Thankful Wednesday

Thankful today for 75% off houseplants!!! Love fall plant sales. :)
There's only one problem...



I don't know what it is! I'm terrible with indoor plants. That's why I keep buying them at 75% off.
Do you know what this plant is?

Before & After: Kathe's Garden Overhaul

First off, I love that Kathe's blog is named Kathe with an E- a shout out to Green Gables and also that I'm not the only one who gets to have a tagline that goes along with her name. (Mine of course, is Hanni that Rhymes with Connie)

And secondly, I love that Kathe had the gumption to not only transform her perennial garden, but her vegetable garden as well! Her gardens had scope for imagination and she certainly took advantage of that. :)

1. How old is your garden? I think you mention the transformation was from this spring to this fall...but is your garden older than that?

Both gardens were really started about three years ago. I was very haphazard with design and planting. This past spring I decided to make them the gardens I had envisioned. I concentrated on plants that could take temps down to -40 and making sure there was always something blooming from Spring to Fall. But really, my vision was not a formal garden. I like it being kind of a controlled mess if you will. I like the ability to go out there and see something new almost everyday.

2. What was the easiest/hardest part of your garden change?

Hardest was finding a picket fence that met my wants. I didn't want it too high or too low. It took a bit of a search but when I found it, I knew it was just right. Also, Mr. B is a very lineal person. I am not. So, I had to kick him out of the way to set up the picket fence in a curvy manner, again, more pleasing to the eye I believe. Easiest was getting him to do the raised veg border :) Nice and straight just the way he likes it LOL.

3. And do you have anything else you'd like to share about your garden's before & after?

I am enjoying learning about different plants and what they need to grow well. I really enjoy making my own compost. I squeal with delight at the sight of a multitude of worms as I dig knowing that my compost has brought them there. I find that I appreciate the change of seasons and how they affect my gardens.

Kathe has written a beautiful post about her before & after transformation over at Kathe with an E - go check it out for lots of additional information and photos!

Do you have a Before & After you'd like to share?

Or do you know someone who has done a garden transformation you'd like to nominate? Click on the "Contact Me" tab above or just send me an email here and I'd love to feature your garden.

DIY Chic: Bleach Pen Fabric

I wasn't planning on writing a post about how to make this Bleach Pen Fabric, because it is so easy. So easy, in fact, that I didn't take any pictures of the process! 

Do you know how hard it is to find an aqua pillow in a modern, graphic fabric? Preferably one that you don't have to pay for in platinum and/or your firstborn child? To spare you the details, I've been vainly looking for months.

I had this cheapy aqua fabric on hand with the intent of painting it into something awesome like this:

(Source)

But as the months passed by, I began to realize the chances of getting an opportunity to paint a semi-intricate design without little fingers trying to paint a birdie too - albeit in jam - was not going to happen.

Two worlds collided when I saw my bleach pen resting by the aqua fabric during naptime. (I'm feeling an urge to flash a brilliant twinkly smile and display my bleach pen resting on my flat palm here)

I did what any sane mother of toddlers would do. Rush outside, secure the fabric from flying away with spider-encrusted toy and a discarded flip-flop, and start squiggling with the bleach pen.

The bleach won't turn white right away, so I'd recommend doing a pretty simple design. :) Then just wait for it to dry! I laid the bleach on thick, so when mine dried, I had to brush off the extra which had crusted on the top. No big deal.

And to think, I could have saved myself months of futile pillow-shopping! I may or may not be rooting through my fabric bin to see what else I can transform with that trusty bleach pen. :)

And did you spy in the picture what originally came from toilet paper rolls?

Happy Friday, all!

Harvest Monday: Sept 19

"Oh my poor, dear Fitzie!" Zelda cried when she first saw his injuries after his terrifying battle with the Tomato Eating Squirrel.  "You are the bravest and most handsome fruit in the whole garden!" Fitz inwardly smiled as he thought to himself that his eye injury may prove to be of some benefit after all.

I was pleasantly surprised to find nearly 5 pounds of tomatoes still hanging out in the garden, with plenty of green ones too. I had to wade back into the Green Lagoon in order to pick them, since I haven't weeded back there for a good long while. Honestly I'm a little afraid of what Creatures may be lurking out in the weeds! A few frogs, salamanders and bunnies have scared me to death back there.

I found a few more green peppers, jalapenos, and another huge bag of basil, too. Well, I didn't find the BAG, so I guess I should say I filled up another huge bags worth of basil. :) Poor Man's Pesto, here I come again!

Of course, I keep finding deer footprints in the garden. I'd gone out and yelled at this one a couple of times already. (That poor stick of a peach tree better be a fighter, or else its never going to survive!)

Said deer and his cohorts have been given due notice that bow season begins in 12 days. 

In a few more Harvest Mondays, you might find a report that we've harvested venison. At least my dear husband really hopes so...he keeps warning them that we'll get our eaten tomatoes one way or another.

What did your garden give you this week?

Compulsive Transplanting Disorder

The tulips and the couch are all to blame, really.

When I toppled the piano over a few weeks ago, I thought I had gotten the latest dose of my Compulsive Transplanting/Rearranging Disorder out of my system. Oh no. I kept fiddling around with where to put the couch, since of course, when you move the piano, you have to move everything else around, too.

To give you an accurate representation here, I left this message on a good friend's voicemail:
Is it too strange if I switch the living room and the dining room?

(Source)

And then those blasted pink tulips kept staring at me from the counter where they hadn't budged since I bought them a few weeks back. Pity they don't plant themselves. (Can you imagine!?!) In order to plant those where I wanted them, I of course was forced to transplant a few other plants. And then the rest of the garden, too.

So...about 10 days later and my house and garden are (almost) put back together again.
I'm hoping to post a little home & garden tour in a few weeks. :) I love a little house change up.

I know I've missed several Harvest Mondays and Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, too. The mental queue is full of posts that just haven't gotten to the keyboard yet. In consolation though, I'm only a few short weeks away from having garden blogging being the only garden activity I can do! Eeeek!

Hide & Seek Rose

Ready or not, here I come!!!

"Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." (Luke 12:27)

May you have a blessed weekend - praising the Giver for all His wonderful gifts to us.

Poor Man's Pesto

I hate photography. 

Well, really, I just hate taking photos. I wish I could just snap my fingers and get the image in my head onto my computer. Instantly. I'm putting that on my queue of inventions to invent if I was an inventor.

 In fact, I've been thinking (only half tongue in cheek) about blogging a plea for a garden photographer to come work their magic in my garden. (Oh, and I know several who don't fool me for one bit that they aren't lurking here.)

  What does this have to do with pesto?

Unfortunately, photographers, the only green I am rolling in right now is basil.

Hit me up if you want to be paid in pesto.

I've got basil plants well into the double digits, so I have been making Poor Man's Pesto left and right. I call it that because have you seen the price of pine nuts recently? For a little bitty jar? How about olive oil? I don't have panic attacks, but shopping for pesto ingredients had me close.

Poor Man's Pesto

(an inaccurate recipe rendition)

Ingredients:

-wad of fresh basil

-garlic

-olive oil

-parmesan

-water

-salt

1. Pour a half cup-ish of water into your blender. (This is where a food processor would come in handy! I have to get liquid in my blender first or else the basil just sits at the bottom and taunts me)

2. Start shoving basil by the handfuls down into the water.

3. Add a few spoonfuls of garlic, a hefty shake or two of parmesan and some salt. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil on top and blend.

4. It's usually fairly runny at this point, so I just add in more basil until it gets to the consistency I like. Taste and add more garlic/salt as necessary. Sometimes I add more olive oil too. Really, do whatever you want here. (Except for adding ketchup)

Kinda looks like baby goop, but it's fresh and oh-so-tasty! I spoon it into the small freezer containers and pop it on the pesto shelf in the freezer. Oh yes, there is so much basil I do indeed have a pesto shelf.

Since it has way less olive oil than your normal pesto, and no pine nuts, we usually use Poor Man's Pesto for cooking. It's great as a sauce on pizza or mixed up with noodles. 

I'm off to change my voicemail now since I expect the photographer phone calls to start rolling in.

What's your favorite way to eat pesto-pesto-pesto?

Hope Grows Day/Garden Lessons Learned

Happy Hope Grows Day!

Today I'm combining my Hope Grows post with PlantPostings new quarterly meme, Garden Lessons Learned. I'm a day late for hers, but please go and check it out!

1. Lesson Learned: Water your containers every single day. I'm hoping next year my containers won't end up looking as bedraggled as this. (And bedraggled is using a considerate term).

2. Lesson Learned: Plant wayyyy more vegetables than you think you will need. My vegetable garden is 22x40, and I didn't plant nearly enough to use up the space. Granted, I have a huge yard, so I don't need to conserve space, but I felt I didn't maximize the space that I had. And since I mastered the art of canning learned how to can this year, I don't mind having loads of extras.

3.  Lesson Learned: The flower garden will still be lovely even if you don't have the time to weed it. Ok, so that's not so much of a lesson as something I had to let go of this summer. I spent most of my garden time working in the vegetable garden, and with the two sweet beans, I didn't have time left over to work with the flowers. Pretty much at all. That was just something I had to let go of for this season.

And my hopes for September??? That the month won't go by too fast! I love September, because the weather cools off and my compulsive transplanting disorder kicks in again. And you can plant flower bulbs! 

The mums are getting ready to show off this month...the butterfly bush has gone berserk and overshadowed several of my mums, so I'm going to have to chop it back so I can enjoy them.

And this mysterious Clematis stans plant that I received in a seed swap a few years ago is getting ready to bloom. I am not familiar with this plant at all, so I am pretty pumped to see what the blooms are like!

And what are YOU hoping for in September?

Please join in the fun and leave your link below! :)