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Natural Paths for Garden Beds
Anyone who has priced hardscaping lately knows how expensive it can be, particularly if you have large areas to cover. I am redoing my whole area that I used last year for veggies. Long story short, the squirrels were a nightmare for me and I don’t plan to go through that experience a second time. […]
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How To Make An Easy DIY Bean Teepee
This year, I changed my vegetable garden into a combined perennial/vegetable border. It’s a long story but basically, the squirrels got the better of my veggies last year and I swore never again. Since I will have flowers and vegetables growing in one space, I wanted some decorative and functional items in it. This DIY […]
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DIY Summer Mason Jar Flower Vase Project
One of my favorite things to do on Sunday morning is to meet friends for breakfast or brunch and catch up on the week. Normally, we go out to a variety of restaurants and alternate each week between them. This week, I wanted to have our friends over to our house for breakfast. I’ve been […]
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Amaryllis Bulbs Forcing – Easy Gardening Project
Amaryllis bulb forcing is one of the easiest decorating projects that you can do to decorate with Christmas plants for the holidays. I ended up with a bulb after a Yankee swap party last Christmas and planted it early in February to add to my collection of indoor plants. It was not long before the […]
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The Garden Charmers Combine Perennials and Vegetables
What is better than a perennial garden bed and a vegetable garden bed? Why, a garden bed that combines them both together. And take it a step further and add herbs to the mix. You will end up with one fantastic garden that meets all your needs. And that is just what the Garden Charmers, […]
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My Garden in May – Lots of Flowers in Bloom Now
This year has been a series of set backs in my garden. It is almost the end of May and I’m way behind, but finally have some progress to show for all my work. Things that set me back were: My father’s death in February which resulted in two trips to Maine. A very long […]
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Have you got the Blues?
Blue is such a wonderful color. It is not often found in flowers, although there are some. Many of the flowers that are called blue have more of a purple tinge to them. But you can add blue to your garden with carefully chosen garden accents, seating and other items. If you like blue in […]
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Today’s Garden Flower – My Bearded Irises are Blooming
Each morning, all during the spring and summer, I start my day with a walk around my flower beds. I just love to see what has happened from the previous day. I’ve been waiting for my bearded irises to bloom so it was a lovely surprise today. This particular variety is one of my great early […]
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3 Easy Bulbs to Grow for Early Spring
Are you looking for something that will welcome in spring with a splash of color next year? These 3 easy bulbs will bring you color year after year. Spring is such a special time of the year. There is nothing quite like walking around a garden bed that shows a hint of what is to […]
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Fiddlehead Ferns – Culinary Delight from the Ostrich Fern
I was born in Maine, and one of my fondest memories is the collection of fiddlehead ferns each spring. Even though I have moved away, each year my family boxes up a whole bushel of them and sends them to me by priority mail here in NC. It’s always a special day when that box […]
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The Garden Charmers Celebrate Earth Day
The Garden Charmers is a great group of ladies who garden, decorate and cook with a passion. They all have a love for our environment, so Earth Day is special to them. In the Northern Hemisphere, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 and the day always helps us to focus on environmental awareness. If […]
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Today’s Flower – Gladiolus
Growing perennials means lots of color when you plant gladioli. There is something about a bare piece of ground that suddenly breaks with foliage at an amazing rate and then bursts in a splendid show of flowers a few weeks later. Gladiolus are not actually bulbs but are considered perennial corms. Gladiolus is often called […]
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Free Herb Plant Labels for Mason Jars and Pots
Looking for a pretty way to dress up the pots that you use for growing herbs, and label them at the same time? These cute herb planter labels can be just printed off and then added to your pots in no time at all. Herb Identification seems at though it would be easy but you […]
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DIY Cottage Chic Herb Garden With Mason Jars
Growing herbs is something that any good cook should consider. This mason jar herb garden fits into the French country look that I have going on in my kitchen as part of a renovation, too. It’s the perfect DIY project for my vegetable gardening summer! I love cottage chic decor projects. They have a rustic appeal […]
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My Garden In March – Spring has Sprung (or at least it is trying to)
It’s time to check out my garden in March to see what is blooming for me. This has been the longest winter ever. I used to live in Maine and am used to long, cold winters. But here in North Carolina, normally, I have a lot of things growing, especially vegetables, by this time in […]
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Growing Perennials and Vegetables in one Garden Space
Squirrels in my garden last year made vegetable gardening a nightmare for me. This year, I decided to try combining perennials and vegetables in one garden bed to see how it worked out. I have long been interested in growing perennials. Adding some vegetables into the mix gave my garden beds an interesting new look. […]
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Creative Bird baths – DIY Garden Decor Projects
These Creative Bird baths make use of re-purposed items that you may have around the house. They add a whimsical touch to any garden decorating theme. This time of the year, it’s common for bird baths to get really dirty. Check out the video on cleaning a bird bath for and easy solution to this […]
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The Garden Charmers Share their Favorite Facebook Pages
Facebook has so many great pages devoted to gardening, but the way the site now shows the content of pages, it is sometimes hard for them to get seen on news feeds. Facebook is one of the most popular of the social media channels. I thought it would be fun for the Garden Charmers (a […]
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Raleigh Botanical Gardens Visit
One of my favorite things to do when I have some spare time is to visit Raleigh Botanical Gardens. I love the new perennial and annual plants that I learn about and it just de-stresses me like nothing else seems to do. Raleigh has a great Botanical Garden called JC Raulston Arboretum. The beauty of […]
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Gardening Quotes and Inspirational Sayings
Much of my personal peace and happiness comes from the time I spend in my garden. It soothes my soul like nothing else that I do during the day. These images are flowers from my garden and I have teamed them up with sayings that describe how I often feel when I am outside working […]
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Spring Fever in my Garden Starts in Winter
Oh the weather outside is frightful, or so the saying goes. Here in Raleigh, we are not known for much cold weather in the winter, but this year has been different in that regard. We have had a couple of days of snow and several weeks of unseasonably cold weather, with temps getting down to […]
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Moth Orchids – Phalaenopsis – Great Choice for Beginners
I have often thought that orchids are only plants that you should choose if you have green house conditions. But on a recent trip to several home improvement stores, I have seen scores of beautiful moth orchids that are sitting in normal low light conditions for what seems like weeks on end without losing their […]
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Boxwood Wreath Bird Feeder DIY Project
Some of you may remember that I made a boxwood wreath for the first time in December last year for Christmas. I’ve long since removed the Christmas decorations but left it hanging and it has started to dry out. I decided to re-purpose it into a bird feeder for my backyard test garden. My husband […]
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Outdoor Games for Kids and Adults
Add One of these Outdoor Games to your next Party. The weather is warming up here in NC and it makes me think of things to do outside. Gardening is my first choice, of course, but I also love having outdoor gatherings and activities for them. I grew up in a family of six children […]
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How To Grow Tropical Bromeliad – Aechmea Fasciata
I have loved plants all of my life. For a large portion of it, that meant indoor plants. Now that I have a largish property, it means lots and lots of garden beds with perennials. I don’t have much time to tend indoor plants, but I still like to have a few of them around. […]
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Aloe Vera Plants have Countless Medical Benefits
I have gone through periods in my life when I don’t have many indoor plants or container plants outside. But there is one plant that I have always seemed to have on hand, and that is an aloe vera. This plant has countless medical benefits, and is thought, by those who believe in feng shui, […]