for my license.  Phew!  I don't know about you, but I am definitely going to savor this summer break!

In other news, this month featured the final, at long last, arrival of spring in Minnesota.  I even got to plant our pots for the front and back yards.  And, as always, there were lots of walks and cuddles with Inga :)

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend and a rest-filled weekend ahead!  Enjoy!

Shamrock Rehabilitation

I love having plants around the house.  It's so nice to have something green and leafy (or in this case, red and leafy) all year round.  But sometimes, my plants start to look a little sad.  Whether I forgot to water them, watered too much, or put them in the wrong window, it happens!

Today, I have a solution for one plant problem: droopy sad shamrocks.  I've had this red shamrock for a couple of years, and lately it has started to sag. 

It's a little hard to see, but most of these shamrocks are hanging down below the edge of the pot!

The surprising solution?  Cut off all the shamrocks!

Cut them off as close to the dirt as possible

Keep watering the plant, and a fresh batch of much perkier shamrocks will fill in.  Who knew?

 Do you have a green thumb?

DIY River Rock Garden Markers

On Monday, I showed you my fun color update to our flower pots.  Today, I'll show you the garden markers I made to put inside them!  This seriously couldn't be easier (I say that a lot, don't I?)

You will need:

• River rocks (I got mine at the dollar store for a painted stone project- reusing materials again!)
• Metallic permanent markers

Pick out some of the larger, flat rocks.  Then, simply write the names of your plants on them!  Seriously.  So easy.

I did a few doodles on some smaller rocks, too. 

I love that they're there to make it easier to spot the herbs I need when we're cooking up goodies in the kitchen :)

Flower Pot Brights

 

Every year, I look forward to putting out pots full of flowers and herbs on our front steps!  Here are last year's pots:

Since then, I have been on the lookout for brightly colored pots to help add a jolt of color to our house's very white front... Except I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on them.  Turns out, that's nearly impossible!

Then, I had one of those "oh, duh" moments- paint the pots I already have!  And that's just what I did, using paint left over from my Better Homes and Gardens floral print project.

Are there any gardening projects you're working on?  Be sure to come back later this week for another super easy home garden project :)

Flowers and Herbs

This year, I'm trying a new pink, purple, and yellow color scheme in the pots and the beds.  Also new, I decided to do double duty with my flower pots.  I wanted them to be pretty and decorative, but I figured I could  throw some herbs in the mix, too!  And just to make sure I don't get confused when reaching for fresh herbs to cook with, I'm using these adorable garden markers - a birthday gift from John's aunt and uncle.  Do you grow any herbs?

Indoor Gardening

I love plants.  I have several... so many in fact that we're running out of places to put them!  It's so hard not to buy a new orchid or shamrock when I see them at stores! 

I recently got a bunch of seed packets from my mom (thank you!), and decided to see if I could grow them indoors.  After a trip to Home Depot for supplies for this and another project, John suggested a brilliant idea: Why not paint the pots with the spray paint I bought for an art project (more on that later this week)?

So.. I did!

All you need is spray paint and terra cotta pots!

 Ours will grow marjoram, forget-me-nots, chamomile, anise, and pennyroyal.  I hope they all sprout!

Landscapes in Minature

Last weekend, I went with my parents for a trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  It's such a pretty place!  The exhibit was based on the idea of fairy gardens, and so various people created tiny little landscapes in miniature.  Cute!

This one had a waterfall- probably the most elaborate set-up

Can you see the penny in the birdbath on the right side of the picture?

And of course, I always love the orchids- mine at home are getting ready to bloom!

Lady Slipper!

This one is my favorite- I think it looks like an octopus, haha!

Autumn Entryway

It is that time of year when the frost starts to set in.  Our begonias have been blighted by the cold, our potted plants put to rest.  In their absence, the entry to our house looked completely bare.  So, with fall on our minds and pumpkin carving in the near future, John and I set off to Home Depot to deck out our newly emptied steps.  Here are the before and after shots:

Our spring pots- they got to be VERY big and pretty. 
Definitely going to use lobelia and geraniums next year!

I'm excited to carve these pumpkins and maybe get some corn to hang on the door too.

The squirrels have already discovered our corn stalks.  We heard them thumping around on the front steps trying to get their paws on it and I managed to snap this picture:

Hello, new friend!

They've even started munching on our pumpkins... At least wait until we've carved them!

What a Difference a Season Makes

In an earlier post, I shared the newly planted begonias and creeping phlox that replaced an overgrown evergreen.

Well, they've had all summer to grow and, while the phlox have lost their blooms, the bed looks terrific now!