My Garden

Hi Everyone:

It seems like the summer is zipping by. Even though fall is my favorite time of year, I do love when my garden is in full bloom.

Our tomatoes are growing wonderfully. We were able to pick one and it was delicious.

 

The others are slowly growing. We look anxiously everyday to see if we can pick one. Not yet, hopefully soon.

Aren't they looking great!!!  Oh, the tastes of summer...

I planted a variety of flowers this year petunias, inpatients, begonias, and others I can remember their names. We have day lilies that come back every year. I just love them, no fuss, no muss, they just look beautiful year after year.

Below are a few close-up of my blooms this year...

I have to say, those blooms make me smile everyday, especially when I come home from work and these are what greet me along my walkway. Then my heart overflows as I enter my home and there are by my beloved Hubby and Otis. They just make my heart swell.

Hope the summer is treating you good. I cannot believe it is August already...
What has the summer had in store for you thus far?

            Enjoy the week!

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!

Creating an Urban Herb Garden

Hello friends! I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I went to see my best friend's son perform in his senior concert. It was amazing, he brought us to tears. The talent was unbelievable, I had to keep reminding myself that these were high school students.

As many of you know I live in a condo and our outdoor space is very limited. I am always on the look out for ways to garden in a small space. Last year for my herb garden I converted a pallet (read about it here). Tho I did love that idea, this year I wanted to go more vertical. I don't know about you (being Italian) I go through a lot of tomato cans and thought man I should find a way to re-purpose all of these.

Here is what I came up with... 

The Vertical Urban Herb Garden 

This was simple and only cost me the price of the boards, under $15.00, but if you are lucky and have a stash of boards this will cost you nothing, but maybe a little sweat. 

I started this part about a month ago, saving up my aluminum cans from 28 oz crushed/puree tomatoes and 10 oz vegetables. 

I drilled a hole in the bottom of each can for drainage.

I then laid the boards out side by side, I screwed 2 strips of wood to the back to hold the boards together. I put a scrap piece of wood between each board to keep the spacing equal.

I flipped the boards over and began laying out the cans. I moved them around a little bit until I found a layout I liked.

 I pre-drilled a hole at the top of the can to make it easier to screw the can to the board.

 I proceeded to attach all the cans to the wood.

I then brought this out to my little patch of patio and leaned it up against our fence. Now for the finishing touch, to fill the cans with potting soil and the herbs.

Here is a closer look at the some of herbs. I planted basil, parsley, dill, cilantro, rosemary, and chives.

Not bad huh? I really liked this idea, it fits so well in a small space and the cost is low to nil.

In what unique ways have you planted herbs in your garden?

        Happy Gardening!

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!

 

Friday's Fancy

What a great day!

I am featured today on The Cottage Market - Junkin Joe for my Vertical Herb Garden.

Check out all the great DIY Projects…upcycled creations…Pottery Barn Knockoffs…refurbished and painted furniture projects…vintage finds…flea market treasures…home decor DIY projects…scrap-booking creations and everything in between!

Junkin Joe

 Thank you Andrea for featuring me. I hope you will check out her great blog.

Have a great weekend