square rectangle

I finally had some time to plant seeds in my raised bed today! I am attempting to use a method of gardening recommended to me by our friend Joey, who is an urban gardener in Los Angeles. I admit I didn't get the book, but if you go online to Square Foot Gardening Foundation they have a comprehensive tutorial right on their website. Joey uses this method and swears by it... I guessed on the planting by reading the back of the seed packets and using the online tutorial. I also used less seeds. Now that I am a graduated novice, I realize using 3-4 seeds in every hole is unnecessary. The Square Foot method says to use 1 seed... I used 1-2 seeds but should have to thin less with this method. As you can see, I also do not have a square box, but I like to break the rules a little.

I used twine to mark off my square feet, hammering nails in to tie the twine to the side. I hammered the nails in halfway and then hammered them up to bend the nail in half. This way, the twine shouldn't slid off the nail. 

Pictured above: Making measurements; tying off the twine; diy Garden Marker for Summerlong Basil; Sowing seeds; Atomic Red carrot seeds - you can see little flecks of pink on the seed.

Happy Birthday Mica!!

Mica is four years old today!! I adopted her when she was 4 months old from a foster/shelter in New Hampshire September 2006. Mica was born in the south and was in 3 different shelters in 3 different states before I brought her home. If you are thinking about getting a pet, check out Pet Finder first!

Mica and I spent time in the garden today filling up the first raised garden box. It took 8 bags of dirt! I put the planter box up on cement blocks to keep it off the ground, preventing leaching from toxic dirt. It also provides a way to reuse the slabs of cement I have been pulling out of the garden this spring! So far, all the materials we have used with the exception of the purchased dirt, have been reused and recycled materials. We even reused old rusty screws!

I also placed my new handy-dandy planter markers in their rightful home. See how to make some for your garden here.

Mom's Day in Pennsylvania

Ethan and I spent Mother's Day weekend with his Mom and Grandma in Pennsylvania - two wonderful mom's! I did miss my mom and Grandma! 

I didn't have much time to take picture's of Anita's garden (Ethan's mom) but I did get a few shots in when I took the fur babies on a walk. Pictured above is Mica and her best friend for life, Chase, sitting patiently in the garden. I love the rosy paper-like bark peeling off the trees and the flowers are starting to splash the magical entryway garden with pinks and pastels. It's a fairy garden! 

grab your crafty pants night

My May motto is "May is going to be the best month!" and it already is...

Thursday night I went on an adventure to Lowes with my good friend Viv and her mom Mrs. Alverez - the best two ladies to hang out with ever!! We browsed the outdoor isles to look at every blueberry, raspberry and blackberry bush that Lowes carries - and then the tomato, pepper and 'broccoli' plants (turns out that this particular plant was not actually broccoli but a flower that looks like broccoli before it blooms!)

We loaded up the cart with soil for the first planter box that was built on cinco de mayo, picked up more seeds (because who doesn't need more seeds?!) and a bucket of primer for Viv's move-out unmakeover.  

Viv, who is modeling the Atomic Red Carrots above, brought over supplies she had on hand to "diy" plant markers. She came up with the idea to paint the garden markers with chalkboard paint and label the painted markers with a bistro chalk pen. A bistro chalk pen is a really cool chalk marker that washes off with water! You really have to scrub to remove the chalk, so it probably won't wash off in the planter boxes with watering and rain - I'll test them out and report back!! The best part about this project is that we didn't buy a single thing - just used supplies we had left over from other projects.

Great idea Viv!!

diy chalkboard plant markers
Things you will need: popsicle sticks - any shape or size can work, clothes pins, scrap wood, get creative with your marker; paint/chalkboard paint; paint brush; chalk bistro pens, sharpie, waterproof marker;

Step 1: Paint your marker(s) of choice, wait to dry or use a hairdryer to speed up the process if you are impatient like Viv and I; A second coat might be necessary, let dry

Step 2: Now you have lots of plant markers to put in the ground next to your new seed plantings! Enjoy!

watermelon cinco de mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Ben, my wonderful neighbor, build our first planter box today. I am so excited!!

This holiday, while is often thought of as Mexico's Independence Day (which is September 16th) actually commemorates the victory over the French army at The Battle of Puebla in 1862. We think of it as a drinking holiday and a day that means summer is right around the corner! In honor of Mexico's victorious defeat, I made watermelon margaritas and guacamole. Ben was cutting wood by spotlight and we were joined by party crashers who tried to climb into the guac. Nice try. And no, we didn't give either one a salty margarita - I just peeled them off my plate and let them go their merry way.

tigers & stella d'oro

I received a special delivery from from my mom a couple days ago. In this little spring care package were several big clumps of Tiger Lilies that originally came from my Grandma and Grandpa's old house in Appleton, WI and day lilies from our family cottage in Traverse City, MI.

The tiger lilies look a little yellow and dried out - hopefully with lots of water they will bounce back from their journey east.