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Heirloom Seeds | Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. RHS Home Page / RHS Gardening. The Curated Eight: DIY Herb Gardens - Inspired by CharmInspired by Charm. Okay. Seriously. Mother Nature, I am completely ready for spring. Love, Michael I don’t know what things are like in your neck of the woods. The winter chill is still in the air here in Central PA. Today I’m starting a new IBC series called The Curated Eight. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. That’s it! In other news … we have a winner!

Natural Wood Raised Garden. Garden. Gardening. 101 Gardening. The Mountain Rose Blog. Farmedhere.com. The Curated Eight: DIY Herb Gardens - Inspired by CharmInspired by Charm. Johnny's Selected Seeds - Superior Seeds & Gardening Tools. High Mowing Organic Seeds - 100% Organic, Non-GMO Seeds. Logee’s Plants for Home & Garden. Sustainable Energy: Thermal Banking Greenhouse Design. Building a Greenhouse. Mikes BackyardNursery. No Outdoor Space? Try Gutter Gardens : katyelliott.com. Posted on | April 29, 2009 | 12 Comments I love this garden idea!

Great for tip for urban living. Attach gutters to the back of a house/building or to a fence. Gutters are available in many different sizes which makes them ideal for fitting into a small space. Brilliant! (discovered via Make via lots of other blogs that lead to juneauempire.com) Related Post:diy: Colorful Tomato Cagesdiy: Cement Flower PlantersWood Slice WalkwayWillow Edging & LavenderMore Garden Inspiration Comments. Vegetable Garden | Gardening Tips. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program - Grants and Education. Tomatoes: Pruning, Fertilizing & Mulching. Grow The Easiest Garden on Earth. Cheap Patio idea - Sunset Mobile. An outdoor "area rug" of stained concrete pavers replaced a tired lawn in the back of our 1930s bungalow in Santa Monica.

And it solved a major, if temporary, problem. Because the back entrance of our house leads to a home office, lots of foot traffic had trampled the lawn. And our dog, Stella, regularly tracked grass and mud into the house. We needed a level, durable patio that would blend with the surrounding garden. But we didn't want to commit to anything too permanent or expensive since we were rethinking the design of our house.

Concrete pavers seemed to be the answer ― they are readily available and inexpensive (less than $1 each) at home improvement stores ― but their color range is limited to gray and ruddy brown. Then my experience as a scenery artist led me to the idea of turning the raw 12-inch-square pavers into a colorful mosaic. Next: Project tips Project tips Make a plan. Gather materials. Prep the pavers. Mix your own stain. Seal the stain. Outdoor Concrete Pots - The Wood Grain Cottage. Well, we’ve had a few days without the wind. I’m not sure how I’ve survived! I mean, we can actually walk outside without being blown away.

I might have had one or two good hair days… And now that I’ve said that, I’m sure it will have to make its appearance. Let’s just pretend I didn’t say anything… I’ve been so anxious to start adding flowers and pots and outdoor pretties, that I couldn’t help myself from making a new pair of outdoor concrete pots. Concrete is a bit more in depth to work with and it can definitely be a labor of love, but the finished results are totally worth it… They’re unique and I love the way they look with flowers! Here’s how I made them… I started with basic black plastic pots, you know, the kind that your plants come in when you buy them… Then I started mixing my ingredients… Portland Cement, Perlite and Sphagnum Peat Moss. I added just enough water to make the mixture wet and “cottage cheese” like… I am so happy with the way they turned out… P.S. P.S.S.

Plan Ahead: Make Candle Planters For Your Patio — Family Chic. Home Improvement Ideas, Photos and Answers ::Hometalk. 3 Composting Techniques Everyone Should Know. We all know by now that composting is important to the environment. It allows natural waste to return to the earth, while adding a nutrient rich material to our gardens. Here is a break down of the top 3 most common techniques for composting for the home gardener. Hot Composting – Open Bins Hot composting is the most intensive method, but also the fastest way to get finished compost. It involves building compost piles that have a balance of green material (nitrogen), oxygen, water and brown material.

The most common method is a three bin open bin method. Build or buy three, side by side compost bins. Bin #1 will be for brown materials…kind of a holding area for things you want to compost. Bin #2 is where all the action happens. The benefits to having the three bin system is that you can continue to collect brown materials during the season in bin #1, and that once you move the compost to bin #3 to settle, you can start over again with a new compost pile.

That’s it! Fabulous Ways to Beautify Your Window Wells | | Fabulous Home Ideas. Window wells are a necessary sore thumb….or are they? They certainly don’t have to be. We chose to dig out our window wells and landscape around them in different ways. Now we only have one window well “below ground”. Of course you have to be wise about it. Depending on you r slope, the amount of run-off and other factors, it may not be possible. For example, our one underground window well is in our patio and not possible to dig out. Digging out and grading back can open up a daylight basement and add the glow of natural light. Creating a wonderful terraced window well will eliminate the need for a ladder and considerably minimizes the danger of a fall, and it will provide a space for a garden, either vegetable or flower. There are a ton of products to choose from to use in your window well depending on the desired outcome. TIP: Like all major DIY projects certain pesky rules must be followed.

A Colorful Screened-In Porch Makeover. As I write this post, I am sitting in the most colorful space in my home. I dare you to step into the screened-in porch and not be happy. Double Triple Dog Dare You. And if you do step out here, and you aren’t happy, I’ve got a cheap beer for ya and a kid is bound to turn the corner at any moment riding a plastic pink flamingo. Heck, you just smiled as you read that last sentence, didn’t you? Sweet friends, who put up with way too much craziness from me, welcome to my back porch. Remember that time, just a year ago when I did another porch makeover? On this exact same porch. Yep, I realized this year that I was lazy with that makeover. Basically all I did was make it livable. It looked like this in the end: Wah, wah, wah. It was boring and totally did not scream “RAIN ON A TIN ROOF” or “JENNA LAFEVOR” or even “FUN.” Round two of the porch makeover was a success though. I painted the porch floor in a striped pattern.

Its ok if you also want to call it amazing-ness. She knows me so well. Me. Anderson + grant: Creating a Summer Flower Display. I wanted to create a tall flower display in a urn as you walk up onto the porch. The pot is in the sun all day long so I needed plants that could handle those conditions. Adding a variety of types of plants in different heights and textures makes for a pretty planting arrangement, whether in a pot or in the ground. I bought four types of flowers: a hanging geranium pot with three geraniums in itone Spike planttwo vinca vinesa plant labeled Strawberry Shortcake that had three plants mixed in it: bacopa, calibrachoa, (both of which I had never heard of) and verbena....it is a mixture of light pink, dark burgundy, and white flowers Let's start with my new gardening gloves...Aren't they great?

They are from Target's Threshold line, which I absolutely love. Now onto designing my flower arrangement: To add height, I wanted the spike to stick up high in the display. Then I planted the spike plant. Next, I added the Strawberry Shortcake plant in the front of the pot. Grow Lavender Anywhere, How to Grow Lavender. This combination of lavender and Mediterranean plants is designed by David Salman, who gardens in New Mexico.

Details of the plan are shown at the end of this article. Illustrations: Carlie Hamilton GROWING lavender can be a challenge for gardeners who live in moist climates (especially those east of the Mississippi) because it requires well-drained soil. The perfect solution is to create a "dry garden" by building a raised bed. The Raised Bed Structure The easiest way to build a raised bed is by purchasing a kit, or by using special corner brackets to connect lumber. The Soil Mix Once you've built your raised bed, fill it with a specially blended soil mix that is fast-draining and "lean" (not very fertile). To facilitate drainage, incorporate some of the new soil blend into the top 6" of native soil underneath the raised bed.

About Lavender Lavender is a horticultural treasure that serves us by providing: Irrigation Sharon Roberts lavender Lavender and Other Plantsfor Your Dry Garden. Plan Ahead: Make Candle Planters For Your Patio — Family Chic. Recycled Tin Can Flower Caddy. While I’m really trying hard to accomplish some of my indoor projects, it is just way too hard as my attention is drawn outdoors to the warm summertime weather that greets me each morning. I hope you’ll stick with me through a few more garden projects before I’m forced to tackle my indoor to-do.

I was thrilled to find out this weeks CSI Project was a Martha Stewart Inspired Challenge. {not to mention the guest judge this week is the Martha Stewart Craft Department – how exciting!} Photo Credit {marthastewart.com}I choose to make a flower caddy inspired by this Tin-Can Caddy posted on Martha Stewart’s website {here}. While the concept is basically the same, I altered the steps and materials since I plan on using my caddy outdoors. I just adore that this caddy is made from recycled materials and scraps that many can find around your own home, making this an easy project to tackle. To make the handle I used a 2 1/2 inch Hole Saw Drill Bit. It’s now ready for some beautiful blooms.