Tag : gardening

106 posts

T Tuesday: landscaping edition

Last week we had a beautifully cool, breezy, low humidity day. Outside projects were definitely on the docket. The biggest of these was replacing landscaping. This has needed to be done for quite some time.

Here’s a photo from 2 years ago…T Tuesday: harvest edition| Halle's Hobbies

The log border was already starting to get a little wonky. Fast forward two years and it was rotting away.

Now it looks like this! Mini-me and I did this one ourselves. The edging is recycled rubber. Nice and flexible to bend  and form to what your little heart desires. We had a couple of surface tree roots to contend with so we just made sure to line things up so that I wouldn’t have to pound a stake through the root. 

I did end up going through what I can only assume was root a couple inches underground on the back side of this flower bed.

We were so happy with how nice this one looked and how easy it was to install that I went back for more material to fix up another eyesore area in need of upgrade.

I’m not sure if you can tell but along the right side of the photo is some black edging that was basically laying down…definitely not how we installed it so many years ago. Frost heave has done a number on it.

Now it looks like this….

Complete with a couple new perennials.

I love how this looks so much!

Since at least half of the black edging pieces were still salvageable, I put them around my water barrels.

That is kind of our haphazard area. Mismatched pieces of this and that have all found their way over here. It all works though. Now if we’d only get some rain to refill my barrels.

So after a hard days work a little refreshment is always in order.

Just a couple more days of taxi driving for volleyball this week…then two weeks off before it starts up again…everyday. Mini-me and I are also getting ready for a little trip north. The boys are too busy working to come with us. I’ll be sure to share that adventure in a couple weeks.

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

Oh and just for you Chris…

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T Tuesday: gardens and more edition

This week I thought I’d give you a look at how my gardens are doing followed up with some art.

FYI-photo heavy post

The deck box garden holds my yellow pear tomato plants each year to keep them from cross pollinating with the red regular sized varieties, This year I think I got a few seeds mixed up. I have some non-pear shaped tomatoes on a couple vines. Hmmm. Time will tell. I also have my Egyptian walking onions, radishes and jalapenos in there. Resting on the edge is a new to me shepherds hook. Mr. G is going to move one hook about 10 inches down for me when he digs out the welder.

The shed garden is going gangbusters after what seemed like a very slow start. I have tons of tomatoes on the vines. Even the bedraggled plants that came home from Biology class with J are doing fantastic.

The pumpkin and this tomato included. I really had no hope for either of these plants so I didn’t work very hard making a good home for them. Obviously they don’t care a bit.

The yellow summer squash and zucchini are getting large although the zucchini hasn’t produced anything yet.

The yellow ones are tasty though.

The first bit of bounty from the garden has arrived.

I am dealing with this pest though. Anyone know what it is and how to get rid of it without chemicals? I’ve been knocking them off and squishing them but the little munchers keep coming back for more.

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We changed things up a little this year and didn’t attend the local parade for the 4th of July. Instead we went to a party close to our old neighborhood. We figured out that we hadn’t been to their annual bash in 10yrs. I forgot my phone at home so no pictures from there.

We came back for the standard evening shenanigans on our block. J had 6-7 friends hanging out by the end of the evening. You wouldn’t believe how quickly 3 large pizzas can disappear.

We joined a neighbor in their front yard for the awesome view of the fireworks, What a fun night.

Of course, there was lots of overindulging of all sorts so my drink of choice the next morning was….

alka-seltzer.

I did take a bit of time for creating. I’m not sure how I feel about this page now that its dry.  The colors of the stains were so fun and vibrant before they dried. Now the page is a little dull.

I went back and added these paper beads I made years ago to try and dress things up a bit. I love that they’ll hang outside the book begging someone to open it up to take a peek.

I’m planning to work on the landscape edging around a flower bed before it gets too hot. The humidity is what is so bad right now. UGH! I get very cranky in the heat.  And don’t even talk to me about my hair.

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: ?? edition

Welcome to my weekly blog post. This frustrates me beyond belief but right now that’s just the way it will be,

Last week I didn’t remember to post the journal page that I had created mostly because it was a twofer post with Second on the 2nd.

I did a little play on words since it was the 1st of May. Not my favorite page but at least I got my hands messy with paint, ink and glue.

I have another page sitting at this point…

Just a background or at least the start of one in a whole new journal. I’m trying to be mindful of embellishments in this one. Not too thick or at least not towards the spine.

Last Friday was my birthday so I got my free drink from Caribou coffee…they are a chain like Starbucks only 1000 times better! You can only find them in the midwest USA though…sorry.

The coffee cooler was so big and decadent that I could only drink 1/2 of it. I put the rest in the freezer for Mini-me.

The chore of cleaning out mom’s apartment is still going. We’ve decided the best thing to do is to have a garage sale. Hmmm…feels like I just did one of those a couple weeks ago. UGH!

I did get the majority of my garden planted over the last couple days.

The tomato plants were getting gigantic.

The onions were planted last fall and look great already.

The shed garden doesn’t look too exciting right now…just some row markers.

I had to leave some room for the plants J started at school in Biology class. He’ll be bringing home 7 tomato plants , a sunflower and a pumpkin plant if all survive the study and trip home.

Sorting, book keeping and cleaning are on this list…exciting stuff.

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: this and that edition

Once again I have one of these posts that I’m all over the place both mentally and physically.

Tomorrow is our 23rd wedding anniversary. With it being mid-week, we are planning to do basically nothing until Saturday. Then we’ll be having sushi!

I thought this was clever. My neighbor gave me a few of these quite a while ago. Funny the things you find when digging out for a garage sale!

You wouldn’t believe the piles of stuff I have sitting around waiting to be priced and brought to the neighbors on Thursday morning!! Mr. G has a ton of stuff from the garage too. Hopefully the vast majority will sell…not really wanting that stuff to come back into the house.  Garage sales are a lot of work but when doing it with others it can be fun and having the bonus of getting rid of stuff while making a little cash is a super bonus.

I transplanted my seedlings into larger containers yesterday.

They are doing so well. I also planted zucchini and summer squash in pots on the side of the garage.  I’ve read that they can be grown in pots so might as well give it a try since my in-laws aren’t having a garden this year.

I snipped the end off my mint plant and put it in water a few days ago…look at the crazy roots it grew in such a short time.

If I get a chance I want to make a wreath for our new front door. I really shouldn’t be worrying about that right now since I still have to get it painted, I just need to do something crafty every so often or I get cranky.

Speaking of crafty….look at this dessert I made for Easter!

It was so decadent and sweet. Almost too rich and sweet if there was such a thing.

The rest of the week will be a whirlwind. Appointments, garage sale, anniversary and J heading to NYC on Saturday. It’s likely a really good thing that I am insanely busy until then because I think I’d be making myself sick with worry if not.

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: highs and lows edition

This week has been filled with a roller coaster ride of emotions and events…frankly, I’m exhausted. I wasn’t even sure I was going to play along with T stands for Tuesday but I’m here and will share the highs and lows with you.

Let’s just get the low over with so we can move on to brighter things. My mom has Stage 4 Melanoma so her time left with us is limited. Exactly how limited, we don’t know. Now my absences from blogland both in posting and visiting make a bit more sense. Anyway…mom is determined to live what life she has left on her own terms which I highly praise her for.

She has a good friend in her building that has taken a big sister role in her life. She is such a sweet lady and I am so grateful for their friendship. I wanted to show some appreciation to her and put my nervous energy to a creative use.

(Note the wine glass as my beverage for T stands for Tuesday)

 I think it turned out pretty well and when I delivered it to her apartment I learned that yellow is her favorite color! I love it when things work out that way.

I also got my plants started…well some of them. I still want to start a few more.

I used old kid cups that were just going to hit the recycle bin as my planters. I literally had them in hand over the bin when I realized they could be used for my seedlings. I just drilled a couple holes in the bottom for drainage and ta-da…mini pots.

You may also notice the markers in each pot. I cut down container lids and wrote on them with sharpie marker. Since it’s April (Earth month) I thought I’d point out those little recycling tips.

Now just about a week later I have this! 

Do not adjust your screens….that is the full spectrum UV light you see in action. The different color LED’s all combine to cast a pinkish purple light and obviously the plants love it!

On Thursday last week the kids and I drove to Fargo, ND. We spent the night in a hotel before taking a tour of NDSU in the next morning. J said he thought it was a little too big for his taste but is still planning to apply since they have really good guaranteed scholarships for students with high GPA and ACT scores. Fingers crossed that he does well on the ACT this month. Mini-me said she didn’t like NDSU at all. Ok…check that one off the list for potential schools for her.  I, myself, spent a brief time at NDSU as a freshman. The campus has certainly changed since then.

I also did some work on this painting.

I am letting it sit for a few days to decide if its done or not. I’m thinking it is…what do you think?

Today has a repairman coming out for my stove. Luckily I called in just days before the warranty was to expire. Also lots of phone calls and emails to take care of since I pretty much took yesterday off. I really needed a breather day after last week.

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: chaos continues edition

Hello…thank you for continuing to visit my blog each week especially since my posts have become weekly…nowhere even close to daily as I would like. Evidently I am in a season of life that has me focused outward instead of inward. My mom is having some health issues so between her flurry of appts and my own children throwing curve balls at me…I’ve been in clinics, hospitals and ER’s more often than not lately. I’m feeling a bit run down myself today to be honest. Running on adrenaline will eventually cause you to crash. Never the less I am here. I am not even going to pretend that I am going to make it around to everyone this week…or even perhaps next. Sorry about that.

Anyway…enough of those things that are out of my control…and on with the post.

I took a bit of time yesterday to prep a new art journal and actually work in it. It was so much fun to create. I know I’ve said that dozens of times but it is always true! 

Playing with layers and getting the pages soaking wet to watch the color bleed has been very therapeutic in some strange way.

Since Spring is officially here it’s past time to think about starting my seeds.  Over the weekend Mr. G came up with a plan to enclose the plant cart since we purchased a new full spectrum light. Evidently some of the light is UV and will damage eyes.  We honestly weren’t as concerned about our eyes as big, dumb Marvin. The plant cart is a favorite perch and in addition he has a love affair with plastic. Guess what!?! I keep my seedlings in a big plastic tote. We were afraid of Marvin going blind from the UV light as he obsessively licked the plastic tote. Not even kidding.

It’s not the prettiest thing but it will keep all the eyeballs safe and still grow plants. The side facing the outdoors is removable so I can let the plants get natural light during the day and of course be able to water and monitor their progress. I promise I’ll share more once I actually get the seeds started.

Tuesday holds a pre-op appt for mom and something fun..lunch with some girlfriends. Super excited to see those girls!

As I’m writing this I hear lots of birds outside…I look and there is a flock of robins. I quickly snapped a photo and was able to distinguish 7 but honestly I counted at least 20 out there within my sight. I guess the robins have decided that Spring is here as well!

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: late June garden edition

Last week for T stands for Tuesday I promised an update on my garden this week.

T Tuesday late June garden edition

It’s flourishing! Tons of blossoms. I think we are just at the cusp of production.

T Tuesday late June garden edition

There are already jalapenos on the plant…

T Tuesday late June garden edition

and roma tomatoes…. come on fresh salsa!

T Tuesday late June garden edition

The deck box garden is doing really well too.

T Tuesday late June garden edition

I ended up pulling up the horse radish that was growing in here since there is another plant in the big garden space and planted my Egyptian walking onions instead. I saved the bulbs from the top of the plants last year in a paper bag in the shed. They overwintered out there will seemingly no ill effects.

T Tuesday late June garden edition

The planters along the railing are also looking great with the herbs and green onions. I’ve been thinning the green onions by using them…so nice to have those fresh green literally right outside my door. I couldn’t be happier.

T Tuesday late June garden edition

It meets Marvin’s approval as well.

Over the weekend I adding a little bit of ambiance to the deck with a string of lights.

T Tuesday late June garden edition

We have yet to try them out at night but I think they will be a lot of fun.

I also noticed some birds have been very busy….T Tuesday late June garden edition

I do remember seeing a chickadee hanging around here quite often. I’d have to bet he is the guilty party.

I’m also going to continue to share my CSA box each week as I really believe that its well worth the cost to bring fresh organic veggies to your table each week…provided you have enough people to eat all those veggies.

CSA week 2

Week 2: cilantro, basil plant, kale, green onions, garlic scapes, mixed spring greens, head of leaf lettuce, strawberries, carrots, kohlrabi, broccoli and white turnips that are eaten like radishes. Can’t wait to see what the next box brings.

Today I’ll be finishing a commissioned seamstress project. I was asked to shorten some curtains and sew lining fabric behind the thin linen for some actual light blocking.

What are you doing today?

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