Planter Planning

Does this ever happen to you? 

Once spring starts, you are feeling happy and ambitious with your container gardening plans. Online you go......in search of the perfect pair of planters (Peter Picked a Pepper)....and you find them!!

So excited am I...are you...into your virtual basket they go

AND they are 'sold out'!

This has happened to me too many times to count. I have learned that late winter is the time to plan your outdoor living items....planters in particular. 

Since I have no idea where or what my next patio will be, I will be refraining from purchasing, but dreaming and planning away.

I love everything about the entrance to this London flat.

Via

And here ya go.

Thos. Baker Planter / Smith & Hawken Planter

Wayfair did it again with this beautiful maintenance-free version, or this one. (note: this has been updated since the original planters have been sold and the post is several years old).

Learn from my mistakes and start your planter planning now. How do you like those Photoshop skills? Did you notice the color of the prices match the different planters? 

#ThingsToEntertainMeLateAtNight

Paint The Ugly Threshold

Here is my Lowe's Sponsored Challenge: Mum's The Word! Decorate any part of your home or garden with chrysanthemum's. Get as creative as you like.
As soon as I opened this one, I knew what I wanted to do...
My front door

But wait....I can't just decorate this place without fixing that thing that has been bothering me for years! 
See it? 
It is screaming at me..."I'm so ugly!"

No, not the dead Lamb's Ear.

This

I have hated this aluminum threshold from day one. 
I even tried to make it black with Rub N Buff.
Big fail

Since I wasn't sure how to fix it after my Rub N Buff disaster, I asked the guy's in the Lowe's paint department.
First, you need to remove as much of the metal wax as possible 

  Next

I used this tape

To protect the door and bluestone

Prime

2 coats of paint

And you have this

But I'm STILL not done. As long as we have gone through all of this trouble, let's seal the door properly.....Winter is coming!
Look at where the door meets the bluestone

I like this one

While you are at it...check all around the door for additional air leaks.
Apply the caulk and wipe off excess

Now, I'm ready to decorate the front area. Come back tomorrow to see how I finished this area. That is when you can enter the giveaway. In the mean time, click on over to the Lowe's Creative Ideas site for more inspirational projects.
****Go here for part two and the giveaway!**** 

Deck the Door

Like the rest of this year, the Holiday Season is moving along! As usual, I have great big crafting plans...that I almost never find the time to do! I found some fun inspirational ways to deck out the front door...and maybe this will be the year?

Now this won't take long...the tutorial is here

Source

I love being square....the tutorial is here

Source

This is super fun whimsy

Source

There isn't a tutorial for that package topiary....but the Two Junk Chix ladies rocked it when they made this

This wreath has been pinned and repinned on pinterest an impressive amount...and the tutorial is here.


I think this is my favorite

Source

...and the tutorial for this one is here. How are you decking your halls?

Self-Watering Containers

Several years ago, I purchased this

a square, black, polyurethane container for my front porch. Like most of my decisions for my home, the size and shape were perfect......the fact that it was self-watering was a plus!

Obviously, something went wrong

One very dead plant. After much clicking around and several tutorials later, I realized a needed a wick so that the water could travel up to the plant. This was not in the directions provided by the container company.

So, I went to the hardware store and purchased this

Polyester rope and clear plastic tubing. The tubing was not part of any tutorials that I found....I am adding it for "insurance". Here is what I did

1) Dump everything out on a tarp/sheet

 

 2) Make sure the holes are large enough to drop the rope and tubing down into the reserve of water

3) Add tubing and/or rope into the holes making sure to leave a long enough tail so that it will reach the plant(s)

 once the tubing is inserted, slide a piece of rope through to act as the wick

4) Put back the fabric paper (this keeps the holes from getting clogged by dirt) and add back some of the soil mix.

5) Place the plant at the proper height making sure the wick comes in contact with the root-ball

 

6) Add remaining soil and additional plants if desired

Hopefully, that will fix the problem!

Let's Take This Outside

Now that the weather is nice, I turned to Martha for some outdoor illuminating ideas

 

 

 

 

 

I have a lot planned for Summer...can't wait to see what people will post!

Happy End-of-the-School-Year!

Front Porch Finished!

A while back, I was planning on a Front Porch Make-over. Here is one of the "before" shots

I was thinking of white cushions that I spoke about here. Well, truth be told....the white did not work out for me. The first set of cushions I made were too small. Tip, outdoor foam does not react the same as pillow forms (I like to sew my pillows an inch smaller all the way around, so they have that "poooff"). When I went to buy more outdoor fabric, white was gone. So, here is the "after"

A "Happy Accident", they are turquoise.

I also told you about my outdoor rug I bought on-line. If you remember, it arrived like this. So, to get it to lay flat, I did this

put it on a hot driveway, and before long, it looked like this

nice and FLAT! Here are a few more pictures of my porch

and my window boxes

onto the next........