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!

Bird House Love

I love birdhouses! I have always loved bird houses. I especially love bird houses on Posts.
On day, future Ashli and Lee will have lots of bird houses on posts . . . but we'll probably need more than 200 square feet of backyard for that, so for now I will have one fabulous Sophie Conran bird house. 

I love that the inside pulls out for easy cleaning!! 

I also think it's pretty cool that it matches our bird feeder as well.

We screwed it to our fence post, beside and a bit behind our new cedar trees.

I love it . . . one day we'll have multiple birdhouses . . . but for now one house, on one post makes me happy!!

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.

Girl Crush

Last week was a crazy week I think I might be behind in just about anything a person can be behind in . . . but this weekend we were able to not only catch up but make some serious backyard progress. :) I will have photos to share tomorrow! I am so excited to share. Our backyard project was one of those projects that you plan out . . . and you think it will look great, but it turns out to be so much better than you thought. I love those projects.

Now on to the girl crush part of my post. If you caught last weeks post you would have seen our new Sophie Conran measuring cups and spoons and I told you about our new dishes . . . but it seems like my new girl crush with Sophie Conran doesn't stop at dishes I picked up this adorable little bird feeder and brought it home . . . it wasn't until I read the tag (at home) that I realized my new BFF ;) Sophie designed it. Too funny.

I found my bird feeder at Chapters . . . $34.50 with 50% off so I paid just over $17.

I love that the little teal tray pulls out for easy cleaning,

and I LOVE how the white pops against the green from the cedars and maple trees.

It's definitely something that can be DIY'd. We chose not to, I am working on a post about our DIY philosophy . . . but in a nut shell it basically comes down to time vs. savings/payoff. (I will definitely go into more detail in my post . . . it seems to be a question we get asked a lot).

So there, I've opened up about my new girl crush. I am also working on a post about Simplicity , and I'll share my new dishes and some of my thoughts and feelings on simplicity. I don't know if it's because we're hoping to add a baby to our life soon . . . or if I'm getting older, but the urge to simplify is stronger than ever.

Make sure to pop back tomorrow, I'll have some of our first outdoor photos of the season as well as all of the big changes in the backyard!

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!

Gnome Sweet Gnome

Just a quick post today, I was at Ross last week, and I saw this little white ceramic gnome. I didn't even hesitate, he was less than $5 and I love him.
He will probably go outside in our shade garden with the Hosta, but since the Hostas aren't out yet, I thought I would enjoy him inside for now!

He's about 12 inches tall, and 4 inches wide. I have never had an outside ornament before, but I kind of liked the play between the traditional Gnome in the yard and the modern, crisp white color.

I think every room needs a little touch of whimsy and outside is gnome exception  . . .  although a yard full of bits and pieces would look funny but one or two choices items is nice.

This is probably one of the weirder purchases I've made . . . that and my white ceramic husband.  But you can't help who and what you love ;)
I'll share his new spot when he makes his way outside.

Outside Moodboard Inspiration

With Christmas almost here and the end of the year fast approaching, I feel a bit reflective. We had such an amazing year this year (blog wise). Our readership grew, we found some amazing sponsors to help keep the bloggy lights on, and our moodboards were a big hit! I tackled somewhere close to 50 boards  this year and they were each so much fun . . . way more work than I thought . . . but fun!!! :)
I don't feature the boards I do unless someone gives me permission to, the way I see it is, they paid me to make it for them so they own it. If someone gives me permission to share I will definitely share it!
Which brings me to this post, here's an exterior board I made recently. I have a serious LOVE of Yellow doors and I finally got a chance to put one in a board. Along with this FABULOUS window box in the top left corner done by Miss Tracey Ayton. 

I've always loved the middle picture (originally from Blueprint Magazine) and I was so excited to use it as inspiration and put it into a board! Along with some colors, some plant choices, painted stone (bottom left) and a light from Lowes.

Pop back tomorrow for a post on Bits and Pieces. More specifically, a  post one where and how, we store all the miscellaneous bits and pieces that come with home ownership. You know, the candles, dog leashes, light bulbs, screw drivers, batteries, the not so pretty, yet necessary parts of home.

Hunter Boots

For my Birthday Lee picked out something that I've wanted for years now . . . HUNTER BOOTS.
I'm in love with my new rubber friends. The best part is . . . it's pouring rain out!

 I've been having the best time outside . . . poor Max I've been making him go for long walks in the rain so I can wear my new boots . . . yesterday I had to carry him home because he had enough of the rain!

Their glossy shine should wear off in the next year (did you know that happens? I didn't) then I will have my much anticipated Matte Black Hunter Boots!!! :)

Halloween Outside

You may keep you're skeletons in the closet but we keep ours outside ;). haha It probably won't grace the covers of Better Homes and Gardens, but we had the best time decorating for halloween this year!! We went with a skeleton theme!

We finally finished the outside of our house, and we'll hope we'll have lots of customers for our "DEAD and Breakfast"

We have some seriously eager customers who can't wait for the grand opening, they're trying to break in through the windows!

Some are hanging out on our front porch . . . and some are coming out of the ground!

We are so excited for Halloween Night, if last year is any indication of this year we're expecting just over 400 trick or treaters (I'm seriously last year we ran out of candy after 400 kids). Our block will have a DJ, a very spooky haunted house, a Tim Hortons truck giving out free hot chocolate and coffee, a smoke canon, and a BIG PARTY!!! To see all of our photos from Saturdays Party, check out our facebook page for all of the gruesome details.

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!! :)