a Peek into my Garden

Hi Friends! Hope you enjoyed the weekend. 

Our weekend was low key, which is always welcoming at time. It is great not to have anything planned. We did had some crazy weather here, hot, humid and torrential downpours. 

But that didn't stop Otis from enjoying a cool Italian ice.

He also got a haircut on Friday, so he is prepared for the hot weather. 

My garden is starting to pop. My front area is always last to bloom, in our complex, since it is shaded in the morning. I thought I would share with you a few a glimpses into my garden. My lilies are ready to burst, I am hoping any day now. Once they do I will be sure to capture more pictures  and give you an update. But for now here is just a sampling...

To show a little patriotism we added a tin flag this year.

This is one of my biggest scores from the Elephant Trunk. (you can read about the adventure here)

Can you believe I scored this milk jug for only $15.00?!?!

We already have a tomato on one of our plants. We only have 2 plants this year.

Cute isn't it. 

And we have a flower on the another plant. 

Oh boy, we can not wait for the taste of home grown tomatoes. There is nothing better. 

Last but not least, here is a peak at our front door.

That is all for now. Once everything has bloomed I will be back to give you the grand tour.

        Have an excellent week!

 

Garden Stakes

Hi All! Hope you enjoyed your weekend. 

The Hubby and I got plenty done. On my way home Friday, I stopped at the Home Depot and picked up mulch for our front yard. When I got home the Hubby and I unloaded the car and I mentioned I might weed before dinner to get a jump on things. Before you could blink an eye, we weeded and put down all the mulch in only an hour. We were excited that we got it all done and did not have to worry about it on Saturday. We make such a great team!

On Saturday we did our BJs run to stock up on paper goods and snacks. Since BJs is in a plaza we hit a few other stores. For lunch we dined at the Olive Garden... Yum, we just love the salad and breadsticks. By the time we were done with all our errands the car was loaded. The worst part of it - going home, unloading the car and putting things away. We were glad we got all the errands done and we could now kick back and relax.

Sunday here in CT was simply gorgeous, low 70s with no humidity. A perfect day! I was in the house clean when I said to myself, "what are you doing inside?". So, I actually stopped cleaning the house to sit on my front porch and enjoy the perfect weather. The housework will always be there waiting, but the cool, dry days of spring will soon be ending. I spent a peaceful hour and a half with Otis, just enjoying the sounds of the birds and our wind chimes. The Hubby spent his time waxing the car (he is just like my Dad, spending his free time working on the car).

Today I wanted to follow up with you on my Urban Herb Garden and give you a quick and easy tutorial on how I made my garden stakes. 

Here are my supplies:

• Popcicle Sticks
• Chalk Paint in White
• Sharpie in Black

I first painted both side of the sticks with the white chalk paint. I didn't paint all the way to the bottom since this part will be hidden in the dirt.

I then took my Sharpie and wrote on each stick the name of the herb.

That is it! Simple and Easy!

Now I headed outside to put them into action...

What do you use as stakes in your garden?

Have a fantabulous day!

Dreaming of Spring

What day is it? It's Hump Day!

I have been dreaming of spring and what to plant this year. As I browse through some of my favorite blogs I see that some of you are already experiencing spring. That your tulips are all ready popping up. I am jealous. We still have a pile of snow covering our tulips, so it may be a while before I see mine popping up, I guess all in due time. Tho, we didn't break our total snowfall record this year, we did have the coldest February on record. Brrr - down right frigid! I am so ready for spring.

So to warm my soul I started thinking about what to plant this year. I usually plant herbs, a few tomato plants, and flowers in containers. Thinking of new ideas can sometimes be overwhelming and I thought why not look through some of my old posts to see what I did last year. This helped a ton since I was really happy with some of the plantings I did and some could use a little improvement. Then I thought why not recap them for you. 

Let us start with my Vertical Herb Garden. This was a great solution for the limited amount of space I have to work with. We also added some tomato plants planting them in gardening bags.

from Gardeners.com

Next was using some of my flea market finds as containers for my flowers. An old watering can, colander, and buckets.

Then was the finishing touch adding a few more plants with new flea market finds (old roasting pan), some fun decorative garden stakes and a wreath for the door.

I think I might change things up a little bit this year. I still plan on using my repurpose containers for flowers but maybe using a different idea for my herb garden. I love the pallet idea, but it was a little big for my needs, I had more fresh herbs than I knew what to do with. I am thinking a smaller scale this year. I have this idea of using my old 28 oz tomato cans (I always have a lot of these) and hanging them on an old wooded board. 

Stay tuned to see what I come up with.

What are you planning for your garden this year? I would love to hear some of your ideas.

                       Have blessed day!

 

Hopes for Spring

Hey There! I don't know about you but I am getting spring fever. With March just a few days away I can't wait to see the crocuses and tulips start to pop out of the ground. Tho, we here in New England need all this snow to melt. Come on snow MELT!

As I dream of spring, I have been browsing around Pinterest and the Web looking at gardens and gardening tips. I though today I would share a few with you.

Living in a condo with limited outdoor space (Oh I dream of the day, when the Hubby and I will purchase our own piece of paradise (a home) and I can have a glorious garden). Until then I will make due.

Last year to save space I converted an old pallet into an herb garden. It worked out great! You can read about how to create one for yourself here.

I also use lots of containers in my garden. I use them for my tomato plants and flowers.
You can read about how I re-purposed items as containers in my garden here.

I found this great chart on when to plant a vegetable garden.

source

I just loved raised vegetable gardens and came across this guide.

source

I though I would finish with some images of vegetable gardens that make my heart sigh...

source

source

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Now a girl can dream... right!

Enjoy your day!

Gardening Part 2

Hi All! 

It took some time but our front yard garden is finally in bloom. 

See where our garden started here. 

An old roaster, turned garden container

I just love lilies, they are so easy to grow

My Ribbon Wreath, make with a wire form and patriotic ribbon

There is nothing like flowers in bloom!

 

Gardening

Hi all! It has been great weather here in CT. I have been busy in the garden. My hubby and I did a vertical herb garden and planted some tomato plants. Now it is time to move to the from yard. In the front of our condo we have a small patch of front yard that we can decorate, I would say 6' x 4'.

I headed to my local garden center, Van Wilgens and picked out some various flowering plants.

I have been flea marketing, looking for some great containers to use in the garden. I found an old watering can, enameled colander, and buckets. Once I got all the plants sorted and planted in the various container is was time to place them. So what do you thing?

Later to come the wide shot of the entire space once the mulch is put down.

Happy gardening,

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