One of my favorite things about late summer (besides lightning bugs and cooler nights), is the blooming sunflower. A few months ago, I professed my undying love for my hydrangeas and showed you how to make a quick and beautiful arrangement.

But now, my beloved hydrangeas are past their prime. Which is just as well because my sunflowers are in full bloom and ready for lots of cutting!

Photo: Penn State Ag Department

I think lots of people mistakenly assume that all sunflowers are ginormous and require tons of space to grow. Giant sunflowers (like the Mammoth variety) are fun to grow, but they definitely belong outside (or in the back of a magenta pick-up truck). Unless, of course, you have vases made of lead and huge rooms that can handle their comically large proportions.

There are lots of smaller sunflower varieties that are fantastic for cutting and making quick bouquets. You don’t need acres of land to grow them and you can get lots of flowers from one plant. Some varieties to look for are:

Autumn Beauty
Italian White
Lemon Queen
Red Sun
Teddy Bear (that the one in my pictures)

But don’t limit yourself to this list. Look at the seeds available in your store and find multi-branched varieties with smaller blooms. The multi-branched varieties will get you more flowers on each plant.

We usually plant our seeds a few weeks before Mother’s Day so we can use them as gifts and so they get a head start on the growing season.

That bouquet in the mason jar is going to a neighbor to say “Thanks for letting us crash in on your new swimming pool!”

What’s blooming in your garden now?

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The other day I showed you the vegetable garden that I’ve been dreaming about. The Mister and I are doing some of the legwork this summer so that we can have a great garden next summer. How’s THAT for planning ahead?

Today, I want to share my reality. I like to call it the Good Enough Garden.

You don’t have to have a perfectly planned space on an acre of land to grow some of your own vegetables. I’ve taken over a flower bed near our basement door for my Good Enough Garden. I’m pretty sure I’m breaking all sorts of gardening rules but it works for us.

I’m using an entire bed for our garden, but there’s no reason you can’t tuck some tomato and pepper plants amongst your shrubs and perennials if they get enough sunlight. Now, I’m not telling you to rip out all your azaleas and evergreens and plant cucumbers (unless you want to, of course). But no one will be calling the Gardening Police if you do.

In that little space, I’m growing a row of bush beans (because they don’t need a trellis to grow on), yellow and green peppers and cucumbers.

I don’t expect to feed my family on what my tiny garden produces. We’re just having a little fun and getting the kids excited about gardening.

I’m also using a bunch of pots to grow even more vegetables. I’ve collected some rather large pots over the years and this year decided it was time to try growing some veggies in them.

All of those big, black pots came from Wal-Mart last summer, although I think they still carry them. They were the cheapest, biggest pots that I could find. Originally, they were that awful, fake terra-cotta color but I painted them. Of course.

Note: Keep you eyes open at yardsales this time of year for people selling big pots. The terra cotta ones are great, but even big plastic pots (like mine) can be freshened up with a coat of spray paint (on the outside of the pot only). I like to use Krylon Fusion paint for plastic.

I’ve been told that carrots do well in pots, so we’re giving it a shot. Carrots prefer loose, well-drained soil. They would hate my clay soil. So pots are the way to go for me.

Tomatoes also do well in pots. There are so many varieties and some of them were specifically developed for growing in containers.

And a tiny pot of basil on the window sill would never do for me. I like to make and freeze pesto for the winter, so I need the gigoonda-sized pot.

Two of my favorite resources for information on growing vegetables in smaller spaces:

My Square Foot Garden
Life on the Balcony

Are you growing any vegetables this year? What’s your fave?

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For the last 2 summers, I have dreamed (dreamt?) about a beautiful, productive vegetable garden in our backyard. That dream has taken many forms and I haven’t acted on it because I didn’t have a clear picture in my head.

Until now. I flipped when I saw this picture in This Old House magazine.

Perfection! Tidy raised beds surrounded by gravel paths so that I can wear my cute flip-flops without getting my feet (too) muddy. It’s exactly what I want!

I love that the smaller bed size that makes it easier to tend with the kids. I hope that gardening with my kiddos will give them a greater appreciation for the food that they eat. I want them to have a basic understanding of where our food comes from. Green beans don’t magically appear at the grocery store, you know.

Did you know that now is the perfect time to start planning and prepping for next summer’s garden? Now that I have a clearer picture in my mind, we can start building the raised beds and filling them with grass clippings, straw and compost. By next spring we’ll have beautiful soil for planting.

Since the beds will already be prepped in early spring, I can start the plants inside while the weather is still cold. They’ll be ready to transplant as soon as the ground warms up!

And by thinking ahead, I can make sure that we’ve selected the perfect spot so that the garden gets adequate sunshine. Before you plant anything in the yard, you want to make sure that it will get the proper amount of sun. You may think you know, but you might be surprised when you check different areas of your yard at different times of the day.

My plan is a loosely interpreted “Potager” garden…that’s a fancy French word for a garden that incorporates edible and ornamental plants. And if mine can include a trellis and a bench, even better!

Want to know more about Potager Gardens? Check out these articles:
Designing a Potager Garden @ Country Living
Potager Garden @ Homestead Revival (LOVE her site!)
Potager Inspiration @ Parisienne Farmgirl
More Potager Inspiration @ Exalted Beauty

Country Living

Later this week, I’ll show you how we’re gardening this year. I call it the “Good Enough Garden”.

What about you? Do you have a vegetable garden? How does your garden grow?

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I’m spending lots of time with my hands in the dirt this summer. Trees, shrubs, perennials and a small garden. Since that wasn’t enough, a few weeks ago, I decided it was high time for a summer herb garden. I planted all the herbs in pots so that I can bring some of them indoors and continue to enjoy them come winter.

I love the hodge-podge of mismatched pots. I wish I could say it was deliberate, but I was simply using what I had. It’s pure serendipity that it looks so pretty sitting on my back porch.

I love mint in my iced tea. Did you know mint comes in a huge number of varieties? In addition to the Kentucky Colonel mint that I bought, my nursery carries orange mint, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, lavender mint and apple mint. A little note…Mint is HIGHLY invasive. Don’t plant it in a flower bed unless you’re ok with it taking over. You’ll have mint out the you-know-what.

Rosemary that I’ll take big snips from when I make Pioneer Woman’s Pot Roast. YUM!

Chives in my chalkboard flower pot.

These adorable chalkboard pots are now available in my OpenSky shop! There’s a Single 3″ Pot and a Trio of 3″ or 4″ Pots! I love mine. Within minutes of opening the box, my boys were decorating it with the chalk it came with. I had to steal it back for my chives.

There’s cilantro that I must have for my Gazpacho Dip. (Originally from Pampered Chef, but it’s no longer on their website.) It’s my go-to summer appetizer. I usually skip the pitas and serve it with tortilla chips. Delish!

And dill that I’m going to use to make Dilly Beans later this summer. They’re pickled green beans and they’re curl-your-toes good.

Check out my OpenSky shop for the new Chalkboard Pots! I can think of all sorts of things to grow in them.

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Nothing brightens up my kitchen faster than a bouquet of fresh cut flowers. And if they happen to be hydrangeas cut from my front yard, then even better.

The Annabelle Hydrangeas that I planted in our front beds 2 summers ago are getting big and they’re covered with beautiful white blooms. I really think that the hydrangea is God’s most perfect flower. You don’t need to be a master flower arranger to create a gorgeous bouquet. They’re so big and beautiful that they practically arrange themselves.

This is one of my favorite ways to create a quick arrangement or centerpiece. I put 5 or 6 mason jars into a metal basket (from Marshalls). Each jar gets 2 or 3 hydrangea flowers and a few get a stem or 2 of leaves. That’s it!

I have a small obsession with mason jars because they’re useful for so many thing besides just canning.

A seriously stunning arrangement in 5 minutes flat. Having these beautiful flowers in the house makes me happy.

Hydrangeas are usually considered a southern flower, but us northern girls can grow them too. You just have to pick the right varieties. Besides the Annabelle, I’ve also planted some Endless Summer hydrangeas in the front yard. They’re blue in acidic soil and pink in alkaline soil. You can add some lime around the base of the plant to encourage blue blooms if your soil isn’t acidic enough.

And just a few weeks ago, I planted these beautiful babies behind our garage.

They’re called Limelight Hydrangeas and I’m dreaming of a huge garden full of bright green blooms that I can cut all summer.

I could find them in a local nursery but I found them from on Ebay (yes, Ebay!) and decided to take a chance. Hubby calls them my “plants in a box”. They arrived all wrapped up and ready to plant. So far so good!

I love puttering in the yard as much as I love puttering in the house. We’re lucky that we have plenty of space to try out new plants and flowers. Young plants are generally inexpensive so they’re a great way to experiment and find out what works in your yard.

What’s your favorite thing growing in your yard right now?

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I also win the Most Pointlessly Long Post Title Award. Neener neener.

I summer-ized my fireplace hearth last week. I went the traditional fern-on-the-hearth route, but it wasn’t totally working for me. I think I like the Boston Ferns on the back porch instead of on the hearth.

When I saw this beautiful Kimberly Queen Fern at Wally-World for $9.00, I was sold. I love how it’s fronds are all sticky-uppy rather than hangy-downy like the Boston Fern.

And the planter basket adds a nice bit of texture. Yes. I know it looks like a waste basket but it really is a planter. Also from Wally-World. $4.00.

The wooden tray was a Marshalls find from a long time ago. I’ve used it everywhere in my house.

That is all. I promise. No more fern posts this summer. I’m fern-obsessed. Fern-addicted. A fern-aholic.

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I used to think of ferns as old-lady plants…no offense to old-ladies. I love old-ladies. I hope to be one someday.

But no more! I was looking for something different for my hanging baskets this year and I found myself utterly smitten with ferns. They’re so beautiful. And southern. And despite the face that I live in Pennsylvania, I believe I have a southern heart. (How else can you explain the fact that I make KILLER sweet tea?)

So ferns it is. Mine came from Lowe’s, but I’ve seen beautiful ferns at Home Depot, Sam’s Club and Walmart this year. Must be a good year for ferns.

And if you’re tempted to leave your hanging baskets in the plastic pots that they came in, let me give you little tip. DON’T DO IT! The baskets aren’t big enough to let the plants grow properly for the whole season and the hanger parts aren’t long enough.

Much better!

What’s in your baskets this year?

Here’s some more hanging basket ideas:

The World’s Largest Hanging Basket @ UK Telegraph
How to Make a Wild Hanging Basket @ Craftzine
Beth’s Beautiful Front Porch with Baskets @ The Stories of A to Z

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• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

I love a well-decorated outdoor space. As soon as the weather gets warm, my attention heads outside and we spend as much time as possible out there.

We had a beautiful front porch at our old house that I finally decorated when we were trying to sell the house. I could have kicked myself for waiting so long to make the space beautiful.

Hanging curtains on the end of the porch created a cozy nook that felt like a real room. Fabric does wonders even in outdoor spaces.

We don’t have a front porch on our new house (sad face) so I added curtains to our back patio. We had just moved in when I took these pictures. It’s so nice to realize that we have grass and flowers where there was once bare earth. Progress!

This year I’m toying with some ideas for using trellis to create some more privacy on the back porch.

photo: BHG

I’m picturing something sort of like this with a flowering vine growing on it…maybe a Clematis or a Climbing Hydrangea.

As I was browsing around the web looking for inspiration, I came across some other great ideas:

An Outdoor Room: Adding Privacy @ The Design File
Creating a Cozy, Outdoor Space @ Nesting Place
Drop Cloth Drapes for the Patio @ Heather Bullard
Chain Link Fence Curtain Hardware @ BeachBrights

Do you have a porch? Do you decorate it for summer?

Have you seen the big list of giveaway winners that I posted earlier?

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Did you know that fall is a great time to plant new trees and shrubs? Yep! The air may be cooler, but the ground is still nice and warm and that lets all those little roots take hold before it freezes. Then, come spring, your new tree already has a jump start.

The best part is that now is the time when most nurseries and garden centers (like Lowes and Home Depot) put their trees and shrubs on deep discount. The leaves on this tree may be a little crispy, but they’ll be fine come spring.

We snapped up some new trees and bushes for 1/2 off over the weekend.

The downside is that you have to buy ‘em when you see ‘em even if you don’t have the right vehicle. Otherwise someone else may snap up that Japanese Maple Tree that will be perfect for your front yard.

I wish I could say that this was the first time we risked life and limb (hardy har) and drove home with our heads stuck in a tree. My poor boys.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a article on fall planting from HGTV.

And here’s a great how-to on tree planting from DoItYourself.com.

You can still enter your project for DIY Day! If you have a few minutes, go browse through some of the projects. Amazing!

The winners of our giveaway from DiscHangers.com are:
Christi @ Life is Dancing in the Rain
Connie @ Shady Creek Lane
Ellen @ Handmade Recess

Congratulations! Shoot me an email with your address and I’ll get you hooked up with your DiscHangers. And if you didn’t win, remember that you can get free shipping at DiscHangers.com by using code FREESHIP09!

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• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Whew! I loved seeing all of your outdoor projects during our Garden Party! I finally finished making my way around to see everyone and thought I would share a few of my favorites with you all.

JJ of the BLAH BLAH BLAHger, shared her patio makeover on a budget. She used a shower curtain and a tablecloth. Love it!

Beth from The Stories of A to Z has the most beautiful backyard hideaway and hanging baskets. Thanks Beth!

Ashley from Ashley’s Busy made over this dumpster find. I totally would have wrestled her for that bench if I had seen it!

I am digging this portable herb garden from Kelly at Purple Lemon Designs. And look at thos adorable garden markers! She did a tutorial here.

For those of you with vegetable/fruit gardens, I love this idea from Jeanne Winters for sharing the bounty of your garden.

Another great porch makeover from Sugar Mommy.

Mandi Shandi makes beautiful container gardens and did a faboo patio makeover.

Check out how The Rhinestone Contessa uses plates as edgers for her beds! Manuela from The Pleasures of Homemaking did it too!

I wish I could live in Funky Junk Interiors backyard. Just look at it! And the birdhouse garden is cute too!

And when Funky Junk kicks me out, I’m going to live with Nana at In a Garden just so I can see all of her amazing roses.

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• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

It’s time to share your outside projects! I’m so excited to see what everyone has been doing. I’ll get things started.

Do you remember when I showed you how to plant your own hanging baskets?

Here’s what mine look like this year. I did it exactly like I showed you in my “how-to” post only I used yellow Million Bells (miniature petunias) instead of New Guinea Impatiens.

They’re growing like crazy and they look so beautiful on my back porch.

Now it’s your turn! Mr. Linky is ready to go. Link up to the exact post on your blog. Click on the title of the post in your blog to get the permalink up in your address bar. If your link is just to your blog and not the post, I’ll have to delete it. Readers will be clicking on these links for weeks to come and if they can’t find your Garden Party post I’ll get irritated emails. I don’t like getting irritated emails.

Feel free to grab the Garden Party button and use it in your post. Thanks Darcy! And make sure you link back here so your peeps know what’s going on.

Now let’s get this party started!

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• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Who would have thought that the funny, cactus-like plants that my great-grandmother kept in her kitchen windowsill would be trendy? In my never-ending attempt to be stylish and current, (where did I leave my fanny pack anyway?) here’s my take on the succulent trend.

I love their texture and the fact that they thrive under my neglectful care. They’re the perfect houseplant for me.

I found my little beauties at Lowes but if your neighbor has them in their flower beds, ask if you can cut off a few pieces. They’re really easy to grow from cuttings.

How to grow succulents from cuttings

1. Cut off a piece of the succulent plant about 2-3 inches long
2. Let the cutting dry for a few days until a callous forms on the cut end.
3. Plant in loose soil. Roots will grow from the calloused end.

Speaking of beautiful things in jars, (good transition, no?) look at the bit of wonderful that showed up on my doorstep recently. It’s a Quote Jar from Layla at The Lettered Cottage!

It sits on top of a mercury glass candlestick on my kitchen windowsill. The jar is filled with 365 inspirational, change-your-day-kinda-quotes. I love it! Thank you, Layla!

Layla offers Quote Jars and Good Jars directly from her blog.

~~~~~~~~~~

More succulent inspiration:
A succulent wedding (this is gorgeous!): anthimeria
Decorating with succulents: The Nester
Tablescape with succulents: delight by design
Rooftop succulent garden: Apartment Therapy San Fran
Potted succulents: shelterrific

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• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

My favorite greenhouse

It happens every year. Mother’s Day comes around and the urge to start planting and growing stuff becomes irresistible. For the past few years, The Hubster and the kiddos have given me flowers for my hanging baskets as a Mother’s Day present. Then I get to spend a couple of hours playing in the dirt. I love it.

Last year, I wrote about how I plant my baskets because a few of my readers (I think I had 7 at the time) commented that they had no idea how to do it. So here’s a quick run-down on what I do to create the most luscious hanging baskets you’ve ever seen.

The first thing I’m going to say is please, please, please, get your plants out of those plastic hanging baskets that they sell at the store. They’re not big enough to allow the plant to grow for the whole season. Not to mention that the hook parts aren’t long enough so they make the basket hang too high. It just looks silly. Rant over.

Here’s what you need:

1. Metal hanging baskets with those coconut fiber liners – I’ve had my baskets for at least 7 years and I just replace the liners every couple of years.
2. Potting soil
3. Flowers – Evaluate whether the area where they’ll be hanging has full sun, part sun or shade and get plants that work in that setting. Sometimes I buy the premade baskets and sometimes I get individual plants…it just depends on the cost.

First, you want to put a layer of the potting soil in the bottom of the basket with the liner. You just eyeball this. You want enough soil so that the top of the root ball of your flower is just a little below the edge of your liner.

Edit: The only downside of the coconut liners is that they allow the soil to dry out quickly so you have to water frequently. Hayley from The Handmade Housewife just gave me a fantastic tip! She puts the saucer part of a plastic pot in the bottom of the coconut liner before she puts in the dirt. It helps retain moisture so you don’t have to water as often. Brilliant!

Then you take your flowers out of their container and put them the new baskets.

And fill in with more potting soil. You don’t want to cover the soil of the existing plant.

That’s it! Give ‘em a good watering and hang ‘em up!

Through the magic of time-lapse photography, here is the same basket just a few weeks later after using Miracle Grow plant food a few times.

Sigh. Seeing those baskets makes me miss the porch at our old house. Sigh.

~~~~~~~~~~

Need some more inspiration for your green thumb?
Recycle metal cans into hanging baskets: craft stylish
May Day baskets: RootsandWings
Celebrate May Day: Inspiring Ideas
Cupcake baskets YUM!: Skip to my Lou
Recycled May Day baskets: Skip to my Lou
Beautiful window boxes: Our Little Acre
Planting window boxes: Chez La Vie

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• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Say that 5x fast.

I had to look up the spelling for both of those words. I’m still not convinced they’re right.

While all you southern girls are enjoying the first breaths of spring, us northern girls are still dreaming. It’s supposed to snow here on Tuesday. Argh!

So while I dream, I created a bit of spring in my kitchen by growing some grass in my favorite apothecary jars.

This was a great project to do with the kids. Put some potting soil into the bottom of each jar. Then spread a bunch of wheat grass seeds on top of the soil and spritz with water.

You can buy wheat grass seeds at the health food store but I got mine on ebay. Cat grass works too and you can usually find that anywhere that sells packs of seeds. Wheat grass and cat grass are great because they sprout so quickly. Seriously, mine sprouted in less than 24 hours. You could see them growing hour by hour.

Just mist them with water every few days and watch the grass grow. My son says that we need to get a miniature tractor to mow the grass. I’m thinking little scissors will work.

By the way, there are some new pins in my etsy shop in yummy spring colors. Check them out!

Want some more spring inspiration? Check out these posts:
A Living Wreath: My Romantic Home
Use What You Have Centerpiece: Like Merchant Ships
Spring Decorating: Nesting Place
Decoupage Easter Eggs: The Shabby Nest
A Terrarium: Darlene’s Days

You can still enter the giveaway for a set of Monogrammed Eco Chic Bags from Whitney Caroline. Winner announced on Tuesday!

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• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Remember a few weeks ago when I showed you how I repot my hanging baskets for my front porch? Well, a few weeks of water and Miracle Grow and here they are now.

Here’s my little tip for you. Get yourself to the store – Lowes, Walmart, Joanne – wherever they sell the metal hanging planters with the cocoa liners. They make a simple hanging basket look so much more beautiful and striking.

You should be able to find them on major clearance at this time of year. I bought mine 5 years ago on deep discount at the end of the summer. I probably spent $20 on all 4 of them. I’ve since replaced the liners twice. Mine are getting a little rusty so next year I’ll probably paint them. Just had to work that in here!

Doesn’t my front porch look sad and empty now? You can see what it looked like before I started packing it up here.

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• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

I got to go to one of my favorite places in the whole wide world on Saturday to pick out a Mother’s Day present. It was fantastic! Hubby and the kids went with me and I got to wander around for as long as wanted without listening to any complaining…from the man or the kids. This was a major feat by my husband who managed to keep the kids entertained for nearly 2 hours!

And this one…

The room of ferns. My kids were afraid to walk down that aisle. . .

When my four-year old finally did, he looked like a little adventurer whacking his way through the jungle.
Here are the petunias…

Look at the colors in this Regal Geranium.

Last one. I love this row of Bacopa.

Once I get my baskets and pots planted, I’ll share some more pictures.

Do you plant annuals? What kinds do you like to plant?

Thanks to my sponsors!

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• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork