All Bottled Up

Terrariums are beautiful mini container gardens and I've always admired the creative art in designing them and wanted to make one for years. I finally made one, as a gift, for a good friend and loved making it so much I know I will make more.

Beside purchasing the container, I also found the clock house, at the thrift store and added it for a touch of whimsy. I used pebbles from and old aquarium thinking it would make an interesting "walkway" to the front of the house.

When making any terrarium all that's needed is a container, plants, rocks (pebbles), soil and creativity. You can make it as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be.

Time: 30 minutes (assembly and clean up)
Level of difficulty: Easy

Pallet Project

Wow, I can't believe it's been three years since my last post. Time goes by so quickly, but I've been busy and in the next few post I'll share a few of the things I have done over my hiatus. For the past few months I set out to re-purpose a pallet that had been laying in the backyard for far too long. I've seen different versions and designs of decorated pallets and it wasn't until I saw this design in Good Housekeeping that gave me inspiration and motivation. This is what my pallet project turned out to look  like:

I bought two hooks from the hardware store and my sweetie screwed them in the back of the pallet. I painted the wood and sprayer a sealer on it to protect the finish. The four decorative pails were purchased at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore; I drilled a few holes for drainage and used S hooks to attach each of the pails to the pallets. I painted the other three containers (silver, brown and lime green -- the only color spray paints I had on had). I bought pots at Ikea which were typically used in the kitchen to hold utensils, with holes in the bottom of the containers; the silver holder came with the container.

Image from Good Housekeeping

Time: 3 hours (prep, painting, planting and assembling)
Level of difficulty: Easy

Pentas

I love a good deal and in many garden centers you can find some good deals. With so many flowers now in bloom the garden centers are bursting at the seams and there are clearance, yes clearance plants just waiting for a home. If you're able to spend a little time to nurse a plant  back to health then you'll be able to add beauty to your garden for just a few dollars.  I usually check out the plants on Monday - Thursday and find racks of plants on clearance; there are many plants leftover from the weekend when the store expects to have more foot traffic. I have bought a six pack of Begonias for $.50 and a medium sized pot with Hibiscus for only $2.00. My recent find was the beautiful Penta, I love the color. This plant is an annual in some states and survive as a perennial in other parts of the United States; it loves the sun but can tolerate some shade.

I nearly walked past this plant, as I loaded the shopping cart with a flat (18 count) of Marigolds for $2.00. An entire flat (18 count) of the Pentas, every plant looked healthy and thriving on sale in the clearance rack for $5.00. These beautiful pink flowers are gonna be right at home in the front yard to add a little curb appeal. So on your next visit, see what hidden treasures you can find on the clearance racks, their beauty may surprise you.

Pots in the Garden

Spring is in the air and the blooms are in showing off their brilliant colors

 

I thought that changing the colors of existing flower pots would add more color

to the garden. Take a look at the pots....

BEFORE

AFTER

I used Valspar's paint for plastic to paint the pot and inside the pot are
Creeping Jenny, Impatiens and Sedum.

BEFORE

AFTER (IN THE GARDEN)

 This pot was painted gold and the I planted spearmint
in the pot (the spearmint smells wonderful).