Not long ago I hosted a party at my home and was surprised that one of the guests? first response to the garden winds tiverton series 3 gazebo replacement canopy riplock 350_700048 was, ?It sure needs a lot of work!?. This wasn?t said to me, for if it was I would have simply brushed it off as 1. I like the ?work? (it?s more like play), and 2. g.
No, this was said to Mr. Garden Therapy who then could only see how much work needed to be done. He repeated the phrase with exasperation and has since offered many times his desire to get out there and clean it up.
Year round I catch him out there weeding on his way to work, like the weeds he passes by would haunt him all day as he sits at his desk. Don?t get me wrong, I?m happy that there is random weeding happening (and not by me) but I guess I just see it a bit differently.
Hey, this is yet another for you! You can frame up an 8?10 or download the mobile wallpaper. Click the links and the image will open in a new page. Save to your computer and enjoy!
Winter is just waving goodbye for another year and Spring is taking her sweet time it seems. The snow is gone, the grass is green and the garden is, well, weedy. There are plenty of wee little weeds getting started for the year. Seed leaves that could be something we want but are most likely a monster that will take over the garden if we go away for a weekend. There are dried out flower stalks that I left for the birds to munch and perch on. There is leaf mulch covering the beds in some places, in others the rocky soil is showing it?s ugly face. I will be sifting stones out of this garden until I?m too old to pick them out with my arthritic fingers.
Through all that mess I see the spring bulbs. The perennials are poking up through the soil though. Garlic, broad beans, and rhubarb are all making their appearance. Once I cut off those dried flower stalks and turn in the mulch, the garden will ?show? much nicer. Until then, I don?t feel the stress. I know that the garden is there for me and my therapy. That the days I get to work on it will be those that I remember, not the ones where it doesn?t look perfect to everyone else.
One my absolute favorite gardeners, Kristin Crouch, creator of the blog , is joining us again today for tea time. Kristin is a writer, speaker, volunteer Master Gardener, and a children?s community garden mentor. Oh, and that?s when she?s not !
Today Kristin joins us to talk about fundraising and gardening and how to make these pretty tea cup planters. Teacups make stylish and simple planters perfect for weddings, gifts, and decor. But they can also be a powerful fundraising tool for a school or garden project!
Are you looking for a way to raise some ?seed money? for your school garden? I have an idea that may get your creative juices flowing. A couple of years ago I was working with a grade one class and we were planning a plant sale to raise some money for our school garden. We had the usual pots of perennial flowers to sell but I wanted to try something different. I knew that there were a lot of teacups being thrown away at our local thrift shop. Why, you ask? It turns out if a cup doesn?t come with a saucer when donated, the teacup is throw in the garbage.
There must be a way to save such beautiful china. An idea came to me. I wondered if we could plant them. The school garden volunteers were excited to try it out. I bought lots of tea cups and some even came with saucers. Many teacups were donated from the community. We were set to go.
For the supplies I had to find plants, and for this gardener that was the best day of all. I decided to use Violas as the plant sale was in early May and the weather was still cool. Violas look perfect in a teacup with their tiny blossoms in all different colors. Next, I bought just one bag of lightweight soil, the kind you use for indoor plants and seedlings. I grabbed some spoons instead of trowels. The spoons were a perfect size for placing soil in a teacup.
To begin, we added just a tiny bit of soil to the bottom of the teacup. Remember to leave room for the root ball to fit in the teacup.
We removed our plant from its pot and placed it in the teacup. It is important at this point to make sure the level of the plant is just right. You may have to remove a bit of root material from the bottom of the plant to make it fit. This will not hurt the plant, but encourage new roots to grow.
Once your plant is at the right level in the tea cup, add a bit of soil around all the sides and the top until the plant feels secure in its new home. Be sure to press the soil down with your fingers to fill in air pockets as you go. Viola! You have just planted your teacup.
For our sale, we also used curling ribbon and tied some on the handles of each teacup. The children made Happy Mother?s Day tags that were threaded onto the ribbon after punching a hole in the card.
Was our sale successful? You bet.
We were able to donate $500 to the local food bank and still have money for seeds for the next year. For the Moms who received them, what a nice gift. The teacup planters can be brought inside for a couple of weeks but later should be planted outside in the garden. If placing outside, be sure to have them where they are protected from the rain. Without drainage in the cup, you don?t want your plants to drown. Water them when needed, being careful not to overwater. Imagine using these as place markers for a tea party or a wedding.
Now wouldn?t that be fun?
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