downstairs, i added a little potted ficus...
and another fern found a home on the newly revamped bookshelves:
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Sunday, February 12, 2012
going green
as i mentioned in the diy terrarium post, i need some green in this house! since the garden centers weren't on my side for doggy-friendly plants, i decided to add some greenery to the bathroom. Lula doesn't like going in there since she thinks it means bath-time, and it's really a great environment for some tropical plants who love the humidity. might as well make those hot showers pay off!
the "zz plant" in my new ballard pot. it fills the corner nicely + the filtered light from the picture window is perfect for it.
a succulent found a new home on the shelves...
and a curly fern sits atop the shelves...hiding some of the stereo. i really love the texture of these leaves!
downstairs, i added a little potted ficus...
and another fern found a home on the newly revamped bookshelves:
downstairs, i added a little potted ficus...
and another fern found a home on the newly revamped bookshelves:
Thursday, February 9, 2012
diy moss terrarium
the last few weekends have been gorgeous here, so it's given me a little spring fever. our house doesn't have many plants in it, since i'm not much of a green thumb. but i've been determined to change that + took advantage of the pretty weather to pot a few plants for the house.
indoor plants not only add softness, texture, and color, but they also improve the air quality in the home. i struggled finding plants that were dog-friendly, and this is critical in our house since Lula's been known to chew on them from time-to-time. i consulted the ASPCA website's plant listing and left many garden stores frustrated with their lack of options. ugh.
i saw these moss terrariums from Twig Terrariums featured on Fab.com last week and figured i could make my own at a ridiculous fraction of the $99 flash-sale price. i even found this tutorial from Twig Terrariums themselves on how to do it.
a $5.99 vase from Homegoods, a 59-cent plastic saucer to use as the lid, a little moss, and a few supplies i already had, and i had myself a moss terrarium.
basically, just add the components in layers. the ladies at Twig Terrarium walk you through the step-by-step process, so i'll just show off my end result:
i also put together another terrarium, shown here on the bedroom bookshelves. it's not enclosed so it requires a layer of activated charcoal to keep it from getting funky. it has a simple fern in it for now, though i may add another plant so it has a buddy.
i got my moss from a craft store + a garden center. the rocks + soil i already had. i picked up the activated charcoal [aka activated carbon] at petco, and the smaller container was plenty.
i'm excited to see how these guys turn out after their ecosystems establish themselves.
indoor plants not only add softness, texture, and color, but they also improve the air quality in the home. i struggled finding plants that were dog-friendly, and this is critical in our house since Lula's been known to chew on them from time-to-time. i consulted the ASPCA website's plant listing and left many garden stores frustrated with their lack of options. ugh.
i saw these moss terrariums from Twig Terrariums featured on Fab.com last week and figured i could make my own at a ridiculous fraction of the $99 flash-sale price. i even found this tutorial from Twig Terrariums themselves on how to do it.
a $5.99 vase from Homegoods, a 59-cent plastic saucer to use as the lid, a little moss, and a few supplies i already had, and i had myself a moss terrarium.
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| [i really love the vase i found. i may have to make some more of my own with a little gold acrylic paint + cylinder vases] |
i also put together another terrarium, shown here on the bedroom bookshelves. it's not enclosed so it requires a layer of activated charcoal to keep it from getting funky. it has a simple fern in it for now, though i may add another plant so it has a buddy.
i got my moss from a craft store + a garden center. the rocks + soil i already had. i picked up the activated charcoal [aka activated carbon] at petco, and the smaller container was plenty.
i'm excited to see how these guys turn out after their ecosystems establish themselves.
Monday, June 13, 2011
fruits of the raised garden labor
Lookie here!!!
I'm happy to say the toils of building the raised garden beds is paying off!
We've been enjoying the spoils of basil for a few weeks, and it's going strong. I saw a WW recipe today for buttermilk-basil sorbet that I've gotta try, so stay tuned. if you have any basil faves, do tell!
The squash plant is outta control, so I've pruned it back a bit--hopefully not ruining it in the process. some of the spinach seemed to dwindle, so I popped in an okra plant. OH YEAH. faux fried okra here we come! okay, maybe we'll splurge on the real thing with our very own okra. the hard work's gotta pay off, right?
The bell peppers are off to a slow start, but we have one poblano so far. Maybe we'll have salsa soon! I don't know how to tell when the onions or cukes are ready, anyone know?? They're hiding under the soil from me cuz they know their fate.
The citronella plant actually seems to be effective, much to my surprise. it gives off a gentle scent--not as awful as the candles, and actually works. no greasy sprays, no melted wax, no smoking tiki torches. Not bad for a $4 plant.
very happy to make Modena and Toney proud!! who knew I inherited a green thumb? it probably helps that I married someone who remembers to water the plants.
I'm happy to say the toils of building the raised garden beds is paying off!
We've been enjoying the spoils of basil for a few weeks, and it's going strong. I saw a WW recipe today for buttermilk-basil sorbet that I've gotta try, so stay tuned. if you have any basil faves, do tell!
The squash plant is outta control, so I've pruned it back a bit--hopefully not ruining it in the process. some of the spinach seemed to dwindle, so I popped in an okra plant. OH YEAH. faux fried okra here we come! okay, maybe we'll splurge on the real thing with our very own okra. the hard work's gotta pay off, right?
The bell peppers are off to a slow start, but we have one poblano so far. Maybe we'll have salsa soon! I don't know how to tell when the onions or cukes are ready, anyone know?? They're hiding under the soil from me cuz they know their fate.
The citronella plant actually seems to be effective, much to my surprise. it gives off a gentle scent--not as awful as the candles, and actually works. no greasy sprays, no melted wax, no smoking tiki torches. Not bad for a $4 plant.
very happy to make Modena and Toney proud!! who knew I inherited a green thumb? it probably helps that I married someone who remembers to water the plants.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Grassy Pavers
With the pavers installed, we needed to lay the grass between the pavers to help hold the pavers in place. I wasn't sure if seeding or sod would be the best way to go. I was concerned that sod would dry out against the cement pavers. But I was worried that seeds may not grow in fully enough in time for the shower in a few weeks. I couldn't have guests tripping around on the pavers.
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| [ta-da! the new patio] |
So I decided on sod. I was torn between grass types. Bermuda or Fescue or Zoysia? Well, the area is too sunny for fescue. And Cricket isn't crazy about Bermuda. Zoysia it is!
Unfortunately, NO ONE SELLS ZOYSIA IN GEORGIA. Unless you need an entire pallet, that is. Which, we certainly didn't. Ugh. Cricket called his contracting buddy, who was apparently having zoysia installed at a project soon. We hoped the landscaper would add a few pieces to the order for us. Turns out, the landscaper was installing that week--and he had extra! FOR FREE!! SCORE!!!!! We'd just need to pick it up on the day he installed it....whenever that may be.
We just didn't know when we'd get "the call" to come pick it up. But on April 27, "the call" came. In case we needed any motivation, this was right on our heels:
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| [weather radar of the tornadoes in AL, heading our way] |
Luckily, the whole pieces of sod were perfectly sized for the larger gaps between the pavers. That wasn't planned, but I encourage it for anyone planning something similar.
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| [almost done...here come the storms] |
we finished just before dark. the rains came shortly after to give the sod it's first good soak.
before:
after:
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[to do: build the bench, find a few accessories, grab a cocktail!] linking up to Kate's summer outdoor party so check out the other great ideas! Paver Prep
The tiered planter was just the beginning phase of the patio transformation. The overall plan includes:
We rented a tiller and tilled up all of the grass & dirt between the house and fenceline. Once tilled, we moved the dirt around to level out the area as much as we could. At this point, we installed the french drain.
Then we laid landscape fabric to help with weed prevention.
We spread about 40 bags of sand throughout the area to help fill in major holes and provide a paver base. We tamped the sand to compact it and [hopefully] reduce future settling.
Getting the pavers (37 pounds each) from here:   ...cost us $50 and 2 bottles of water. We probably also owe the neighboring churches a sincere apology for the truck's backup "beep-beep-beep" during their Easter service. Once the sand was in, it was time for the pavers. Cricket had some studying to do, so it was up to me to put the paver puzzle together. I'd mapped out the design using a combination of 16"x16" concrete pavers and 8"x16" concrete pavers, all being 2" thick.  I used a 2x4 to help level the sand. Dragging the 2x4 across the sand helped to fill in & level the area I was working with. It's much easier to work a small section at a time. I use 2x4 scraps as spacers, too. Then, I just followed my pattern and laid the pavers one by one.  The pavers are each about 37 pounds, so it was like doing squats with 40-pound weights. I paid for that the next day. And the next. And the next. French Drain
As part of the landscaping patio project, we installed a French drain. We had some issues with water in our crawl space, so we were convinced the existing drain wasn't working.
The first step was to remove the existing French drain. It was improperly installed and didn't have a filter sock. As a result, the pipe had collapsed, and--much to the pleasure of Lula & visiting Abby--there was a dog toy stuck in the pipe. [i would be lying if Abby + i didn't take a little fetch break while cricket dug away at the trench. but it was a short break. i promise. the old girl needs her kicks!] Deepen the trench to at least 12", so that it slopes away from the house. We extended the length of the drain so it would empty near a future flower bed instead of the middle of the lawn.    Fill the bottom of the trench with drainage rock:  Lay the perforated pipe into the trench:  We also tied in the downspout to the trench, to move that water away from the house, too. This was done by cutting a length of perforated pipe to the length where the downspout would join the trench. Both the downspout pipe and the perforated pipe were fed into the top of the "Y" and placed into the trench. Then, a piece of perforated drainpipe was inserted into the opposite end of the "Y" and laid into the remaining length of the trench.  The end of the perforated pipe should come to the surface of the ground, following a slight incline if necessary for the slope. Once the drainpipe is in the trench, cover with drainage rock.  The hardest part is the digging. And the digging. Did I mention the digging? Since this was part of a larger patio makeover, we rented a tiller--which definitely helped the process along. Removing the existing trench's gravel was painful. I felt like we spent 5 hours moving dirt from one pile to another. But, so far, despite the crazy tornadoes and thunderstorms of the past week, we haven't seen much water in the crawlspace. It's definitely an improvement. SUCCESS!! project costs: 25 foot flex perforated drainpipe with filter sock: $20 5 bags of sand: $16 7 bags of drainage rock: $24 tiller (though rented for another project too): $34 this was also a great excuse to purchase: a wheelbarrow (for hauling the sand + rock) Tuesday, April 12, 2011need your help with landscape design!
greetings blogland! i call on you today for helping with a critical decision. you've seen the tiered garden here, here, and here. the original plans call for a bench in front of the box, but we can't get started on the bench until we figure out what we want to do with the patio area.
we'd like to extend the living space into the lawn, and just can't decide what types of pavers we want to use. the space in front of the tiered planter measures 12' across and we'd like to extend about 18' towards the back yard. the upper patio is the old parking pad, thus concrete. it's been painted & we're currently pressure washing to remove the chipping paint. i'm thinking of staining it afterward. i tell you this because whatever we lay in the current grass area below will need to be cohesive with the upper patio and "flow" aesthetically.
 at the edge of the house, the backyard opens up like this:  requirements:
here are some ideas we like...
i like the larger square pavers, at least 20" square. i'm thinking of a tighter pattern nearest the bench, slowly expanding as the lawn opens up. are we nuts to want grass between the pavers? is that a maintenance nightmare? anyone have any experience with this? do you like tighter spaces, or larger spaces between the pavers? also, what should we grow between the pavers? i've heard dwarf mondo grass as used here, but it seems kinda bushy.  or blue star creeper like this, which according to the Pike's Nursery sales flyer "spreads to form a low, dense mat. Tiny sky blue flowers emerge in late spring and last until early fall." that sounds nice, right?  or this scotch moss as suggested when i used the handy tool at stepables.com  or this miniature brass button groundcover from stepables.com?  decisions, decisions, decisions. please help!!! we need to figure out the pattern AND the materials, so all input very very very welcomed.
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