Container Gardening Made Easy

Container gardening is fun, therapeutic, and easy to do!  Come Spring, it's so comforting to head to the local nursery, pick out some plants, bring them home and watch them grow.  Here is a "How To" Guide to container gardening for beginners.  Start slow and pick easy to grow (aka Hard To Kill!) plants for your first container garden!

(Geraniums, Cherry Tomatoes, Rosemary, Geraniums, Basil)

PLANTING your CONTAINER GARDEN
1.) Head to your local home improvement store or nursery.

2.) Pick up a bag of pre-mixed potting soil (Like Miracle Gro Potting Mix).  Make sure you buy POTTING mix (not garden mix) - it is best for container gardening.

3.) Choose your herbs and flowers.
Easy to grow...

Flowers:

Geraniums

Petunias

Herbs:

Basil

Rosemary

Lavender

Cherry Tomatoes

4.) Choose your pots.  I have found that pots at least 12 inches wide work best for most of the flowers and herbs I'm growing.  And they also must have draining holes in the bottom to allow for proper water drainage.

5.) Fill pot 1/2 full with soil mixture (or as much soil as you need to bring the flower up as high as you'd like it to be once the pot is full of soil and flowers).  Squeeze the plastic pot that your flower came in to work it loose from the container (works best when the soil is wet).  Slowly remove the flower or herb from the plastic pot it came in.  Being mindful of the roots, gently work your fingers through the bottom roots of the herb/flower.  This allows the roots to burrow into the new soil easier.  Place flower in pot and fill up pot with more garden soil.  Gently press down to secure flower.  

6.) Repeat with the rest of your herbs/flowers.

7.) Give your new babies a good soak with water.  Most herbs and flowers like to be watered at the spot where their stem meets the dirt, not from the top of their petals.

WATERING and FEEDING YOUR PLANTS

1.) Stick your finger down in the soil about an inch to 2 inches every day to see if your plants need to be watered. Watering differs from climate to climate.  The only way to start to get a feel of how often they need to be watered is to get your hands dirty - if dirt is dry, water 'em.  You can over water however, so you have to try and wait for the soil to dry out before you douse them.  It's the hardest part (I think) about gardening.  But sooner or later you'll get a feel for it and your plants will thrive.

2.) Feed your plants every 2 weeks.  I bought 2 different fertilizers.  One that promotes BLOOM growth for my flowers (to get more color) and one that is good for herbs and veggies.

PRUNING your PLANTS
Every plant has different pruning practices. Here are the plants I have on my deck:

Geraniums: Once bloom head dies, remove entire head and stem down to where it splits from main stalk.

Petunias: Remove dead heads below the green cup that holds the bloom.

Basil: Prune basil often to promote growth.  Make sure to clip off clusters BEFORE they bloom white flowers at the top.

Rosemary: Cut stalks as needed for cooking, or more often to promote growth. Can cut anywhere.

Cherry Tomatoes: Suckers grow in the "V" of where the main stalk splits into branches.  Simply pluck those little suckers out of the v when you see them.

Lavender: Cut off dead blooms to promote more growth (Save them and dry them to make lavender sachets!)

Happy Planting!
Kate

St. Patty's Day O'FUN!!! Ombre "Lucky" Sign

Who doesn't looooove a good holiday project??

I gotta be honest, I was having some trouble coming up with a fun St. Patrick's day project.  I didn't want shamrocks and pots of gold this year...just something classy, vintage-y, and fun to spruce up my house and invite the Luck O' The Irish in:)

(Side note: did you know that St. Patrick's Day is an official Christian holiday celebrating the arrival of Christianity in Ireland?  It always falls during Lent, and the Church lifts the restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol for this one day! Hence the fun filled, green beer obsessed holiday that it has now become...).

Anyhoo, I finally got inspired on a random trip to Michaels as I was meandering down the wood and paint aisle. Recently I had seen these cool ombre candlesticks online and...

EUREKA!  I knew what I wanted to do this year!

Ombre "LUCKY" letters!!  A fun little vignette to put up in the house...it's  pretty and reminds me of how "lucky" and blessed I am everyday:)  I thought adding the ombre look would spice it up a bit from just all one green color.  

SO.  I found the perfect wooden letters that would stand up on their own.  I chose a big L and Y to whimsy it up a bit.

I laid out the letters at home, along with the dark green and white all purpose paint I decided on.

There are a ton of greens and types of paint to choose from...It's up to you how dark you want to start your letters.

Then I started painting!  I used the darkest green on the 'L'.  A plastic bowl was perfect to hold the paint as I slowly added dollops of white to the green color to lighten it up.  A little white goes a long way, but it's trial and error to find the perfect ascending shades of green that you want for your sign.

I think the K could be just a scosh darker after I saw the final dried finish. I'll have to do that next time! 

This project was less than $20, and it was so much fun to get my hands dirty with some good old fashioned painting!  Like being a kid again!  I will DEFINITELY have to do a project like this with my daughter some day:)

 Wooden Letters from Michaels / Craft Paint from Michaels

Happy Irish Day!!

Kacey

Spotlight: How to Wear "Spring" Around Your Neck!

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We're all dreaming of Spring aren't we?  I know I'm longing to perk up my outdoor deck with color - bring on the flowers!  So why not bring a little "life" to your everyday jewelry?  Enter With Roots, a jewelry company based in Brooklyn that focuses on tiny terrarium jewelry.  Wha-huh? How is this possible?

Apparently the jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, and earrings) thrives off of close contact with your very own body heat and the exposure to everyday sunlight.  They contain reindeer moss, charcoal, and a small amount of soil.  Prices range from $40-$65. Not bad for a living piece of jewelry that survives because of your own personal eco-system!

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Valentine's Day gift, anyone?  Check out this darling heart necklace...feel free to let my husband know :)

xo

Kate

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