These backyard retreat ideas are perfect for a lazy day. From a simple stone chair to a lavishly planted shady nook, these are all my idea of a great backyard retreat. We spend a lot of time in our backyards. They are a place for relaxation and getting a recharge from the day. Why not…
Growing garlic is very easy to do. All you will need is a single clove to grown an entire head of garlic. But you can’t just buy garlic from the store and think that it will grow into garlic heads. Most of the garlic sold in the supermarket has been treated so that it will…
I’ve always loved garden nasturtiums in my flower beds. But there are many other ways that these fairly common plants can be a great addition to your vegetable garden. Companion planting is a method of planting plants together so that they benefit each other in some ways. Some enrich the soil and others attract beneficial…
Each year I think about my grandmother with nostalgia when I plant seeds from her heirloom beans. My family comes from a long line of vegetable gardeners. I can still remember when my great grandmother had her vegetable garden, I used to wander through it when I was about 6. My grandfather on my mother’s…
This pretty hydrangea wreath uses the beautiful big blooms of a mop head hydrangea bush for a door decoration. My hydrangea bush flowered late this year and gave some lovely color to an otherwise fairly bare garden bed. Did you know that you can make a holiday hydrangea wreath from hydrangea flowers that are done…
Want to get new tomato plants for free? Try propagation! Propagating tomatoes will give you new plants in just a few weeks, which is much faster than growing them from seed. Propagation is the process of growing new plants from a single parent plant by using parts of it. This can be done by using…
I have several butterfly bushes, also known as buddleija, in my garden beds. I love them because they attract butterflies and bees like no other plant in my garden. My main butterfly bush was put in a large island bed early this spring, when it was about 12″ tall. It is now at least 5…
Hydrogen peroxide is one of those things which people have in their bathroom, that they use primarily for healing wounds and cuts. It is a shame to save this handy bottle for just medical uses, when there are so many more uses for it around the home. And it is so inexpensive too! Hydrogen peroxide…
Did you know that growing pineapples from a discarded top is quite easy to do? I love pineapples. They are so sweet and the fruit makes great salsas and is perfect in cocktails and drinks. It’s wonderful grilled with a barbecue too. And one of the beauties of this project is that, if you don’t…
As much as we all love to see birds splashing around in a bird bath, bacteria and grime will soon make it not such a pleasant sight. For today’s project, I am testing Alka Seltzer and copper to clean a bird bath. I have several bird baths in my garden beds. I just love to…
I have a garden bed in my front yard that I call my “Jess border.” The reason for the name is because my daughter and I made the bed together and it always has a big patch of sunflowers in the middle of it each year. Sunflowers are Jess’ favorite flowers. Like all my other…
When my daughter was young she had a swing set, sand box and playhouse on the left side of my garden. She loved playing there, and we chose this area of the garden so that I could see her playing from my kitchen window. All that is left of the set up is the playhouse,…
My husband and I recently attended a wedding on the coast of North Carolina. While we were there, we took the time to visit the Elizabethan Gardens at Manteo on Roanoke Island. Seeing statues that depict characters from real life is so inspiring. For another post on this type of experience, be sure to check…
I love vegetable gardening. There is nothing quite like harvesting and cooking vegetables that you have grown. If you like to grow vegetables but are a beginner, be sure to ready my post about how to troubleshoot vegetable garden problems as well as some solutions. It is helpful in learning what to do about problems…
Anyone who has priced hardscaping lately knows how expensive it can be, particularly if you have large areas to cover. I am redoing my whole area that I used last year for veggies. Long story short, the squirrels were a nightmare for me and I don’t plan to go through that experience a second time. …
This DIY Bean Teepee is a fun vegetable garden hack, and gives great support to climbing beans. This year, I changed my vegetable garden into a combined perennial/vegetable border. It’s a long story but basically, the squirrels got the better of my veggies last year and I swore never again. Since I will have flowers…
This year has been a series of setbacks in my garden. It is almost the end of May and I’m way behind, but finally have some progress to show for all my work. Things that set me back were: My father’s death in February resulted in two trips to Maine. A very long winter and…
I was born in Maine, and one of my fondest memories is the collection of fiddlehead ferns each spring. Even though I have moved away, each year my family boxes up a whole bushel of them and sends them to me by priority mail here in NC. It’s always a special day when that box…
Squirrels in my garden last year made vegetable gardening a nightmare for me. This year, I decided to try combining perennials and vegetables in one garden bed to see how it worked out. I have long been interested in growing perennials. Adding some vegetables into the mix gave my garden beds an interesting new look….
Oh the weather outside is frightful, or so the saying goes. Here in Raleigh, we are not known for much cold weather in the winter, but this year has been different in that regard. We have had a couple of days of snow and several weeks of unseasonably cold weather, with temps getting down to…
Using left over coffee grounds for roses and other plants that like a boost in nitrogen is a natural way to add fertilizer to your garden plants without the use of harsh chemicals. Don’t throw out those used coffee grounds. There are lots of ways to put them use in your garden. ore to the…
I belong to a Facebook Gardening Group called the Garden Charmers. One of our favorite ways to help promote each other is to feature our blogs in various round ups. The topic of this roundup is Fall planting ideas. I asked the ladies in the group to show me what they do in the fall…
Creative succulent planters can be made out of many household items. Instead of a normal terra cotta pot, let’s think outside the box! Succulents are such neat little plants. They can withstand a great deal of neglect and still keep on growing. They have great flowers (if you have the right conditions and are lucky…
Garden seating areas are a place to site, to hide or to dream. Which of these ideas come to mind when you think about your garden seating areas? A garden sitting area can mean something very different, depending on the person you ask and their perspective. It can be as simple as two chairs on…
It’s time for a shed makeover. My garden shed is definitely in need of some decor. I see so many garden sheds that are as sweet as can be. Some are tiny, some are huge and all seem to have character. I have one of the “huge without character” types. My husband and his friend…
Aluminum disposable pie plates are recycled all the time to use as trays for left overs. But they are also very useful in the garden, as well. I love to find neat garden uses for common household items. There are so many things that we throw away that can be put to good use around…