Still life with garden gloves

Still life with garden gloves.

Isn’t it nice to have friends who share?

This weekend was all about planting things we’d gathered from our friends’ gardens. Last summer we told all of our gardener friends that we’d love to have some plants from their gardens if they were willing to share. So this spring, when everything started to come up we got calls from people who said “Do you still want some plants?”

“Yes, of course!” Have shovel, will travel! We spent about 45 minutes digging Japanese Iris, Monarda, Toad Lily, Black-eyed Susan, Wisteria, Winter Iris and other plants from our friend Carol’s garden. These tiny starts will be perfect to fill in the spots where we had planted annuals last year.

We also planted Crocosmia and Blackberry Lily lifted from Linda’s garden a few weeks ago.

The fierce storm we had during the week knocked all of the blooms from the Weeping Cherry, leaving blossoms on the ground that looked like snow. We’re sad to see all of the blooms disappearing so quickly and hope that this early Spring we’re having doesn’t mean that a sudden cold snap will damage the plants that have already gotten a head start.

Most of the clean-up of dead plant material is finished — next up — dividing the Hostas with a goal of total coverage this year.

This red bathroom says “whoa baby!”

Both bathrooms at Lydia Street were functional but boring. We decided they could use makeovers.

We love using bold colors and the main bathroom just BEGGED for something dramatic. First we painted the walls dark, dark red (yes, it took many, many coats of paint) and the woodwork a warm yellow.

We added new lighting and a magnifying mirror along with some interesting artwork to take an ordinary bathroom from ho-hum to whoa-baby!

But the most fun of all was replacing the standard vanity with this wonderful old washstand that we found at the Goss Avenue Antique Mall for about $100.

It’s  just the right size for this fabulous square porcelain sink we found online. The designer sink and the antique washstand didn’t cause any problems with the plumbers — they were all like “This is cool and we can totally do it.”

I just love the result, don’t you?

The sink sits on top of the washstand and all of the plumbing and pipes are totally hidden in the cabinet. Best of all,  there’s still storage available in the drawers.

Steps to adding plants in your garden — without spending a dime

Our goal is spend less on the garden this year.

Christe had developed  a good plan and foundation for the garden in the years she lived here before I moved in, a nice weeping cherry tree, phlox and ground cover plants on the steep hill and some hosta and lilies.

Today we dug up our liriope, divided it and replanted it. Lirope, like hosta, spreads and grows a little bit larger every growing season. It was lush and thick on either side of the front steps and we wanted to bring it up  to the top of the hill and use it to border the sidewalk on both sides.

Christe dug up everything and carefully divided the plants into somewhat equal-looking sizes. She laid them along the area where we wanted them to see if we had enough to fill and it was amazing to see just how many plants we really had. These plants would have cost at least $3 or $4 each at a garden center but for us they were FREE! We ended up with 31 individual plants meaning we saved about $100 altogether.

We started planting them together, Christe digging out a shovel or two of dirt while I arranged the plant in the hole and filled it. We started at the top of the hill and worked our way back down to the steps (where there were already gaping holes) and we had plenty of extra dirt at the end for filler. I’m glad we did this at the beginning of the season because this way they will have time to get used to their new location and will look great when the other plants come in strong around them.

 

We planted salad!

This weekend has been warm and sunny and although our to-do list was long we managed to find time to visit our favorite greenhouse to pick up some already-sprouted lettuces, spinach and herbs.

Thienemans Herbs is an old-fashioned, family-owned operation where you can find herbs and perennials, heirloom tomatoes and more. We like it because it specializes in PLANTS — you won’t find garden gnomes or bric-a-brac — just healthy plants and good advice.

Last year we didn’t plant lettuces or herbs until mid-April but this year, because we had such a mild winter, many of our herbs wintered over. Our parsley is as green as ever, as is the oregano.

Our “salad bar” grows in Earth Boxes on the south-facing, sunny side of the house — just steps from our back door. We have five boxes, which is enough for our favorite kitchen herbs.  When the early salad greens are finished we fill in with basil plants that we use fresh and harvest for pesto.

Just to be on the safe side, we’re using upturned mason jars as mini-greenhouses until we’re sure freezing temperatures are gone. The jars are just the right size for the tiny plants. One of the features I love about the Earth Boxes is that you water them through a tube and the moisture comes up through the bottom of the box. That helps keep these delicate plants from washing away and the boxes don’t dry out as fast as other containers might.

It feels good to be in the sunshine and in the garden. And I’m sure we’ll enjoy eating from the varieties of healthy greens later in the season.

Collections make me happy

Just a few items in the collection.

One of the things we collect are anthropomorphic vegetable salt and pepper shakers. The faces make me laugh and they’re fun to look for as we comb through antique stores and junk shops.

They’re displayed on a shelf in the kitchen but we have so many in the collection that they’re outgrowing their space and we’re going to add a shelf in the kitchen window so we can have more.

Waiting for spring

We had tornadoes and snow in the same week. How does that even happen?

Today was warm and almost sunny and I’m looking forward to real spring so I can work in the garden. In the meantime, let’s all look at this photo, taken last year in April.

 

Blackberry jam

These jams were given to family and friends for holiday gifts.

Bread and butter pickles

These were our first batch of bread and butter pickles.

Garden bounty

Garden bounty harvested last fall. Beets, onions, zucchini, tomatoes and peppers.