Bring in the Outdoors with These ideas for Decorating a Sun Room. If you read my blog often, you will know that I have a bit of a passion for garden beds. I have 11 of them all around my home. Some of my favorite ones are in my back yard, but the…
I am a foodie. I have loved to cook since I was a teenager. I’ve gone through just about every phase there is from raw foods to trendy and esoteric, high end cooking. One of my favorite TV shows is Top Chef. So, it is only normal that I would be looking online for the…
I love a cottage garden. I am not a rule follower by nature, especially when it comes to gardens, and I love the way a cottage garden throws caution to the wind in the rule department. Do you like lots of flowers, flowing lines and a not so formal look? Then a cottage garden might…
Impress your Friends with a Patriotic Fruit Flag. We had friends over for brunch on Sunday, and I wanted to add a festive patriotic accent to our table since the holiday is just a week away. I wanted something that we would eat (I hate wasting food on craft projects unless I plan to serve…
Get a Flourishing Summer Garden with These 5 Tips This is a guest post written By Jennifer Riner of Zillow If you’re late to the game on spring gardening, no fear. There’s still time to create a beautiful, vivacious garden at home. Given the warmer weather, however, it’s important to take some precautions – which…
Brighten up your Garden with One of these Sun Faces One of my neighbors has a great collection of sun faces on the wall of their sun room. You can see it featured in the main photo of this collage. The sun is often portrayed with a face. The roundness and brightness of it just…
My Favorite sun rooms I have always wanted a sun room. To me, there is nothing like relaxing the morning with the sun peeking into a beautifully decorated room that allows you to enjoy nature. It is as close to being outside as one can get. Here are a few of my favorite sun room…
My local garden center does not often have plants that are too much out of the ordinary, so I was delighted to find this Mexican Hat coneflower right here for sale in Raleigh. This interesting variety of coneflower is also called the “Red Prairie Coneflower.” The perennial served as a dye source for Native Americans…
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 side also had a huge veggie garden. (we used to snitch peas from it, hoping we would…
I have several butterfly bushes, also knows as buddleia, 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…
My husband used to buy me lilies all the time because he loved the look of them so much. I love them too, but not as cut flowers indoors (they have a stinky smell inside that I don’t like.) I never had the inclination to tell him that they were not my favorite cut flower…
Anyone who gets interested in growing perennials while find themselves also interested in daylilies. These showing perennial bulbs are dramatic, come back year after year and are easy to grow. Red Vols Daylily is a spectacular daylily that was a Better Homes and Gardens winner of the year in 2000 and it’s easy to see…
It’s been a long spring with a ton of work put into my gardens. So many of them were overgrown, and neglected last year when I spent most of my energy on my vegetable garden. Months of tilling, planting and transplanting have gone into my garden beds this year. I enlarged my test garden by…
Fly the Flag with these Fourth of July Recipes These are some more of my favorite Fourth of July Recipes. From delicious cakes to decadent cocktails, these recipes all fly the patriotic flag. All are sure to make an impression on your party table. Try one (or all of these) for your next upcoming of…
One of my favorite things to do on Sunday morning is to meet friends for breakfast or brunch and catch up on the week. Normally, we go out to a variety of restaurants and alternate each week between them. This week, I wanted to have our friends over to our house for breakfast. I’ve been…
Growing perennials means lots of color when you plant gladioli. There is something about a bare piece of ground that suddenly breaks with foliage at an amazing rate and then bursts in a splendid show of flowers a few weeks later. Gladiolus are not actually bulbs but are considered perennial corms. Gladiolus is often called…
Add One of these Outdoor Games to your next Party. The weather is warming up here in NC and it makes me think of things to do outside. Gardening is my first choice, of course, but I also love having outdoor gatherings and activities for them. I grew up in a family of six children…
Have you ever priced single Calla lilies at a florist? If you have, you will have discovered that they sell for $5-$9 a STEM. Why pay those kind of prices, when you can become your own florist – well sort of, anyway. Calla Lilies make wonderful indoor plants and comes in many colors, as well.…
Dinner plate Dahlias are not plants that one would call shrinking violets. These majestic plants command attention in a garden bed and also need plenty of room to grow and flower. A Master of a Plant – Dinner Plate Dahlias I love dahlias and zinnias…and cone flowers….and on and on. Basically anything that looks even…
My daughter Jess’ favorite flower is the sunflower. I plant them in my garden each year and love to find new varieties that I have not had before. Growing sunflowers is pretty easy if you keep just a few things in mind. Plant a Sunflower to Brighten your Day I’ve written about sunflowers many times…
The squirrels have made a mess of my vegetable gardening attempts, this year, in a big way. I decided to see what I could come up with to keep them away. These DIY Squirrel Repellents were easy to make and did a pretty good job. I must admit that I have been so proud of…
The Raleigh Rose Garden is a place that you should visit if you are ever in Raleigh, North Carolina. It has a splendid array of roses of all types and colors. Variegated roses were especially prominent on my latest trip. If you love growing perennials, you’ll want some of these in your garden! Raleigh’s little…
Earlier this year, I wrote about a test garden that I will be having in my back yard. I am using the garden bed to grow all sorts of things. Some grow well there and some don’t like it at all, but everything gives me more knowledge of what grows well here in NC. The…
There is nothing quite like sitting around a campfire, having a drink, exchanging jokes and just generally enjoying the outside. These campfire starters use common household items to get the fire going quickly. Sometimes getting that fire to start can sometimes be a bit of a task. Try these ideas to get your campfire roaring…
If you love growing perennials, you will probably have an iris or two in your garden. There is nothing quite like a re-bloom of your favorite flower later in the year. A re-blooming iris gives me a chance to enjoy the beauty twice in one season. Readers of my blog know that I am a…
The 4th of July is traditionally a time for family and friend get-togethers. Why not entertain in style with one of these neat Patriotic Fourth of July DIY projects? Decorate your home and yard with these Fourth of July DIY Home Projects These are easy projects with a traditional red, white and blue theme. Most…
