Category: garden.

I’m so ahead of myself this year!  Last year I waited too long to get my winter window boxes done.  As a result, the dirt was frozen solid so everything had to be sort of placed on top of it.  That really doesn’t work well at all, so this year I was determined to not let that happen.  Maybe I overcompensated just a little, but the weather was so lovely last week that I decided I would get a jump on them.

 I think the trick to a gorgeous window box is to fill it chock full, and here is how I make that happen.

I start by placing in my twig lights, spruce tops and some filler evergreens.  I purchased the evergreens from Bachman’s (my local nursery).  I spent about $60 for enough evergreens for my front window box, my two galvanized boiler window boxes, a planter on my deck and some small planters that hang on the mailbox post that I share with nnK.

Those twig looking things are my twig lights.  Each end has a little light on it.  Last year I wasn’t able to use them because the boxes were too frozen to poke them in the dirt.  I mentioned this to one of the clerks at Bachman’s and she recommended using a drill (to drill a hole in the frozen dirt) should this happen again.  Great idea!  But easier in the long run to just get this done before the dirt freezes solid!

Once I have a base of greens I fill in with lots of hydrangeas.

It would cost me an arm and a leg to purchase enough stuff to fill in this huge window box, so I sort of wander around my garden looking for dried plants that might add some interest, like these alium flowers …

I don’t know what these are called, but they grow from the ferns.

I also added some dried Astilbe flowers.

As Christmas gets closer, I’ll add some more festive yuletide touches to the window box, but for now it just has a simple wintery appeal.

I used a similar process on my galvanized boiler turned window box that is hung on the side of the Carriage House.

I went with a bit more color in this one though.  With the exception of the spruce top and the ornamental kale, everything in this arrangement was salvaged from my garden (well, or nnK’s garden across the street).

I have used hydrangea, sedum, lavender, foam flower and burning bush.

I also tucked my garden cranes in this year.  I purchased these at a garage sale several years ago.

I put away most of my garden planters for the winter, but I add a winter arrangement to this large planter so I have something nice to look at when I come home every day.

That planter, by the way, is faux.  It looks like concrete, but really it’s a Styrofoam like material that is very light.  I purchased it at a garage sale (naturally).

This year I decided to add some birch logs to this arrangement.  It’s all the rage you know, and I have to say I really love the look.

This arrangement is mostly evergreens with a few hydrangeas in the front.  I purchased those tall brush-like things last year and last spring they were still in good enough condition to put away for use again this year.  This year I’ll save the birch logs to re-use as well.

You can see that my ironstone platter with my house numbers on it is holding up really well.  This is another plate that I did with my Cricut and some vinyl.  It has been hanging outside since June and the vinyl isn’t peeling at all.

Well, I hope I’ve inspired you to go gather some things from your garden and put together some winter arrangements whether inside or out.

This year’s summer window box was kind of a bust.  I tried something new and it was a fail.  I used a couple of annuals that were new to me, unfortunately I didn’t even keep track of their names.  By mid-August, it just looked like I had a bunch of weeds growing in my window box.

Ugh!  Terrible, right?

So when I heard an ad on the radio saying that the mums were in at Bachman’s, I went to Menard’s to see if they had them too.  Mainly because Menard’s is usually a bit cheaper and I can get there on my lunch hour.  Sure enough, they had rows and rows of them.  The larger ones were only $3.99 and since I needed 9 of them that seemed like a do-able price.  So I grabbed a bunch of mums, threw in some celosia (at $6.99 each) and called it good.

I ripped everything out of the window box except the euphorbia, planted the celosia together in the middle and filled in with the mums.

I’ve added a fab pop of color to the front of my house with this combination!  I didn’t go overly ‘fall-ish’ with my color choices since it is still rather early in the season.

And sadly, these mums aren’t going to last much more than a month or so, if that.

But they are a huge improvement over the ‘weeds’.

I still think I liked last year’s monochromatic fall window box better though.  Remember it?

Which one do you prefer?

I’m sorry to say it, but my garden has gone to hell in a hand basket this year.

I usually get tired of gardening around mid-August.  I figure a frost is coming soon (that is a ridiculous exaggeration, FYI) so why bother to continue weeding, etc.  But this year I have been motivated to give up weeding much earlier than usual because I have an unwelcome visitor!  A snake!

He appeared in my neighbor Arlene’s yard first, but he moved over to mine just hours later.  I think it’s a bull snake.  I’m no snake expert, but I did a little google research and that looks like the likeliest culprit.  When I saw him he was sunning himself under my clothes line.  I came around the corner and he freaked and ran (well, slithered) under the photo cottage!

Good gracious!  Why did he have to pick there?  He’s probably under that hosta right now!

He looked to be at least 4′ long.  OK, that’s another exaggeration, but he was pretty big.  Even nnK didn’t want to get near him, and she doesn’t mind snakes.

So the garden is getting a little scruffy.  It still has some bright spots though.  The hydrangeas are going gang busters this year.

And the lemon slice million bells are taking over the boiler pot window boxes.

The fairy garden is looking lush, but then again, I don’t really have to worry about finding a snake in there so it gets more attention!

Cossetta is looking a little worse for the wear with a spider webbed face and her wonky crown.  She’s trying to cloak herself in ferns out of embarrassment.

Can you blame her?

I have a Tiger Eye Sumac that has totally engulfed my arbor.  The clematis is tangled up with it, but still blooming away happily.

You’ll notice that I have skillfully avoided showing you the weeds.  I’m also not taking pictures of the plants that have been totally decimated by the dreaded Asian Beetle, but trust me, they are there!  But nobody wants to see photos of that stuff, right?

If you stand back and squint your eyes a bit, the garden still looks pretty good.

Just don’t get too close, and beware of snakes!

Before I get to the lemon slice, if you haven’t already seen it, the winner of the Fusion giveaway was Lucy Auburn.  Congrats to Lucy!

I visited my favorite spot (Country Sun Farm in Lake Elmo) for buying my annuals last week and was really excited to find the Lemon Slice million bells.

I’d been admiring them in other people’s planters for the last couple of years, but hadn’t found them for my own.  Aren’t they fab?  I’m not usually a fan of yellow flowers, but these are so doggone charming they almost look fake.  So, I bought a bunch of them!  And while I was at it, I bought a bunch of other stuff too!

I filled up my galvanized boiler window boxes.

And my rusty toolbox planter (see, I told you I don’t mind a little rust!)

While I was out planting, I took a moment to admire my May hosta.

The color on this hosta is truly this vibrant.  It just glows.  It’s always so beautiful and pristine in the spring before it gets clobbered by hail or munched on by slugs, maybe that is why it’s called May.  If you are looking for a brilliant chartreuse hosta, I highly recommend it.  Here’s a hosta tip for you.  Even though hostas grow in the shade, you won’t get the most vibrant colors on them in full shade.  Those with more yellow tones will be brighter with a little sun.  This one is in a fairly sunny spot.  Blue toned hostas will do better in shade.

There are lots of things blooming in my May garden.  The bleeding heart is in full bloom.  This is a variety with chartreuse leaves called Gold Heart.  I have a lot of shade in my gardens and I love using bright chartreuse plants because they really pop out of the shadows.

The foam flower is looking good.  This is also an amazing choice for the shade.  It blooms for quite a while, and even once it’s done blooming it is a pretty plant.

I even still have some tulips blooming.  We’ve had cool weather lately and the tulips last forever when it stays cool.

And speaking of cool, last night we had temps forecast in the mid to upper 30’s.  I thought winter was over!  I had all of my new annuals, including my Lemon Slice million bells covered with sheets, I hope they made it!

Every once in a while, I allow myself a pretty extravagant luxury.  It’s one that most of us rarely have the opportunity to indulge in.  It is a full day with no plans, no to-do list, no commitments elsewhere.  24 hours of whatever I feel like doing.  I find this super hard to do, how about you?  I’d like to say that I’d spend it just sitting in my adirondack chair, wrapped in a blanket with a steaming cup of coffee, watching the leaves fall.

But seriously, who am I kidding, I could handle that for about 5 minutes max.  Then I would have to jump up and do something.

So, it’s not really about sitting back and doing nothing for me.  It’s more about doing what I want to, with no pressure to finish something or be somewhere at a particular time.  I just go where the day takes me.

This past weekend it took me on a tour of my fall garden.

Remember all of those beautiful yellow leaves that were on my trees last week?  Now most of them are on the ground.

But even though it is nearing the end of October, we’ve had a very mild fall with only a couple of near freezing temps at night.  So, there are quite a few things in the garden that are still going strong.  Like my painted fern.

And the lamium and heucherella.

Even the ferns in the front window box still look good, and the white mums finally opened up.

The hydrangeas always look good into the fall.

I know many gardeners take the time now to clear out the gardens for winter, but I rarely do that.  I think the yellowing plants provide their own sort of beauty.

Now that I have taken you on a stroll around the garden, I think I might spend a little time painting.  I have two fun projects in the works.

Stay tuned to see what I do with these!

Remember I told you I have a short attention span when it comes to gardening?  Yeah, I haven’t done a lick of gardening in weeks.  Fortunately, we are seeing signs of fall everywhere here in Minnesota, so it’s OK.  I can start tossing the summer annuals and throw in some fall updates and call it good.

First up, the front window box.  As you may remember, I tried something new this year, a monochromatic look of all white and green.  Here is how it looked when I planted it in May.

 And here is how it looked by the end of August.

The Euphorbia ended up doing really well.  In the end though, the white impatiens were the star of the show.

Then, the impatiens all kacked.  I find that not many of my fellow gardeners are aware of this, but there is a virus that has been sweeping the nation and it attacks impatiens.  One moment they are full of blooms and looking gorgeous, and a mere week later they are nearly dead.  The flowers fall off first, then the leaves and you are left with nubbins of stems.  You will be tempted to believe that some kind of creature came and ate them, but no, it is a disease.  I hadn’t been planting impatiens for the last several years because of this, but last spring someone told me the virus had been ‘cured’.  This was bad info.  In reality, they have not found a cure.  According to my super scientific google research, the virus remains in your soil and will infect any impatiens you plant in that spot next year.  It also is airborne, infecting neighboring plants.  The double whammy of plant viruses, I guess.

Well, live and learn.  Next year, no more impatiens and I don’t think I’ll do the same monochromatic look.  It looked great close up, but from the street it lacked punch and without the impatiens, it just didn’t have much impact.

So, I yanked all of the remaining stems (bagging, sealing and tossing as recommended) and replaced them with white mums and some white pumpkins in keeping with my monochromatic look.  And here is how the window box looks for fall.

The ferns, ivy and caladium are still going strong, so they stayed.  I added two white mums (flowers not quite open yet, and they better be white like the label says!), two white pumpkins, and some cut flowers from my Annabelle hydrangea.  My Annabelle’s turn a lovely chartreuse in the fall, do yours?

It’s an interesting twist on fall, not the traditional fall colors of yellows and oranges, but I love it.

I found the mums, kale and white pumpkins at Menards this week.  The mums were $3.98 each, the kale was $3.99, and the white pumpkins were $4.59 each.  So for about $33, and with the help of my prolific hydrangea bushes, I was able to give a both my large window box, and my two galvanized boiler pot planters a pop of new life for fall.

Hey, wait a minute, I don’t think I’ve ever shown you these.  Ken built them for me.  Both of the boiler pots came from garage sales and were super cheap because the bottoms were rusted out.  Ken added some wood slats, and then mounted them for me.  One on the Carriage House and one on the Photo Cottage.

I used the kale in this planter and added some Strawberry Vanilla hydrangea blooms, some Sedum flower heads, and some dried Astilbe flower heads.

Here is a better look at the arrangement.

 I really enjoy being able to use stuff from my gardens in my window boxes for both fall and winter.  I’m hoping that these arrangements continue to look good for the next two months or so.  Or at least until the Carriage House sale.  Then sometime in early to mid-November I will switch them up again for winter.  I’ll be sure to share them with you again then!

In the last couple of years it seems like succulents have become very trendy.  There are so many varieties, and the colors and textures are pretty fab.

So I admit it, I jumped on the succulent bandwagon, but in a small way.

I love rusty old metal toolboxes, don’t you?  I decided this one would make the perfect container for some succulents.  First, I stenciled my house numbers on it.  I used my Cricut machine and made my own ‘stencil’ using contact paper.  After cutting out the numbers, I just removed them and kept the rest of the contact paper.  I adhered it to the metal toolbox, and then just used white spray paint to paint the numbers.  I thought it would hold up well against the elements since this planter stays outside in the summer.  This is its 3rd summer, and as you can see it’s getting pretty rusty, but the paint has held up well.

I punched some holes for drainage in the bottom of the toolbox using a large nail and a hammer.  I just pounded the nail through the metal in several different spots.  Fancy people might use a drill for this part of the process, but the nail and hammer worked pretty well.  Your planters especially need drainage if they are going to be outside.

I keep this on the deck between my lounge chairs (and that is one of my Annabelle hydrangeas back there behind the chairs).

This is an awesome spot to sip a glass of wine and look at some of my favorite decorating books.

The pillow covers came from Restoration Hardware, and I bought them on clearance.  I don’t usually pay Restoration Hardware prices for stuff unless it’s on sale.  This patio furniture came with some very blah pillows when I bought it, so it was nice to upgrade them to something a little more ‘me’.  I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I am completely obsessive about not leaving the cushions out unless we are using them.  But hey, we’ve had this furniture at least five years now and the cushions still look great and this is why!

How about you?  Have you jumped on the succulent bandwagon and planted some of your own?

Personally, I think adding a faux pond to your garden is extremely hard to pull off.  So, I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical when my neighbor Karen (a.k.a. nnK) told me she was putting in a pond.  They just often tend to look … well … fake.

I should have known better.

She insisted it would look good, and she was right.  Sometimes on really hot days I am tempted to dangle my feet in this pond.  I keep telling her she should have made it just a tad bigger so I could float a lounge chair in there.

The Tiger Eye sumac in the back is perfect.  The way it sort of overhangs the rocks and water looks very natural to me.

She’s got quite a few fish in the pond.  And luckily this particular water bird can’t really eat them.

I think part of the reason nnK’s pond looks so natural is because she used field rocks and tried to make it look like a typical Minnesota pond, not like some sort of mountain stream or waterfall.

Another thing working in her favor are her plant choices.  They all look native, and there are lots of them.  Sparse plantings would not look as lush and fabulous.

 I love the way she has moss and other plants growing around the rocks.

If I paid attention, I’d be able to tell you how she added a bog to help filter the water and how that works, but when she tells me that stuff I just nod my head a lot and pretend like I understand.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I’m pretty sure the fish come in the house for the winter.  She could add a small heater and leave them in the pond, but she says that would cost a small fortune, so she just has a giant fish tank in the basement for them.

If anyone is thinking about adding a pond, nnK is a great resource.  Let me know and I’ll hook you up.

At the Highland Park garage sales last weekend, I couldn’t help but notice how many homes had beautiful hydrangeas in their landscapes.  I also noticed they were all Annabelle’s (H. arborescens).  Up until not terribly long ago, Annabelle’s were really one of the only hydrangeas that would bloom reliably well in Minnesota.

You know those huge gorgeous blue hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) like these, grown by Danielle of Finding Silver Pennies?

Yeah, those don’t grow here.  Well, you might be able to get them to grow, but they definitely won’t flower much.  I’ve always been so envious of southern gardeners that could grow these!

Several years ago a new variety of H. macrophylla came out, the Endless Summer.  It blooms on new wood, unlike the older versions and therefore is supposed to bloom in colder climates.  We all rushed out to buy them.  I put in two, nnK put in a whole row of them, Sue put several in her garden also.  But honestly, they don’t do all that well either.  This year I have a grand total of three blossoms on mine so far.  Do any of you other northern gardeners have better luck with them?

In the excitement over finally having blue and pink hydrangeas rather than just white, I kind of forgot about my old Annabelle’s.  I moved one of them out behind the Carriage House into the cutting garden.  But after seeing so many of them in Highland Park, I realized I need to move some front and center again.  Maybe put one or two next to the potting shed.

I moseyed out behind the carriage house to the cutting garden to see if my Annabelle was doing well back there, and look!

Completely covered in flowers, despite a total lack of care on my part.  These will look amazing for quite a while.  Then the flowers will dry and I will use them in my winter window boxes.  Sometimes these traditional old fashioned varieties are just the best.  That’s probably why they became so popular in the first place.

I may never be able to grow a huge hedge covered in blue hydrangea blossoms, but for now, I’m going to enjoy the more subtle beauty of the Annabelle.  At least until the Limelight’s (H. paniculata) start blooming!