Are your summer containers still looking good, or are they starting to show their age? As long as it's still warm(ish) you want to keep enjoying what you have by making a few little updates so your container plantings on your patio or your entry keep looking GORGEOUS! Here are a few tips to help you fresh what you have beautifully and easily. I have a thing for mums.  Garden chrysanthemums to be exact.  These perennials which we usually treat as annuals are a fabulous and inexpensive way to paint the stunning colors of fall across my apartment's balcony … [Read more...]

  Learn how to make a small space amazing with a beautiful spring container garden.     Spring is my absolute favorite time of the year!  And my very favorite thing to do is to stroll through the garden or hike through the woods looking for new growth pushing out of the ground.  The air is rife with anticipation and the earth is filled with so much newness that my heart bursts with joy! With that in mind, you're in for a treat! Today I'm going to share all my tips for getting a head start on the gardening season by creating a fabulous small space container … [Read more...]

  Some days I can hardly contain my joy.      Every morning after I wake up, I walk over to my sliding glass door, throw open the door and take in all the glorious beauty on my tiny balcony.  Happiness floods my soul. It's such a great way to start the day!     This small space... nearly 4 feet deep by 19 feet long has become my balcony garden oasis. Filled with beautiful hanging baskets, container gardens, and grocery store mark-down plants... everything is flourishing on this bright but mostly shady perch high among the … [Read more...]

  Have you ever had an idea to create something and it came out even better than you hoped? This simple water fountain I created for my balcony garden is the best thing ever!  I cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to have it bubbling and gurgling all day and evening. In the process of creating a garden for my balcony, I decided that it would be fun to have a water feature.  I had no idea we would enjoy it as much as we do.     Here's How I Constructed a Simple Container Fountain   With a few ideas in mind, I decided to go online and do a little research … [Read more...]

  You might be surprised to learn this about me... but I rarely go to movies.  In fact, I rarely watch movies on TV. My husband will suggest we go to different movies, but somehow I manage to wiggle my way out of going.  I think it might be because I have to just sit and watch a screen. Asking me to go and sit in a movie theater is like asking me to go sit in a closet for 2 hours.  Yeah, I know, I'm different. All that being said, I do enjoy a good movie. (Up until now, the last movie I watched was Les Mis, which I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way.)  You've just got to get me to sit down for … [Read more...]

  You went to the garden center... picked out some pretty plants with dreams of having a window box garden like those on Fixer Upper... but really you have no idea what to do.  Don't worry... you've come to the right spot to learn...   What You Need to Know to Plant a Beautiful Window Box     My goal today is to show you how you too, can create a beautiful magazine-worthy window box Joanna Gaines would love.   This is a full-blown tutorial filled with planting tips!!     You Can Plant a Beautiful Window Box!   To make it easy I'll be … [Read more...]

    Ranunculus. I've been smitten with this lovely blossom forever. It was always my plan to grow ranunculus for spring, but for some reason, I never got around to it.  They aren't like tulips or daffodils where you bury bulbs in the fall with a promise to enjoy a swath of them from the distance each spring.  Ranunculus are best enjoyed as cut flowers.  Or in pots... up close and personal.     That's why I flipped head over heels when a local grower brought these beautiful blooms to my neighborhood supermarket.  My local store always has flowers... but really there's rarely … [Read more...]

  I'm not much for pink.  Are you?  Except for pink tulips... oh. my. goodness! They totally make me weak in the knees. Today I want to show you how to Turn a Plain Pot of Tulips into a Beautiful Easter Basket Garden.     I LOVE pink tulips and my favorites are the May blooming pink Lily Flowering Tulips. I had huge swaths of them planted at my first home only to have them bloom and die in a day because of an unexpected 80-degree day in early May. Disappointing for sure, but it didn't stop my love affair with them. Pink Lily Flowering Tulips are not found in the stores, ever. … [Read more...]

  One of my favorite things to do is "play" in the yard and garden. Creating a garden is like making living sculpture. When the weather is warm, I love to be outdoors and soak in all the goodness of this too-short season.  If you've got the itch to make your outdoor living area more beautiful, you're going to LOVE the features from this week's Project Inspire{d}!  Be sure to pin your favorites, too.     12 Great Yard and Garden Ideas to Inspire You   Curb Appeal Reveal ~ Mom Home Guide Fabulous Plants You Must Have ~ At Home with Jemma Simple Garden Flower Arrangements ~ On … [Read more...]

  Hello friends!  Thanks for coming by! We had an amazing weekend and lots of sunshine!  YAY! And I want to wish a Happy Belated Mother's Day to all you wonderful MOMS! Here's a brief glimpse of some of the awesomeness from last week's link party that caught my eye: Check out these extraordinary blogs and get some.... Outstanding Outdoor Living Ideas for Your Home   DIY Planter Box with Wheels by I Should Be Mopping the Floor Easy Homemade Arch Trellis by Get Busy Gardening French Courtyard on a Backyard Deck by Old Things New Beach Chair Redo by Crafts a la Mode How to Make an Upcycled … [Read more...]

  What a change!  The sun has been out three days in a row and we hit the high 60's today.  Yay!  I've even walked the beach twice.  Barefooted.  After a winter of WiFi and all things electronic... I so needed to "reground" myself again.  I even skipped lunch to sit in the sun on the sand... barefooted... wearing jeans, a turtleneck, a sweater, and my spring windbreaker.  It was breezy and chilly right by the water... but so glorious for my spirit and totally energizing. I am so excited... more sun is on the way and you can bet I'll manage to soak in its warmth for a few minutes each day... at … [Read more...]

I received the same Ball® Jars being given away.  All opinions are my own.   Did you know that I absolutely LOVE mason jars? Back before they were popular, my aunt, when downsizing gave me a few boxes filled with vintage Ball® jars.  I thought it was the best gift ever, and used them to decorate my sweet saltbox.  Several moves later, the jars were popping up all over the place and I found them among my boxes and started using them here and here. As much as I love those vintage Ball jars, my heart would pitter-patter whenever I spied an amethyst or purple mason jar.  However, I never saw one in … [Read more...]

Have you given much thought to outdoor decorating for Christmas? I'm sure you've seen the homes with all the colorful light displays and entryways beautifully festooned with greens and lights.     Today I'm sharing an idea for decorating those areas that are more personal.  The ones not seen from the street... such as the back porch.  The places where you'll enjoy your favorite things with a holiday or wintry flair.     As I was going through some old photos, I discovered I took several pictures of an outdoor wintry garden vignette on my back porch.  This was … [Read more...]

Have you ever wanted to bring someone a bouquet of flowers, or have a beautiful vase of fresh flowers in your home, but didn't have the extra money to pick up something from the grocery or florist?   Unless you live in a concrete jungle, I have a great tip for you.... Look along the roadways as you travel and start to notice all the wildflowers growing along the byways.  That is where I found the flowers to create this arrangement for my friend who just had knee surgery.   Over the years, I've noticed that when I gather these bouquets, the flowers just naturally complement each other. … [Read more...]

Growing Paperwhites for Christmas is one of my favorite holiday traditions. There is something about their tall stems and pristine pure white blossoms that dress up a room so perfectly.     Plus, with everything so bleak and barren outdoors, fresh new life and bright green stems just make me happy.   If you would like to add this lovely touch to your holiday decor, you need to purchase your bulbs now. I have had Paperwhite bulbs start blooming two weeks after planting them....but some years they have taken three weeks or more to bloom.  Bloom time is not an exact science. … [Read more...]

  Don't you love these Snowball Viburnum blossoms? My neighbor has a huge bush of them and I was able to clip a few stems to make some floral arrangements for the house. You might remember last week I shared about Snowball blossoms in the post, Look what the wind blew in. This time, I wanted to do something that was more traditional, dressy even, for the chest in my great room.     The Snowball bush's stems are not very orderly in nature and I was trying to figure out how I could arrange them in a compact, as opposed to floppy, manner.  So, I went scouting through the cabinets … [Read more...]

    Do you open up magazines, or scroll through Pinterest and dream of having beautiful window boxes or container gardens? Last week I teased you with some inspiring container garden possibilities. My goal today is to show you how you too, can create a magazine-worthy window box.   This is a full-blown tutorial filled with planting tips, hang on!!     How to Plant a Window Box Garden   To make it easy I'll be sharing lots of photos and easy instructions, and "how to" tips for creating a successful, gorgeous, window box.  We'll talk about plant … [Read more...]