Sunday, April 3, 2011

More seed starting ideas


Recycle those old ice trays you aren't using anymore! 
Click here for an awesome article with tips and tutorial.





I love using the method of newspaper pots, another seed starting method using recycled items.  Lindy at Cottage Hill gives directions for a very easy method of making these pots.  Click here to go to the blog post.




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Monday, March 28, 2011

Finishing Touches


You would be surprised at what a little paint will do to brighten up an area.  Just like in your indoor areas, painting an object can make the difference in bringing life to an otherwise dull area.  The photo is from Fine Gardening . . . I would have painted the terracotta containers to match the little table and the plants.  I love using coleus in the landscape to bring color into the garden . . . it is one of my favorite plants.


Click here for an article from Fine Gardening about finishing touches . . . it does make a huge difference in bringing our outdoor spaces together in a festive way.  One of the things I love to do is bring lots of red into the outdoor areas.  The boldness of the red against the greenery of the plants is just awesome.


This is a sign that I made in a section of my garden that was designated for cuttings and a place for me to get away when I didn't want to be bothered.  Appropriately named Hermitville . . . it was my place to relax.  Anyway, the point I want to make with this photo is how the red pops against the foliage.  A new thing I have started to do is paint most of my containers red . . . if they don't have a red background, the painted flowers are red.



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Saturday, March 26, 2011

Using color contrast in the garden


One of the things I love doing in my garden is using high color contrast in mass plantings to make a big impact.  Black eyed susans, as shown in the above photo, is the one plant that provides that contrast I love and so easy to grow for my area.  I love plants that tend to become invasive by spreading their seeds and pop up everywhere . . . I pull them up like weeds and relocate them to create a mass planting.  I purchased seeds once and never had to make another purchase . . . my kind of plant.




Another way to provide high contrast in the garden is to utilize those plants with unusual leaves.  One of my favorite plants to use for this purpose is shown in the above photo . . . Florida Beauties.  Their leaves are white with green specks and look awesome again green foliage.  

Crotons and aucubas are more favorite plants that provide a high contrast through foliage for my climate (zone 9).





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Friday, March 18, 2011

Paver borders and walkways


This wide border framing a perennial garden 
 comes from Toledo Botanical Gardens.


The use of pavers in the garden is one of my most favorite things.  It leaves a clean and natural line that serves as both border and a walkway.  

I love wide paths and walkways that leave plenty of room for a wheelbarrow or a large garbage can to make maintenance and moving around the garden more efficient.  Many of the paths that I put together many years ago were designed in that manner for ease of maintenance and we will be utilizing the same paths in our future garden design.

The design of the border, placing pavers in a pattern also brings another dimension to the total look of the garden.


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Saturday, March 12, 2011

My new home page




My home page is back!  Now you can keep up with all of my blogs, websites and places on the web in one place.  Click here to go to the blog, where you can follow via Blogger, Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs, my new Facebook Fan Page or through RSS feed via your favorite reader or email.  You can also follow me on Twitter where all my blog posts are automatically tweeted.

For my Adgitize and Entrecard blogging friends . . . within the next couple of days, I will be setting up Adgitize and Entrecard . . . so you will have one more place to click!

My apologies for not being around as much . . . there are not enough hours in the day for everything I have been working on, but I should be back to "normal" soon.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!


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Monday, March 7, 2011

Our Paradise . . . past photos and some inspiration



The gardening season has arrived in Florida and The Captain and I are still cleaning up, making plans and repotting plants for the new garden.  

We plan on making our own pavers out of concrete and painting them as I have done in the past . . . although the paths are still there from the past garden design, there are many areas of the garden that have not been paved and we are planning many little paved patio areas.

Here are photos of our Paradise in the past, before freezing winters killed most everything and neglect took over . . . it was like a lush tropical resort . . . but we are planning bigger and better things for our Paradise this year.  

The Captain has finished the fence and the property is now completely private!  What a great start to the new season and the new Paradise :)


Our Paradise Past




I've been getting design inspiration from so many gardeners in Bloggerville.  Kathleen's garden is one of them.    I love the lushness of the plantings she has selected for the backdrop and the deck portion is so inviting.  To see more of her garden, click here.  

Kathleen's Garden















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Monday, February 28, 2011

Tips for awesome garden photos



One of my favorite photos!  
My beautiful azaleas that are dead and gone . . . a casualty of way too cold winters in Tampa.  As I was going through my photos with thoughts of rebuilding the garden and getting ideas of what to plant, I realized how important it is to capture those beautiful garden moments.  Through photos I can still enjoy my now dead azalea plant in a different way.
I ran into these photo tips in my travels through Bloggerville and thought I would share them with you since taking photos of our beautiful garden moments is so important.

Photographers Alison Parks-Whitfield and Susan Teare offer tips on how to create garden photos with pizazz:
1. Get a worm’s-eye view. Don't be afraid to get your knees a little dirty. You’ll find the undersides of flowers often have appealing textures. In addition, if you’re down really low, you can include the blue sky in your photograph, creating a stunning background (just keep an eye out for any power lines that you might not notice until later).

2. Keep an eye on the sun.
 Rather than waiting until the sun is overhead, position the flower so the sun is behind it, shining through the petals. This will create a striking photograph with rich, deep colors. Or go out at dawn or at dusk, when both the light and the coloring of the flower will be fresh. Hold up a small white card or paper to act as a reflector and fill in the light, enhancing it further. As a rule, it’s better to avoid taking photographs at high noon because the light is so intense at that time that colors are often washed out.

3. Find something new. Sure, the row of sunflowers is lovely, and even Vincent van Gogh would appreciate your photo of it. But try going beyond the biggest and brightest plants and you may discover an even better shot. Look closely for dramatic textures and patterns, such as the cone of a purple coneflower, or try a tight shot of a cluster of hen and chicks.

4. Remember nontraditional subjects. Wheat, dandelions gone to seed, long grasses and even weeds are photo-worthy when you focus on them. As always, pay attention to the lighting and composition, and you’ll be rewarded with some unique shots.

5. Focus — or don’t.
 In a wider shot, think about what's in focus and what is not. You might try reversing what should logically be clear (usually whatever is nearest the camera). Leave the row of black-eyed Susans in front blurred as you focus on the maple behind, or try focusing on only one small part of a flower, letting the rest go soft.

6. Add a creature.
 Consider working with a “model”— whether an insect that alights on a bloom, a cocker spaniel or your grandson — to offer both interest and perspective. Want to show just how big your prized dinner-plate dahlia is? Pose a smiling child next to it and there will be no question.

7. See a flower as the sum of its parts. Every flower is a beautiful whole, but consider each element, as well — leaves, stem, pistil and stamen. Zoom in on a portion of a flower that looks interesting and  “crop” the flower using your camera. Try a couple of different angles, tilting your camera slightly from left to right. You may be surprised to see what a difference even a little tilt can make at such close range.

8. Just add water. Drops of water, whether from a recent rain shower or your watering can, add drama to a close-up of a petal. In addition, photos taken when the rain has just ended enjoy richer colors thanks to the resulting clear, even sunlight.

9. Record a day in the life. For an interesting study, take a photo of a flower or garden at sunrise. Take another at noon, a third at 4 or 5 p.m., and a final one at sunset. Display all four pictures in a multiple-opening frame.

10. Celebrate autumn. Don’t underestimate the beauty of bare branches or crisp brown leaves on the ground. There is plenty of interesting texture in and around the garden waiting for winter.



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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Awesome idea for the garden :)



What are these thingies and how can they cause an explosion in your garden?
How about an awesome gift for the gardener who has everything?
I don't want to give it away . . . you have to visit Alicia at McCrenshaw!


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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Creative seed starting containers






Looks like Spring has arrived in Central Florida and I couldn't be happier!  Time to start planting seeds in my part of the world!

In my travels around Bloggerville, I found this creative self-watering seed starting container idea from Brandy at Savin' Some using recycled soda bottles!

How cool is this?


Click on the photo to go to her post describing how she made it.


Thank you Brandy for this awesome idea!
Her blog Savin' Some is all about being frugal.



Do you have creative uses for recycled items and tips for starting seeds?

One of my favorites is egg cartons.  I cut them in half, poke holes in the little cups and use the top as a saucer.  They are readily available, a convenient size and a perfectly fitting saucer.  They use a small amount of soil, making it economical if you like to use those expensive seed starting soil mixes.

I have experimented with using actual egg shells to plant the seedlings in, making transplanting a breeze.  They fit perfectly in those egg cartons!

Another favorite recycled item . . . clear plastic containers that department store pastries come in.  Same concept . . . I cut them in half, poke holes and use the top as a saucer.  I love using those for starting pepper and tomato seedlings.

My best tip for seed starting is to water them with a sprayer . . . sometimes I will use heavily diluted fertilizer to get them off to a strong start.  It is so easy to kill the babies with too much water!

I will be posting some of my soil recipes in a future post.






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Friday, February 11, 2011

Garden Inspiration

Click here to view this photo in a new window.

Although I like a property that has a natural park look to it with unmanicured mass plantings, I like the garden decor concept of "rooms" . . . definite themed sections of the garden . . . I love the garden in this photo for some inspiration.  There is something so soothing about white against the high contrast of green that brings a feeling of serenity.  A small water feature in the center would be awesome!

This photo comes from Fine Gardening . . . 
This is today's "Garden of the Day" . . . 
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