Daffodils

After Christmas I went to my favorite nursery to get some small plants, and I noticed they had a few potted bulbs for sale, and I just couldn't pass them up.  They lasted about 2 two weeks and I had them right on my fake window sill above my kitchen sink to brighten up my days.   Enjoy! 

 

 

Zinnias

I guess I could have put these in my cutting garden post, but they are so fun and colorful, they get their own post.

 

Check these out, totally worth $4 and some miracle grow to get these cute  little bouquets each week.

 

Check out this orange one!

 

 

The little gardener that could

I wanted to plant a small cutting garden this year, but never did it...then around mid summer, when I started seeing Zinnias around, I got sad that I didn't have any of my own. :  (

 

 

So on my way home from work one Friday I stopped at a garden center and found the saddest spindly Zinnas around, but they had them and they weren't dead (or at least not totally dead).  I grabbed a few with a good old box of miracle grow bloom booster and set my sights on a late-in-the season mini cutting garden.

When I went up to pay, the zinnias were off to the right, and the miracle grow was toward the left by the cashier, he rang that up, but didn't see the zinnias, so I motioned towards them.  He looked at them, he looked at me, he looked back and them....then said "how about I only charge you for half of those" HAHAHA the owner of the garden center was surprised I bought them.  But that was good, other than the miracle grow, which I needed anyway, my cutting garden investment ended up being $4.

 

 

 

I didn't feel like cutting in any new beds (rather colin didn't feel like cutting in any new beds) so I just stuck them in the bare area next to the grill.  They are only annuals, so my commitment to that location ends with the frost.

I planted them, then cut off all the flowers, so the plant could focus on growing some leaves, and I watered everyday, and miracle growed (regular or bloom booster) once a week.

 

 

No those images are not weeds, that are my cutting garden! And pretend the photo with the flowers is to the left and one without is to the right, since I planted them, THEN cut off all the flowers.

I didn't want to re do the picture : /

AND check it out!

 

 They actually filled out and are growing.  Granted they are not a good as if I had bought and planted them early while they were more healthy, but all I wanted was some zinnias to put around the house, and I achieved my goal.  I have zinnias until the frost takes them. : )
 

 

check out that bounty!!!

 

The long term plan is cutting in a new bed along the side (back) of the garage for an better cutting garden, but next to the grill works too,  since this girl needs her flowers.

Rememer Me?

Hey! Remember me?

My name is Megan and I used to have a blog? HA!!!!

 

 

Well life has been busy, but it has been wonderful and beautiful and I really want to share it with you despite the lack of any posting!  I am going to try and get back into my old routine of Tuesday evening blogging and wine...we shall see how it goes.  Tonight so far all I have done is sort months worth of photos but I figured I should get something up so please enjoy some flowers from the spring!

 

 

They are not from my garden (one day), they are from Wholefoods which is the most amazing and most horrible grocery store all rolled into one. : )

 

 

I did plant this peony, or at least a similar one, it was tag-less at the home depot : / but I only got one sad bloom from it this year.  So I am fertilizing and watering and hoping in time my 2 peony bushes produce future blooms for me.  A good gardener must be patience. "Patience is for suckers", I mean "Patience is a Virtue"...or so Colin likes to remind me....

 

 

I think Peonies are one of the most

beautiful things on this planet...till next year my loves!

 

All I see is White

Hi! Did you forgot I had a blog since it has been so long? HA! I think I did too! 

Well I am here, buried in snow and ice, longing for spring!  I enjoy the quiet of winter, but I am itching to do some gardening, so hopefully it doesn't last much longer.

At there are tulips in the grocery store this time of year!

When I was Christmas shopping for myself other people, I saw this card at a local shop and bought it.  I already had a custom made square frame since I have framed these cards before, and I have really been enjoying it on my kitchen counter. Love those rubber boots!

I guess I better start getting more done around the house, since before I know it, my wish will come true and there will be work to be done outside! : )

 

Zinnias

We go to the farmers market every week, and every week there are lovely bouquets of farm fresh flowers such as Zinnias and Sunflowers, but I went all summer without buying any for one reason or another.  So one day this early fall, I decided it was time to treat myself to some farmers market blooms!  They weren't the freshest of Zinnias since it was fall, but I still enjoyed them in the house for a few days. : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think next year I need to make some sort of cutting garden on the backside of the garage and plant me Zinnias and Cosmos to bring inside all summer. 

The list of future projects in my head never ends! ha!

Blooms

I was pretty happy with my annuals this summer. here and here.  I should find some pictures from later in the summer when they were full and lush for you! : )  But in the meantime I wanted to talk to you about the blooms.  All summer I watered with regular Miracle Grow but I noticed a few weeks before Labor Day, my Petunias and Million Bells had stopped blooming.  Although the summer was coming to an end, September is prime patio time, so I was not happy with my lack of color.

 

I know at work, they recommend "Bloom Booster" so I figured I would give it a go!  I couldn't find the brand they use at work, but I saw Miracle Grow had one, so I bought it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it worked! It brought the blooms back! Yay!  On the Petunias and Millions Bells it didn't get as dense as it was, but it bought back some of the flowers/color so I was happy.

 

 

 

On this guy it worked super well (can't remember what these things are called!)

Look at all those buds! Whoa mama!

 

 

Around the same time I was nursing my blooms back, I saw this post, and she says she uses the Bloom Boost all summer long.  So next year, I think I will be doing that too!

2014 Plants!

The garden is a work in progress and we get a little more done each season.  This summer, we got the side of the house planted and filled a corner with a Hydrangea!

 

When we moved into our house,  the one side of the house was loaded up with overgrown plants. I don't have a good "before" picture to show you, but it wasn't pretty.  So when the guys came to do our patio, I asked if they could just rip them all out while they had the machine. 

 

 

When the plants were ripped out, we noticed there was a small bed bordered with brick, since I wanted to keep that bed on the small side, we just left it as is, brick included.  Last year all we did was mulch and keep it weed free, so this year it was about time to get some plants in there! 

I decided I wanted some Carpet Rose.  It was a good sunny spot for them, plus I wanted a plant that stays on the smaller side so when they grow they don't look like they are eating our small house!

 

 

 

Carpet Rose are considered easy to grow roses since they are more winter hardy, drought tolerant and disease resistant that the more delicate high maintenance roses that you typically think of. 

When they are mature they should be 3'x3' balls of glorious pink blooms! 

I will need to look into when and how to prune them in a few years, but right now they are pretty small so I just want them to grow grow grow.  And I did buy rose food at Home Depot to help them out.  If I notice any mildew or other rose related problems I will keep you posted and troubleshoot, but so far they have been easy!

 

We put Boxwood on either end for some evergreen and to match the boxwood along the back,

 

I wanted the medium pink color, but the nursery didn't have them the day my Dad and went to get them.  They had a super crazy bright pink or a pale pink. 

After much deliberation, I decided on the pale pink ones.

So now I have roses in my garden! Yay!  And although these pictures for from the summer, right now, in November, they are still blooming! Amazing!

I also got a Annabelle Hydrangea for the garden this year.  The corner where the perennial border meets the fence could stand for something larger and I thought a big white summer blooms would fit the bill!  We took too long to plant it, and it got a little stressed in the pot it came in, but I fertilized it and watered it and I feel good about it coming back strong next year!

 

 

 

I meant to get a straight Annabelle Hydrangea, but I accidently got a "Incrediball" Hydrangea, which is a variety of the Annabelle with larger flowers.  Although I noticed the flowers were more of a lacecap shape than a puff ball shape, so TBD how it looks next year as it grows. : )

 

YAY PLANTS!

Annuals Part 2

Summer annual season is almost over, and I realized I still had pictures to share!  I had shared my large new planters, but I still have more annuals to share with you.......

 

So here you go, you can savor them on the screen, while I savor them in real life before the frost gets them! Boo Frost!  Please note these images are from the beginning of the season, they grew lusher as the summer when on.  Also, if you want to know what anything is, just ask me!

I saw these fun pots at Home Depot and just had to have tons of them one of them! : )  I have it on my outdoor coffee table and it looks just lovely!

 

 

 

 

I have a small pot by my hose, which might be my favorite due to the fabulous color combinations!

 

 

 

 

 

I have lots of pots on my stoop.  Since we moved in I always have wanted one really low large planter there, but big planters are expensive so I keep putting lots of smaller ones clustered up there.  Last year I had all my herbs up there but it ended up looking so green...aka no color... So this year I mixed some flowers in with my herbs, which was a great idea.  Now I have things to snip when I cook AND color!

 

 

These purple ones are pretty right...well don't plant them! They never flower!  They were green and bare most of the summer, and I even was using Miracle Grow!

 

 

I forgot the name of these red plants, but how fun are they!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I put a small pot in my potting bench which you have already seen, and is basically what I did last year.  I planned on adding a few more plant to the potting bench, but never did...next year!

 

 

 

 

A few weeks after I had done my annuals, my family got me this fun rubber boot planter, so I headed back to the nursery for a few more plants.  I set it up by my potting bench since I felt I needed a little color there.  I clustered it with some a few more herbs, some mint and some basil, since the first basil I had bought was not taking off.

 

 

 

 

 

Now to the front yard.....I love my cast iron urns, but I have to be honest, I don't have great luck with planting things in them.  Not sure if it is because of the sun/shade conditions in the front yard or the lack of soil in the containers.  Next year I am going to do more shade loving annuals and see if that makes any difference. 

I noticed last year, the pale purples and yellow I did in them didn't really stand out from the street, so this year the goal was BRIGHT! Bright colors that would pop from the street and side walk. So I went with bright green, peach and bright pink.  Not what I normally would have put together, but it works!  I will update you with pictures later in the season so you can see the full effect.

 

 

So there are the rest of my annuals.  : )  Yay Plants!

Succulent Inspiration

As silly as this sentence sounds, Succulents are "in". haha These small little plants tend to be all over pinterest and 'blog lady' blogs and I want me some.  And the best part about them, is the fun little containers you see them in, like tea cup, sugar bowls, old tins, pitchers.. etc.

 

SO last weekend, when my Dad and I went to the nursery to get a tree he wanted, I got myself some succulents.  I am pretty confident I will kill them, but I am going to give it a go! ha!  I got 3 to start, just to make sure I can keep them alive. (side note, due to the less hot summer we had, my ferns actually survived this summer in my hot house, they are not looking to great, but they are alive! WIN!)

 

I have not planted them or taken any pictures yet, so I leave you with some lovely internet images to make you want succulents too! : )

 

I planned on planting them this weekend, but I just read they shouldn't have typically dense soil, so I think I need to wait until next week and steal grab a handful of gravel or sand from work to add to the potting mix before planting them.  (I am sure there is something better to use, but I am a lady on a budget.) Stay tuned for photos of what I bought. 

 source

 

 source

oh that is so lovely, looks at those trailers....I might need a large urn of them on my patio at some point!

source

 

 

  source

 

  source

 source

 

 

 source

 This fountain filled with them is amazing...I think I need an old fountain stat!

pinterest-link unavailable