I am planning on finally getting to my garden this weekend! I am still a beginner when it comes to gardening, so I asked the manager at my favorite nursery what her top 10 gardening necessities are. Her list is below, but I would love to hear what you like to take with you when you are gardening.
It’s the time of year to start gardening and thinking about what we need to do to get our yards ready for Summer. I am a novice when it comes to yard maintenance, so I spoke to my favorite gardener, Maureen Matejcik and asked her what tips she could give me when I am planting this Spring. Her tips are below, but I would love to hear what tips you have for beginning gardeners.
♥, E
1. When deciding what plants you want in your garden make sure to read the labels. Some plants need lots of sun, like shade, and/or don’t need much water. Most labels will identify what each plant desires which will help you make an informed decision.
2. When planting a plant or an herb, make sure the hole isn’t too deep. You want it to be flush with where the dirt meets the plant, not higher or lower.
3. Laying out plants while they are still in their containers is a great way to get a visual of what they will look like when planted. Most plants enjoy their same kind and it will look better if you have more than one in the same area. Three is usually a good number.
4. Make sure all of your plants have enough room around them. If they are planted too close to one another they can get lost in other plants and potentially die. Shrubs especially will grow, so don’t place them too close together.
5. Before planting a plant in the location you want, loosen the roots so they will enjoy and take faster in their new home by pinching the bottom a couple of times.
Going green doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. Little things we do in our daily life can make a big impact. I have been wanting to add some additional green habits to my daily routine and I didn’t know where to start, so I did some research to find out what others are doing to improve their green habits. After searching I found some wonderful tips from James Oseland, the former editor in chief for Organic Life Magazine. All of the suggestions he makes are very easy to add to any routine and are very cost effective. My favorite ideas form Mr. Oseland are below.
What do you do to lead a green lifestyle?
♥, E
1. Eat local and in season produce and start meatless Mondays
Eating local is fresher, therefore making it more nutritious. Meatless Mondays helps reduce 20% of the greenhouse emissions caused by the meat industry. If you are looking for some great meatless meals Jessica Seinfeld has a recipe every Monday http://www.doitdelicious.com/
2. Start making your own household cleaners
When it comes to cleaning, vinegar and water is almost as effective as supermarket household cleaners. When making it use 9 parts fresh water and 1 part distilled white vinegar. It is natural and doesn’t cost as much as the cleaners in the store.
3. Reduce the amount of junk mail
Americans receive close to 80 billion pieces of junk mail every year and most of us don’t even look at it. You can reduce the amount of junk mail crowding your mail box by registering at www.DMAchoice.org or download the paperkarma ap.
4. Purchase a house plant
Air pollution levels in our home can be about 100 times what they are outside. The pollutants come from carpet, paint, furniture, etc and they build up over time. House plants have the ability to filter the air and clean it. If you don’t know what plant to get, Josh Oseland said Ficus plants are considered to be the superheroes in the plant world and will be the most effective.
5. Reduce shower time
Reducing shower time by 4 minutes a day can save over 4,000 gallons of water a year! I know taking long, hot showers can be very relaxing, but cutting back a little can do a lot.
Are you decorating for Easter with Easter Baskets or taking part of a Easter Egg Hunt? If so, I rounded up 8 stylish Easter Baskets for the upcoming holiday weekend.
After a long day I love to come home, change into my favorite comfy clothes and cuddle with my dog under a soft throw. Over the years I have received many blankets and love each one for a different reason. Growing up my grandmother made me all types of quilts and my mom and mother in law have both brought me blankets from their travels, so I have quite a collection, but I feel like you can never have too many blankets. A nice soft throw is must during the winter, so I rounded up 10 throws and they are below.
Do you like to have a lot of blankets around the house?
Picnics are always on my summer to do list. Whether it’s going to your neighborhood park, taking a hike in the mountains or going to an outdoor concert you want to make sure you have the right basket to carry everything in. I rounded up 10 picnic baskets for any occasion and they are below.
It’s the time of year to start gardening and thinking about what we need to do to get our yards ready for Summer. I am a novice when it comes to yard maintenance, so I spoke to my favorite gardener, Maureen Matejcik and asked her what tips she could give me when I am planting this Spring. Her tips are below, but I would love to hear what tips you have for beginning gardeners.
♥, E
1. When deciding what plants you want in your garden make sure to read the labels. Some plants need lots of sun, like shade, and/or don’t need much water. Most labels will identify what each plant desires which will help you make an informed decision.
2. When planting a plant or an herb, make sure the hole isn’t too deep. You want it to be flush with where the dirt meets the plant, not higher or lower.
3. Laying out plants while they are still in their containers is a great way to get a visual of what they will look like when planted. Most plants enjoy their same kind and it will look better if you have more than one in the same area. Three is usually a good number.
4. Make sure all of your plants have enough room around them. If they are planted too close to one another they can get lost in other plants and potentially die. Shrubs especially will grow, so don’t place them too close together.
5. Before planting a plant in the location you want, loosen the roots so they will enjoy and take faster in their new home by pinching the bottom a couple of times.
My husband and I were able to have a relaxing day at home with Bella on Sunday, so we thought it would be the best time to start planning our garden. We moved into our home about a year ago and had to get some landscaping done before we were able to start planting flowers, so I am excited to start planting flowers we can enjoy next spring.
Scroll down to see which flowers we are going to plant in our garden this fall.
What flowers are you planning on planting this fall?
♥, E
Hydrangeas
We would like to have a shrub in one of our gardens and hydrangeas are great for us because they are two in one. They act as a beautiful green shrub some of the year and produce a gorgeous flower mid-summer through fall (when not much else is in bloom).
Daffodils
Daffodils have always been one of my favorite flowers because I used to find the word daffodil so fun to say as a child. I find them to be happy flowers and they are a wonderful sign that spring has arrived.
Hyacinths
I remember my mom cutting hyacinths’ from her garden, putting them into a vase and having them on display without any other flowers because they smell so good. I am looking forward to having these in our garden, so I can fill our house with their sweet smell when spring comes around.
Peonies
Peonies are an absolutely stunning flower and always take my breath away. They are another flowering shrub, but instead of blooming in the summer they come out in the spring. I am going to plant this as well as hydrangeas, so we have flowers all spring/summer long.
Tulips
I have a lot of love for tulips. My mother in law always says “they look like two lips, get it tulips?” They are so delicate and you can buy them in virtually any color. I am planting the dark purple tulips that almost look black and red with white tips.
Greetings Breezles,
