Friday's In the Garden....Rain Delay
Hi Everyone....It is late on Friday...but it's still Friday. This was a wet week in New Jersey. It's hard to complain, we need it!
It is a great time...Spring is in full bloom. If you want to add some color to your garden, you need to go to the garden center at the time you want the plant to be in bloom....and then, buy what is blooming. Here are a few plants that look fantastic now
It didn't take long for it to fill out. Next week, I will be working on my shade garden...
If you look closer, you can see that it needs a good weeding. These tall weeds need to be pulled, and the newspaper/mulch method won't work on them. It could also benefit from some rearranging.
Lastly, my friend stopped by and gave me this
Thanks Whit! Have you started working outside?
It is a great time...Spring is in full bloom. If you want to add some color to your garden, you need to go to the garden center at the time you want the plant to be in bloom....and then, buy what is blooming. Here are a few plants that look fantastic now
White Irises
Golden Barberry
Dwarf Blue Spruce against Purple Barberry
Bearded Iris
Remember the Lambs Ear I wrote about here
If you look closer, you can see that it needs a good weeding. These tall weeds need to be pulled, and the newspaper/mulch method won't work on them. It could also benefit from some rearranging.
Lastly, my friend stopped by and gave me this
Thanks Whit! Have you started working outside?
Pool
Today, I am dreaming of the perfect pool. I have thought about this, often.....I have a pinboard dedicated to it. We came close to putting one in this summer....but I pulled the plug (pun intended). The timing wasn't right.....and if I have learned anything in life....don't force it! Here are the features I like in a pool.... long stirs that run the entire length of the shallow end
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| House & Home |
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| Veranda |
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An interesting approach to the pool deck
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| Via Pinterest |
I still think the Martha Stewart pool is perfect
What are you dreaming of?
It Was My Lucky Day
I love giveaway's! If you are having one, come by and let me know....I will probably enter. Although I enter quite a few, I have only won two of them. The first one was this print. That was over a year ago. The second one was just a few weeks ago when I won this
Isn't it beautiful....it is the perfect shade of lavender. I won it from the design duo Powell Brower when they had this giveaway. Do you know those ladies? They are the Mother/Daughter team Nancy & Bethany. I love their blog.... Nancy and I have become blogging buddies.
Here is what I did with this lovely piece of porcelain
I brought it to my local nursery and had THEM make a lovely arrangement. I am great with the outdoor plants, but the indoor ones don't like me very much. Currently, this arrangement was stolen borrowed by my daughter. Apparently, she wants her room done over in purple's. It has only been one year from the last time we changed her room colors.......I am hoping her purple haze will pass.
How often do you change the room colors of tweens & teens?
A Custom Gift Wrap
When I was in high school, I worked for a custom gift shop in the Los Angeles area. The shop sold exclusive personalized gifts that were very expensive. I worked in the wrapping department with a friend of mine. On Saturday's, she and I would wrap gifts while chatting and laughing the hours away. It was great fun....and the perfect job. Once in a while, famous people would come in....like Pat Benatar or one of the Jacksons' (as in 5).
Last week, on an average trip to Ikea....I saw this
Thin colored drinking straws....and then I remembered....I USED TO WRAP GIFTS WITH THESE!! Here is how we did it....start with a plain white box
Make a label for the recipient (we used the name of the store)
It must ALWAYS go in the bottom left corner (every gift from this store had to be recognizable and uniform).
Using colored cellophane, wrap the box.
Grab a small handful of colored straws that coordinate with your ribbons
Wrap a few pieces of ribbon around the bundle of straws
Chop off the bendy parts
Pull the ribbons extra tight to form a straw bow and attach it to the package
The cellophane allows everyone to see the exclusive name
This brought back such great memories....and my daughter's friend loved how her gift was wrapped. What job(s) did you have in high school?
**Linking to Craft-O-Maniac**
Last week, on an average trip to Ikea....I saw this
Thin colored drinking straws....and then I remembered....I USED TO WRAP GIFTS WITH THESE!! Here is how we did it....start with a plain white box
Make a label for the recipient (we used the name of the store)
It must ALWAYS go in the bottom left corner (every gift from this store had to be recognizable and uniform).
Using colored cellophane, wrap the box.
Grab a small handful of colored straws that coordinate with your ribbons
Wrap a few pieces of ribbon around the bundle of straws
Chop off the bendy parts
Pull the ribbons extra tight to form a straw bow and attach it to the package
The cellophane allows everyone to see the exclusive name
This brought back such great memories....and my daughter's friend loved how her gift was wrapped. What job(s) did you have in high school?
**Linking to Craft-O-Maniac**
Fabric Giveaway Winner.....
I am so happy that this fabric is going to get used!
It is going to the happy home of #2 ( I can't figure out how to show the random number)
It is going to the happy home of #2 ( I can't figure out how to show the random number)
Michelle HudakApr 23, 2012 09:58 AM
I'm a GFC follower. Love that fabric! I'd give it a great home in my son's room with some new pillows for his bed.
Congratulations Michelle...I'd love to see a picture of your finished project.
Friday's In the Garden...Recycle, Mulch & Weed
I love the look of fresh mulch. So crisp and clean. In fact, I do all my own mulching. The workout is great and I am very particular on how it gets done. Not to mention the fact that I have a tremendous amount of WEEDS!
It would be extremely labor intensive if I had to pay someone to weed all of this before putting down mulch. So, many years back, I read an article about recycling newspaper in the garden. Combine that with mulching, and you have a winning combination.
First, lay down a heavy layer of newspaper (4-5 sheets thick). I use all of the paper, glossy section as well.
Next, don't skip this step, wet the newspaper. This keeps it from blowing away when you dump the mulch on top.
Finally, bring on the mulch!
Admire, and then on to the next part of the garden.
It would be extremely labor intensive if I had to pay someone to weed all of this before putting down mulch. So, many years back, I read an article about recycling newspaper in the garden. Combine that with mulching, and you have a winning combination.
Next, don't skip this step, wet the newspaper. This keeps it from blowing away when you dump the mulch on top.
Finally, bring on the mulch!