How Does Your Garden Grow

A few weeks back, I posted a cute garden starter kit here.  Well, in addition to the cute giftables, I saved a few seed packs for my own little veggie garden.  I’ll admit, I have a bit of an attention deficit disorder when it comes to gardening.  I cam plant with the best of them … but it’s that darn watering that keeps me from having a prize winning garden.  This year, I’ve vowed to myself to remember to water these little plants and see if we can get one or two things to make it to a harvest! 

Since my little veggie garden is in planters, I decided to get three oversized terra cotta planters and gussy them up a bit with a cute 1-2-3 bold numbering that’s so in style right now. 

To complete, I just printed off a few large numerals and traced them onto a roll of vinyl.  This stuff is pure magic!  You can buy it by the roll at Hobby Lobby (with a coupon) for just a few dollars.  I cut out each of the numbers and burnished them onto the pots. 

With the help of my trusty planting assistant, we filled these three big pots with lettuce, tomato, green beans, cucumber, bell pepper, basil, thyme, dill and oregano. 

Here’s hoping the rain fairy is kind this year and with any luck we will be celebrating with veggies real soon!

Bulb Rewards

I'm convinced that gardening is natures way of making us patient.  Back breaking effort, close encounters with the wormy kind and dirt for miles is rewarded months later with beautiful flowers, lush greenery and the bounty that (if your lucky) is the pride of a pretty garden that lasts all spring and summer long. 

Last year, I dug and dug in our front little flower bed and this month my hard work paid off.  I'm just pleased as punch with the first daffodil bulbs that sprouted their pretty little heads.  Next up, tulips will fill in the gaps followed by agapanthus in the early summer.  I have always been a fan of the springly look of daffodils and tulips and became a lover of the beautiful purple agapanthus when I started travelling frequently to So Cali years ago.  How they keep those purple blossoms year round is enough to make any garden green! 

While the fall bulb season is well behind us, I'm just giddy to plant a series of gladiolus here this weekend!  I lucked into a super deal on these bulbs and bought no less than 50!  Sure, I'm not excited about the future back ache, but it will be worth it when these beauties grow this summer.  My best tip on glad bulbs, be sure to plant them close together and they definitely do best in a clump.  I learned the hard way in seasons prior ... nothing looks worse than a stringy single bulb sparcely placed in a flower bed.  This time, there's a giant mass of these slated for right next to my back porch!

In other gardening news, I am going to try my hand at a few planters of seeds as well once the weather warms a bit.  While I'm cautiously optimistic, rest assured if it works I'll be sure to share the good news!

I Dig You

I've got spring fever ... that's a fact.  My daffodils are starting to show the early signs that spring is just around the corner, and I couldn't be happier about that!  As a combo get ready for spring and Valentine sweetness for my sis Lala and ZsaZsa, I whipped up these cute "I dig you" kits.  Nanny D also was the proud recipient of one of these sweeties. 

Each kit includes a bag of bulbs, veggie seeds to be planted in a few short weeks, a handheld shovel for planting and a pair of cute gardening gloves.  I wrapped up the items with a fresh pink bow and a small label that reads "I dig you".  I know these are sure to be a hit.  I certainly can't wait to try my hand at seed planting veggies this spring!

The Backyard Challenge

June 2011 marks five years that Dear Hubs and I have lived in our home.  It seems like such a short time ago I was busy sewing curtains and planning the decor for our new digs as the builders took what seemed like forever to build our home.  While the five years have past like a flash, one constant reminder that there is still work to be done has been our backyard.  Don't get me wrong ... there was nothing "wrong" with it and so we endured and focused our attention on projects inside the home.  Well, the projects inside have pressed the limit and it's time we start that backyard overhaul we have dreamed of for some time now. 

We were one of the first new homes in our neighborhood when we built and we have loved welcoming each of our neighbors and friends to the place we call home.  Most anxiously though, we have waited for the lot next to our house to be built upon.  You see, in our builder's infinate wisdom, the lot directly next to us was deemed the "final phase" of the development and as such has remained untouched all this time.  As that new street begins to get some real estate shopping traction, we cross our fingers and hope for a lovely family to buy the lot next door and become our wonderful new neighbors!  It hasn't happened just yet, but we decided to press on with "phase 1" of the backyard overhaul anyways. 

Our vision for the overall backyard renovation was pretty elaborate.  The first step was to remove the deck off of the back of the house and to replace it with an even more spacious screened in porch.  I grew up with a screened in porch and have always just loved these outdoor rooms.  And, since I'm a bug magnet in the summertime, a screened in porch provides a welcome break from the constant bites and zaps of these pesky critters.

In time, we plan to add appropriate hardscaping to the yard; such as retaining walls and steps around to the finished basement.  Along with the hardscape, Dear Hubs has a vision of re-leveling the entire yard.  Now, I didn't know exactly what that entails (and still really don't), but apparently there's a lot of dirt movement, ew sod and he promises that when complete Baby B will have a perfectly flat yard to run and play on.  Besides the screened in porch, we hope to build a deck or an outdoor patio area behind the house for entertaining, conversation and enjoying the gorgeous outdoors when the mosquitos aren't!  Lastly, of course ... it's the pretty, pretty lipstick part - plantings!  And I'm hopeful there will be plenty of those to give us the perfect southern backyard in our minds eye.

Here's a few snaps of the before of the porch area and I promise to keep you informed every step of the way!

Now ... let's get digging!

~charmed b

Signs of Summer

While the cool May weather may have us confused that it's still early spring, there are indeed a few distinct signs that those hot southern summers are just around the corner!  One of my favorite things is a big hydrangea bush in full bloom, bursting with bright pink, purple or blue blooms. 

In my first house, I gave my best domesticated college try to gardening by planting a hydrangea on the side of my house.  To my good fortune, it actually was very successful (shocking) and I went on to root cuttings from that bush several times to fill the entire gardening bed with bright blue blossoms.  When we moved, I was so sad to leave my hydrangea behind.  As a sweet housewarming gift in my new residence, bestie M gave me a small hydrangea bush and I was able to start all over.  After a few short years of rooting and pruning, that little bush has grown into a massive (and I mean massive) display of the south's finest hydrangea.

While pictures of the shrub itself is out of the question thanks to the garage sale looking mess of furniture, hammocks and planting pots currently decorating my backyard while the porch is completed; I was however able transport a few of the cuttings inside so that they may be enjoyed.

Rooting a hydrangea is so simple.  If you have one, you can easily expand the display next summer with this simple technique. If you don't have a plant, borrow a cutting from a friend ... you will be glad you did!

To take a cutting for rooting:
1. Using scissors or pruning sheers, cut a 6-8" stem of new growth (this year's growth)
2.  Remove lower leaves.
3.  Place in water and be sure any leaf nodules (where the leaves attach to stem) are under water.
4.  Change water weekly.  Roots should appear in a few weeks. 
5.  Plant in a planter and water frequently.  Transplant to the ground in fall.

Another option that has given me successful results as well is to use a growth hormone powder.  Follow instructions 1 and 2 above.  Then, dip the end of the cutting (where you cut with the scissors and where you removed leaves ) in the hormone powder as directed on the cannister.  You can then place directly in the soil at this point.  Rooting hormone is easily found at garden supply stores.

Then ... sit back and enjoy the signs of summer!

~charmed b