I'm BACK!!!!

After the craziness of my sister's wedding. Lee thought he'd take sometime off of work and I thought I would join him and we took an impromptu vacation . . . you know the kind of thing you can do before you have kids! It was super relaxing, we didn't go far . . . in fact we didn't even get a chance to leave at all. But we were able to tackle some projects around the house (nothing big, just some necessary things) . . . Max got some extra attention, and we both have a tan! ;)

Our Hydrangeas are finally in bloom outside and after 3 years our front yard is starting to look like we always planned.

A pretty Hedge of hydrangeas, being held back by a hedge of boxwood.

The boxwood hedge is about a year . . . maybe two years away from being fully formed but this is almost exactly what I've had pictured these past 3 years. 

I love it when a plan comes together!! 

 Thanks for sticking around during our little hiatus. I'll be back tomorrow with a nursery update . . . we hung a mirror it's super cute. We picked up new chairs for the living room, and I finally decided on a sofa table . . . FINALLY!

Our garage garden station

One of the questions I get frequently is about our garage. Generally the garage is considered Lee's domain . . . but I do have my own little corner. It's our garden corner. I keep everything to do with gardening there (except the lawn mower).
Space for my little garden station is tight because we have a two car garage and park two cars in our garage . . . but we figured out a way to fit enough room for some shelves and one very smart table top.

We couldn't fit a table in the garage for potting, but this drop leaf table top from Ikea is perfect!!! It's their Norbo Table and it's just under $40.

When we aren't using it . . . it folds up and sits just over 3" off the wall.

To organize the shelves (also from Ikea), I found these blue plastic containers from Dollar Tree. I store our blood meal, and our bone meal (both we used up when we planted our cedars and hostas last week). As well as our hanging basket, slow release fertilizer. 

We store all the bird seed in this tin container with a little scoop. I found it back in August of 2010 (here's the link to the post I wrote about it).

I also keep our sunflower seeds (for larger birds) and some extra fertilizer on the middle shelf as well.

I installed a couple of hooks under the bottom shelf and hung up a little garden bag (I found it at the Salvation Army Thrift Store). I keep all of our small garden tools in the bag, it nice because I just grab the bag when I need to weed the garden, or prune a tree, I have everything right there. 

I also keep a little spool of twine so I can do a quick tie up of a vine, it actually comes in handy more often then I thought it would.

Beside the shelves we store our rakes, and shovels. We found this organizer from Amazon . . . it's awesome! Super easy to use and keeps them up and off the garage floor.

I've shared this part before but I thought I would share it again . . . we store our potting soil in a big garbage can from Ikea, and in the smaller can we store Corn Gluten (a natural lawn fertilizer) in the summer, and Salt (for de-icing our steps) for the winter.

So there's our little garden station. It is really handy to have somewhere for all the bits and pieces that go along with gardening. If you are like us and have to store your garden gear in your garage and still want to park two cars in there I hope this post was helpful.

(and to be perfectly honest if I was really potting that fern on the table there would be a MUCH bigger mess on the table ;)

What a difference a year makes

I know that if you plant things in the ground they will grow . . . but I'll be damned if every year I'm not amazed at how much everything grows. Maybe it's because we had a townhouse before so we couldn't really plant anything, maybe it's because I have a loose grip on how mother nature works? Maybe I'm not the only one?? . . . . maybe I am.

I love flipping back and seeing how the yard looked back in 2011, and how it looks now. Here's the results:

The hydrangea bushes haven't bloomed yet but I couldn't resist sharing. I think this time next year we'll have a perfectly filled in hedge of hydrangeas, being held in by an almost formed hedge of boxwood.

I think the thing I am most excited about this year is the ferns hanging off the porch. I don't know . . . maybe I secretly want to be Southern (it's not secret I am a southern belle wanna be), but I love ferns off a porch. We bought these ones from Home Depot. We also picked up 4 feet of chain. The existing pot hangers weren't long enough . . . we considered buying new pots with longer hangers but once the ferns grew you wouldn't even see the pots so it would be a waste of money, when you can get 4 feet of chain for less than $4!

Lastly, what would a post about the front yard be without a quick paragraph about the grass. I've written about Natural Lawn care before here and here. It seems like in new build homes and developments the soil quality is terrible (our soil is 90% gravel ;) we've had to amend it with lots of mushroom manure and top soil over the last 3 years. For that reason the grass needs a little extra TLC. Our neighbors don't do anything extra to their lawn . . . they do mow it regularly but that's it. We have only used natural fertilizer like corn gluten, we make sure not to cut the grass too short and over seed our lawn once a year and the difference is dramatic. I didn't edit the photo below at all, I wanted to show the real difference. 

(btw, our neighbors don't read the blog . . . and they rent the property out so they wouldn't be offended about my comparison) The line between our grass and their grass is definitely pronounced, without the use of any chemical fertilizers. It took about a year for the natural methods to really show but it was worth the wait.

Thanks for checking in today . . . have a great Thursday!!! 


If you have a second our two . . . our little library/office is on Simcoe Street today, as part of Jen's guest blogger series:

A Back Yard with a little privacy

As you can see from this photo we don't have much privacy let alone a very good view from our backyard. We mostly see our neighbors detached garages . . . but such is life in the suburbs

We planted our Japanese Maple Trees last year and they gave us some privacy but they were just phase 1 of the plan. Phase two was scheduled for this year and we finished it over the weekend!

Phase two involved planting an additional 9 cedar trees (in addition to the 6 we already had back there . . . I'm crazy for cedars I guess).  The 9 cedars will block the view of the garages while adding some greenery.

Our little shade garden of hostas exploded this year which was perfect timing because we were forced to pull them up to make room for the cedars. We were able to split each hosta and make enough groupings for under each maple tree, the perfect shady spot for a hosta garden.

Lastly we added a hydrangea bush (a 'limelight' hydrangea), and our three little trellis sculptures!

Now that phase two is complete we are able to move on to Phase 3 which is . . . adding some new gates and pergolas above the gates, with some Dutchman's Pipe growing up.

But right now we need to get the grass back into shape, it is in very rough condition after a week of cedars lying on it, and 3 days of work boots tromping around! Some Natural Fertilizer and TLC should do the trick.

Greener Way to Water your garden this summer

The more I research ways to be green, and the more I implement green changes around our home. The more I am convinced that green just makes sense, green changes usually save you money, and a lot of the time they save you effort as well.
This is so true of our latest green change. We added a soaker hose to our rain barrel and it's been awesome!

First it saves us money! 

Sprinklers waste a lot of water! While we are careful not to water the sidewalk, or the street, some always ends up there. Sprinklers also loose some water due to evaporation!

Second it saves us time. 

Because sprinklers are a bit of a waste of water, we took to hand watering which ends with us standing in the front yard for 30 minutes watering all the beds, all summer.
Even if we kept using the sprinkler to water our garden beds, we still have to run back outside every 10 minutes to move the sprinkler.

3rd green benefit . . . 

Most soaker hoses are made from recycled rubber!

Soaker hose tips: 

• Soaker or Weeping hoses work best in lengths of 50 feet or less. Any more and it's hard to get the water all the way to the end of the hose (because there is no pressure pushing the water through . . . just gravity from the rain barrel). 
• Don't bury your soaker hose in the dirt . . . lay it on top of the dirt and cover it with mulch instead. The mulch works two ways, one to cover the hose, and two to trap moisture in the soil. 
• Keep the hose approx. 2-4 inches away from the base of the plant. 

Here's how we tackled it . . . 

(please excuse my terrible drawing, graphic designer I am definitely NOT!)
Because we are using our rain barrel for our water source, we attached the hose to our barrel.

We used a regular hose to run from the barrel to the garden bed so we didn't waste water that would seep out over our gravel . . . gravel doesn't need to be watered, silly!
(p.s. ever tried to take an artsy shot of a garden hose??? . . . nailed it ;)

Then we hooked up the regular hose to the soaker hose at the start of our garden bed.

Then we weaved the soaker hose in a big squiggly line between the hydrangeas (since they are the plants that need watering the most in our front yard).  We made sure to keep the hose 2-4 inches from the base of each plant.

Lastly we covered the hose with mulch so now, you can't see it at all. Soaker hose?? What soaker hose?? 

One last tip before I go . . . to promote strong, deep, healthy roots systems on your plants, water longer and more infrequently, instead of short burst of water frequently. Let the water soak deep down your looking for about an 8-12 inch deep soak! It usually takes all the water in our rain barrel to achieve this . . . luckily we live in the Greater Vancouver area, where rain is abundant . . . even when you wish it wasn't.
Here's a link to our Rain Barrel Guide from last year! Our rain barrel is one of my favorite green changes we've made . . . and now with the addition of a soaker hose it might take top billing.

I am also pretty happy with my clothesline from last year!

You can find soaker hoses everywhere, we picked ours up off Amazon for a great price, 50 feet for under $17, and free shipping!

How to Grow Lavender

When we harvested our fall bounty from the two raised vegetable beds in the back yard we ended up with about half a salad!
Seriously, between a little bit of weird weather at the start of the season, and the rouge neighborhood cats digging up just about everything we planted I am completely discouraged and honestly fed up!

After our bounitful harvest of half a salad, I decided that with our very limited space it just wasn't worth it for us to grow our own vegetables. That dream will be put on the backburner, saved for  a larger yard, and electric fence ;).

So we had to decide, pull up the beds and add grass, or add something else. It was between planting bulbs and using it as a cutting garden, great for spring but not much to look at for summer, winter and fall!
The decision was LAVENDER!!!

 I LOVE lavender! I love the smell, I love the color, I love the smell (it's so great it deserved to be mentioned twice).  Another big bonus was that our retractable laundry line runs right above it for some natural scenting.

We planted the lavender at the start of September and I have never seen more butterflies in our backyard! It's like a regular sanctuary back there. But my favorite part would have to be the SMELL, I water the back garden at night and as soon as the water hits the lavender it's amazing! The night air fills with scent! I don't want to get all poetic about it but seriously, "It smells good at Night" haha.

They've already grown so much in one month! Here's some growing tips we've gleaned from everyone from my mother to E-How.

• Lavender needs full sun and well-drained soil. Where soil drains poorly, grow lavender in raised beds. Set full-size varieties 3 to 4 feet apart, dwarf types 18 inches apart (ours are dwarf and I plan on replanting some on the other side of our house when they get too big). 
• Mix in some with decomposed granite or gravel, not compost. 
• Water deeply but infrequently, when the soil is almost dry. 
• Lavender require little or no fertilizer. 
•  Prune every year immediately after bloom. Cut back 2- to 4-foot-tall varieties by a third, low-growing types by 2 to 4 inches. If you won't be harvesting the blooms of repeat performers, such as Spanish lavender, cut off faded flowers to keep new ones coming. 

And that's about it! So far so good.

We are both enjoying the smell so much, we're thinking window boxes outside all the bedroom windows!! :) 

Backyard Update

Sh*t's Grow'in back here!!!
Our impatiens on the back steps have EXPLODED!!! Here's how they looked in June:

Here's how they look NOW:

For Fall I wanted to change out the petunia beside the garage door. I didn't want to stare at an empty planter all winter so we picked up a cedar from home depot! It will be big bright and green all winter long!!! :)
Petunias:

Cedar:

Fall came so quickly, one day it was too hot to sit in the backyard, the next day I have the fireplace on! But I love fall it's my favorite time of year!!! Especially when I can get outside and do some fall planting!! Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!
On Monday we have some Dining Room changes to share!!! I'm so excited to show you!!! :)

Hose Holder!

I searched long and hard for a funny title to this post and all I could find was "Up your nose with a rubber hose" which makes NO SENSE in this context. So instead I went the much more direct route and titled it "Hose Holder".

We have two hoses outside, one for the backyard and one for the front! After we installed the rain barrel and attached the hose it was just lying on the ground! So I saw this idea on Pinterest where they used a post to hang the hose on, and you could almost see the light bulb turn on above my head! That's exactly what we need! It's pretty and functional!

We found all the supplies at Home Depot and it cost us less than $20 all in!

 To save us from having to rent a tool to dig a big hole, not to mention a bag of cement to hold the post in place, we just picked up one of these post holder spikey things (sorry I have no idea what the actual name is).

The hose hook was a simple but necessary purchase ;). 

Lastly, we picked up the round topper with trim and added it to the top, I think that's my favorite part!

We sprayed it all white! The above picture is after 1 coat (we thought it only needed one coat but it turned out to need two). The picture below is 2 coats:

It was a really easy project, one trip to home depot and an hour later we had our Hose Stand! 

Hang your Pants, Save the Plants!

 That's right, I just started a slogan . . . feel free to share it with your friends!!! ;)

I wish I had done this when we first moved in, but I was convinced that I needed a big yard . . . and we definitely don't have a Big Yard (frankly we barely have a yard).
I had filed away the dream for a laundry line along with my dream of a BIG vegetable garden, a flock of chicken and a goat.
While I would need a bigger yard for my dream vegetable garden and the goat (the jury is still out on backyard chickens), I could definitely work a laundry line into our little homestead.

I found a retractable clothesline on Amazon. It was perfect because of it's swivel, it can swivel back and forth so that you can fold it away when you're not using it!

Why Install a Clothesline:

1. Your dryer accounts for almost 10% of your electricity use each year. 
2. A simple shirt, during all of its years of use, can send up to 9 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere!
3. Drying your clothes on the line saves you money! 
4. It saves your clothes. Dryers are rough on your clothes. 
5. NO ironing!!! Last weekend I hung a bunch of Lee's dress shirts from the work week, I didn't have to iron a single one! 
6. Everything smells amazing after it's been drying in the breeze!  

 

Tips and Tricks:

1. Hang your t-shirts upside down so that the clip marks are on the bottom of the shirts and not at the top where they are more noticeable. 
2. Smooth out your clothes before you hang them and you'll save yourself having to iron them. 
3. Use more than two pins for heavier items. 
4. Fold the top of your towels and sheets over the the line to make sure they don't blow away in the wind! 
5. If you're worried about the sun fading your clothes turn your clothes inside out before you hang them on the line. 
6. Keep an eye on the pollen count! If the pollen count is high, and someone in your family has allergies, skip the line and use the dryer. 

I am LOVING the view from our back door:

 But most of all I am LOVING these little Birdy Clothespins!!!! LOV'EM!

Kitty Cat Mob!

So you are probably wondering about the title . . . More on that a little further down.

But first, we are finally done staining the front porch! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, much like meeting your spouse's ex. You think it will be terrible but then you meet them and they turn out to be really sweet and nice, and not at all the ogre you hoped thought they'd be. :)

There's something about wet cedar wood that I LOVE. Maybe it's because I'm from the West Coast, but the color of a wet cedar fence or deck makes me swoon. So when it came time to decide on stain for the cedar deck I tried to find the color that would make it look like it was wet all the time! We went to Home Depot and picked out some CIL stain in ,what else, CEDAR color. haha
It took 2 coats to get our desired color. We did the whole thing with paint brushes in the middle of the night! Seriously you can't put stain on in direct sunlight, and we found the day time too hot. The stain would dry too fast and made patches, so we sanded out the patches and stained the rest between the hours of 11 pm and 2 am! Sure it looked a little crazy . . . sure some neighbors stopped by to ask what the heck we were doing, but it's done in all of it's non-patchy glory!

 Not too much of a change from the street, but we're really happy with the result when you walk up the steps!

What was really a pain the neck, was staining and installing the lattice all around the front porch!
Which brings me to my RANT: ARG outdoor cats! Okay maybe it's not all outdoor cats, but it is definitely some outdoor cat. You know who you are outdoor cats, I've seen you and your orange-y stripes, or black shiny coats I use to like you before you started using under our porch as your personal half eaten bird graveyard. You outdoor cats are no longer welcome!
I'll save you the details but it was GROSS! I'm going to file that incident under "Thank goodness I'm married" because otherwise little birds would still be under the porch. I think it's the work of a Kitty Cat mob, who can't make it out to the back woods to hide their crimes so they use the cover of our front porch.
We decided that it was time to block out bird murder crime scenes!
Some very inexpensive cedar lattice from home depot, the same cedar stain (it only took 3/4 of a can to do the deck so we had more than enough leftover to stain the lattice).
First stain you panels:

 Next cut to size:

Lastly install
It got a little tricky around the steps but nothing crazy. All the panels went up in about an hour!
Before:

 After:

By next year the hydrangeas will be HUGE and you won't even be able to see the lattice which is okay with us, it's meant to stop kitty cat mobs, dumping their bodies under our porch. 

So screw you little kitty cats you'll have to bury the evidence somewhere else from now on. (Okay screw you might be a little harsh).