Fairy Garden with Bunnies

I have seen so many amazingly beautiful and intricate Fairy Gardens around the internet and love looking at them.  But honestly none has spoken to me quite like the one I saw at Debbie-Dabble (click on her name to go and see).  You know how sometimes you see something and it's not that you want to duplicate, but it sparks an idea and you run with it based on what you saw?  What I saw in her fairy garden was a great amount of fun to be had for Brooklyn and I.

This is what I ended up with, total cost about five dollars by repurposing some things I already had.  To start with, this pot never did get any perky posies this year, so rather than leave it looking like a ghost town I snagged it for this project.

I went to the local Goodwill and found a box of with Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, the fence and a small pot of posies.  That's when I decided my theme would be bunnies.

This shows off the little ceramic potted posies - too cute!  I also found a set of two bunnies, this little girl is one of them.

My original plan was to buy a few succulents to plant in this garden since they are so low maintenance.  But when Keith and I visited our favorite nursery we discovered the succulents were $5.99 each!  Instead I picked up two petunias at the mark down price of only .99 cents.  It's still hot in Texas, so they should last for a little bit.  And I'll just replace them in the spring.

And here's the little boy!  Then I found the little wooden house that has a nice hinged roof.  I think that Brooklyn will enjoy putting things in there.

The boy is sitting on a bed of shells and you might have noticed some behind the little girl above.  The thrift store had a brand new bag of shells for quite cheap.

I also wanted a little pond, so I sacrificed the half cup measure that I got in a set at Dollar Tree one year at Thanksgiving (since I knew there would be so many of us cooking in the kitchen at the same time I bought an extra set!).  Keith cut off the handle, then filed it smooth so that Brooklyn wouldn't hurt herself on the sharp plastic edge.  I thought it would be cute to put shells at the bottom of the pond, but once I added water the silly things floated!  Ah well, I suspect we'll still have fun with it.  And I don't plan on leaving water in it - I'll just add water when we're ready to play.

This was really a lot of fun to put together and now I can't wait for Brooklyn to come over and play with me!  :)

Deep Thoughts:  "Grandmas are just antique little girls!"


Linking to:  Friday Flair Link Party, Cottage Garden Party, Home Sweet Home, Simple and Sweet Fridays, Thrifty Things Friday

Teacup Succulents

This is part of what I did for my moms for Mother's Day this year.  I absolutely fell in love with them and will soon find teacups to make one for myself!  There is something so dainty and lady-like about a teacup and when you put a miniature plant in it kind of makes you want to swoon.

I checked a nursery and a few other stores for mini succulents, but found exactly what I wanted at Lowe's.  In fact I found all the necessary parts at Lowe's, except for the teacups - those are from Goodwill.

I used this soil, mostly because I'm a rule follower and it says cactus on it.  But I also felt like any good start I can give to these little plants would be a good thing.

The little rocks came in a bag called Soil Cover.  Since I didn't intend to put a hole at the bottom of the cup I figured the rocks would help for drainage.  

I really could see a few of these lined up on my kitchen windowsill.  And the nice thing is that they take very little upkeep.

Deep Thoughts:  "Life is like making tea - boil your ego, evaporate your worries, dilute your sorrows, filter your mistakes and get a taste of happiness." 

Linked to:  Pinworthy Projects, Be Different Act Normal, Sundae Scoop, Funky Junk's Party Junk, Friday Flair Link Party

Mosquito Repellant Planter

When I list the many things in my life that I consider blessings I rarely never list the fact that I attract mosquitos – and their bites – like moths to a flame.  I’ve always been a bit envious of those ladies that can stroll along in the evening during summer without a bite…and also without a drop of sweat (but that’s another story).

So when I came upon an Anti-Mosquito Planter online I was all ears – er, eyes.  And seriously, what did I have to lose?  If it worked I would be able to enjoy my morning coffee on the patio again and if it didn’t I still would be able to enjoy a pretty planter from my kitchen window.

I’m not one to completely take the word of people online, so I did spend some time with Google on this subject.  What I found though was about a 50/50 split as far as whether or not a planter like this would work to repel mosquitos.  And that was good enough for me.

 

The biggest plant, the one in the back, came in a pot that said Citronella Mosquito Plant, which convinced even my skeptical husband that this might just work.  In small print it said the plant was a Scented Geranium and that the fresh lemon fragrance will repel mosquitos.  There’s also a marigold in the planter as I found it mentioned several times online, in addition to being an all-around anti-bug plant.  And the little bitty plant at the front right is a variegated oregano plant, which some say also works against mosquitos.  There’s another of these on the other side of the marigold.

I’m really happy with how it looks, so even if it doesn’t do the job it’s intended for I’m still happy.  And the Scented Geranium smells magnificent when it gets wet. 

Semi-Shabby Chic Herb Planter

Seriously now, I want all of you to be very impressed with me on publishing this post.  Because this is a perfect example of how things don’t always go as planned.

I had an idea of a great shabby chic sort of pot to plant some herb seeds in.  Truly it was so pretty in my head.

And this is what I ended up with.  I know, it’s not hideous, but it’s also nothing special.  What IS special is my dog Joe that I decided not to crop out of the picture.  :)

My idea was to paint a clay pot with a butter cream ceramcoat paint, then use a sharpie to write the name of different herbs across the pot.  Next I took some medium grade sandpaper and scuffed it up a bit to give it more of an aged appearance.  I topped it off with a jaunty bow and stood back to see.

I’m really kind of “meh” about the whole thing, but since it isn’t hideous I decided to go ahead and plant my parsley seeds.  Right now it’s living in the windowsill behind my kitchen sink so that I can keep an eye on it. 

I learned when I planted my wheatgrass seeds indoors that the best way to water seedlings is with a water sprayer.  The new potting soils don’t seem to absorb the water as much and it runs to the edge of the pot and soaks in there.  Since my seeds are scattered over the top I needed them to be wet also, so the sprayer works wonders.

An Upside Down Garden Of One

OK, I admit it - I really do get intrigued by As Seen On TV products. Sometimes they are deals and sometimes they are duds.

So while we were in the hardware store last night I was looking at big pots to put some tomato plants in. We tried planting in the ground once before and Joe, that wonderful golden retriever of mine, tromps through them like they are a personal gift to him. Anyway, I didn't really find pots at a price I liked, but I did find the Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Plant Hanger. I also bought a Big Boy variety of tomato plant.


This is what it looks like when all is said and done. You can see the plant at the bottom and the water coming out from the first watering. I wonder if the little plant is getting a head rush from being upside down like that???

Time will tell if this was a good idea or not. We did agree last night that we'll still buy some pots too. Though I will point out that the directions inside the Topsy Turvy say the plant should get to be 6 feet tall, so really it should provide all the tomatoes we'd need.