Survival of the Fittest

Summer is upon us and that means Hubs and I are a-travelin' like nobody's business. Its great fun spending weekends with friends and family enjoying long lazy days at the lake and saoking up the sunshine; It is not great coming home to sad wilted plants. After one weekend of survival of the fittest plants and hoping for rain I decided to take matters into my own hands and become a "faux Mother Nature". Enter The Plant Nanny. A simple and inexpensive way to keep my plants well hydrated without having to pester anyone to water.

On one of my many treks to a local garden center, I came upon The Plant Nanny. I picked up a six pack for my container plants and the HydroSpike watering system for my planter box and my thirsty hydrangea bush. There are other options, glass globes and the like, but they run a bit pricier and work better if you only have a pot or two.

This is just about the easiest thing to use. Just stick the terra cotta stake in the soil near your plant and screw the plastic stake onto the top of a regular water bottle. Fill the water bottle up with H2O and stick in the stake. I keep the stakes in the pots and the spikes on the water bottles and just stick 'em under the faucet on my way out for the weekend and they are good to go!

Not only have I been using these for the past two weekends and keeping my plants happy, but they are thriving and looking better than ever! Now keep in mind, I have a smaller city garden so if yours spans a true backyard, this may not be an ideal solution for you.

Gardening is great!

Its official, I have a garden! Still a work in progress but I have carved out my own little corner of the world and filled it with beautiful plants, my little babes. Being a city dweller, I knew from the get-go I would be venturing into container growing for the time being and an important step was to find containers suitable for the wealth of plants I have been acquiring. Drainage holes are very important; don't want to drown the little guys. My vision was to find containers of varying shapes, sizes, colors and textures and thanks to Jo-Ann, CB2 & The Home Depot, the final product came together even better than I could have imagined!



Even before I had purchased all my containers, I was collecting my plants. Since all the little babes would be cohabitating in the same area, I mades sure they were all fans of sun or full sun. I was also mindful of the plants projected height and width so as not to cram a plant into a container too small. Other than that, I went about picking plants that I like the looks or smell of and A LOT of herbs as cooking is another hobby of mine. I'm looking forward to the convenience of popping outside for some cilantro of chives rather than purchasing a whole bushel that will surely wilt.

A breakdown of the plant and where I purchased the lovely container it is now housed in...
Back Row: Cherry Tomato, Jo-Ann; Catmint, Jo-Ann; Hydrangea, Home Depot

On Stand (Jo-Ann): Basil, Home Depot; Spearmint, Home Depot; Forget-Me-Not, Gift (Thanks Angela!)

Front Row: Catnip, Jo-Ann; Chives, Rosemary, Thyme, CB2; Cilantro, Jo-Ann; Greek Oregano, Parsley, Marjoram, Jo-Ann

Frost (oh no!) and a Bird

On the new gardening adventure and what comes along? That's right, the possibility of frost. All my new little green guys in their tiny little containers and the big bad frost decides to come to town. Well, never fear...Target is here! Thank goodness for the sturdy reusable plastic bags from Target and a few tough Glad bags. I covered up every flower and herb and tucked them in for the night. No casualties!

And in other garden news ... a new addition!

In the chilly months of winter and early spring, the Crate & Barrel spring catalog comes out, taunting me with all of the lovely summer ware and gardening goodies.This year I was swept away by the chic window boxes (back-ordered till mid-June) and a darling cement bird, perfect to adorn my garden patio. While on a shopping excurision last week I came upon the little bird and it is now perched upon my patio, and maybe yours as well?

How does your garden grow?

Why, with silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all in a row! As the weather has been warming and there is new foliage a-bloomin' I've been looking forward to venturing into gardening. However, my novice gardening skills and lack of a green thumb have been further diminshed by my forgetful nature. So while I desire to grow pretty things, my track record is closer to plant killer than grower. To improve in this arena I have turned to two fantastic books - You Grow Girl and Grow Great Grub both by Gayla Trail. Gayla's writing style is fresh, funny and practical (she has a fantastic website as well, www.yougrowgirl.com). It's perfect for those of us that are limited by space, time or budget and looking to grow with little knowledge. My foray is just beginning but the premise is very simple - transform my simple, small patio into what I hope will be a lovely spot to enjoy the summer days ahead.

The before pictures...

My plan is simple (or so it seems right now): go organic with container gardening. A tomato plant, hanging to keep it away from the critters, and a few herbs will cover the "edible"portion of the spread. I'll also have to do some flowers, most likely some vibrant colored annuals, and round out with a few good-looking plants. Husband and I will be making our own picnic table as well and I'm looking forward to that adventure! Can't wait to get my hands in the dirt and enjoy spring planting. More details as the journey continues...