Memorial Day Flowers

Every Memorial Day here in the Midwest you can count on seeing peonies in full bloom. They don't flower for very long but they are one of my favorites. We have a big old plant that was here when we bought our house.  I always make sure to bring some in to enjoy...even if my husband thinks they stink!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I Won...Twice!

Checking the mail has been pretty exciting around here the last couple of days. I won two giveaways a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share my goodies with you.

This festive package is from Tinsel & Company. Tammy has an on-line boutique selling vintage inspired seasonal home decor and gifts. I LOVE everything she sells and I always enjoy reading her blog.

How cute is this all wrapped up?

I can't wait to do something fun with the tinsel sparklers. We are going to be so festive this weekend!

Special gift #2 is from the cinnamon post. Tara has a vintage home that she has beautifully decorated. I always feel inspired when I visit her blog.

Loving the garden sign and t-shirts. It's almost like everything was chosen just for me.

The glasses and napkin holders have my favorite wreath design on them.

Thank you Tammy and Tara!

Potted Hydrangea

I love hydrangeas and every year I admire them...in other people's gardens. I also love hydrangeas in big pots so today I bought one. This is the year for me to give them a try.

The big metal pot is from TJ Maxx, I have seen them at Marshalls too. Mine is from last year but I know they are still around. I drilled a few holes in the bottom for drainage.

So we can enjoy it up close I put it on the deck, also known as the family room. I will save that post for another day.

I'm hoping this will be a good spot for my new friend. The tag said it could be planted in a container...we will see. The best part is I bought it from Lowe's and they have a one year guarantee on all of their perennials. What do I have to lose?  If you have any tips about growing big beautiful hydrangeas, please share.

Chalkboard Tags

I first saw these little chalkboard labels at Pottery Barn Kids. So cute and so easy to make yourself.

This was such a quick and inexpensive project to do.

I found my wooden labels at Hobby Lobby for less than fifty cents each. They had a few different styles to choose from. I drilled two holes and painted them with my well used chalkboard paint.

A little ribbon and you're done!

I'm using these in the playroom but they would be great on any basket around the house.

 Have a wonderful weekend!

Sharing with frugalicious-friday modern-craftswoman

Our Fairy Garden

The fairy garden is finally done! It was so easy to put together once I had everything we needed.  

I found this plaque the other day and couldn't pass it up...it was perfect for our project.

 

If you were reading last week, you will remember the bench planter I found at the flea market. I gave it a paint job using rustoleum spray paint (my first time spray painting) and can not believe how fast and easy it was!

I used a piece of hard plastic with small holes for the bottom of the planter and burlap to hold the dirt in.

I planted the groundcover close together because I didn't want a lot of dirt showing since ours would be used to play in. These plants grow fast, so you could space them out and it will fill in just fine.

Once everything was in place, I gave the burlap a trim to even it out and make a little skirt.

As you can see, the fairy garden is a dinosaur garden right now.

I'm sure that will change from week to week.

We are having so much fun playing together in this magical place....

Here is a list of the plants I used...

Creeping wirevine for the side of the trellis

Veronica reptans Sunshine

Irish Moss

Spicy Orange Thyme

Dwarf Curry

 Succulents for the little urns

And the little flowers are Alyssum

I found a place that sells accessories here and some garden centers have them...have fun!

Sharing with The Magic Onion for their fairy garden contest.
 

I'm participating with the CSI Project.

The Craigslist Garden

Last May the company my husband worked for let more than half the employees go. He was one of the unlucky ones. Even though this was a stressful time for us, we tried to make the best of it and enjoy the time we had together. We ended up having one of the best summers.

One day, my ants in his pants husband decided he wanted to use some of his new free time to cut the beds in the front yard for a bigger garden. Of course I thought he was crazy because our budget was a big zero! If the beds were in place, of course I would want to plant something. It turns out craigslist is a great place to find avid gardeners giving away their extra plants.

This is the way to the front door from the driveway. The previous owners wanted a very low maintenance yard so they used rocks instead of mulch or plants. Imagine rocks on both sides of the sidewalk and how much work it was to remove them.
Our first spring here we planted the Japanese maple tree and the ground cover next to the sidewalk. The river birch you see in the distance was next. Our house and yard has been a work in progress over the years. We have done so much work here and there and finally the front has a real garden.

This picture was taken the other day; it has already filled in quite a bit since last spring.

We inherited the stone border when we bought the house and kept it. It had a very narrow bed that ended just past the front steps. The whole thing was filled with a row of daylily and hosta plants that we removed and used in the back and side yard. The rest of them were sold on craigslist and given away to neighbors.

About eighty five percent of this garden was given to us for free or bought for next to nothing at neighborhood plant sales and craigslist.

We still have some empty spaces that we are just getting to this year. The pink azaleas under the tree were recently bought at Home Depot for ten dollars each.

The exterior of Sixty-Fifth Avenue needs a complete makeover...the plan is to have it done next spring. I'm ready for the outside to match the inside.

Sharing with diy day  the thrifty home

Watering Can Bouquet

Loving these little five dollar watering cans for Mothers Day bouquets. I picked up a couple from Pottery Barn, filled them with grocery store flowers and voila!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Whimsical Herb Garden

While I work on getting our fairy garden together, I thought I would show you my moms fun little herb garden.

Over the weekend we spent way too much time playing around with all the fairy garden accessories at a garden center in Geneva. Look at those little rubber boots and pots, I can't get enough of this stuff!

When she sent me these pictures I set out to find a container to make an herb garden of my own. I love how this turned out! The galvanized buckets were a garage sale find. It could have been mine but I wouldn't trade her for the cool sprinkler I found. I am really regretting that now! 

We wanted a reminder of our weekend together, so we decided to put together a matching potted plant complete with itty bitty clay pots and a shovel. You should have seen us trying to decide on just the right pot and accessories to use. The people working at the store thought we were crazy!

I found an Etsy shop selling some cute miniatures and there are lots of places on the web selling them too. 

Is anyone inspired like me to plant an herb garden this weekend?

Sharing with Funky Junk's pot party

Flea Market & Garage Sale Treasures

My mom and I had the best weekend digging for treasures and spending time together. We are not morning people so we are quite proud of ourselves for getting up on time and heading out early. We had the garage sales mapped out and a plan to get to the flea market by noon when they opened. We stayed on schedule the whole morning and found some great things! Here are some of my finds...

The little bench planter is going to be used to hold the fairy garden and the chair has a desk to go with it. The desk desperately needs to be stripped and painted then it will go in the little ones bedroom someday.

The fun part is the chair legs match the legs on her bed and the applique is very similar to the one I used. My mom had to take the desk home with her because I ran out of room. I bought a rocking wicker loveseat for the front porch that took up most of my trunk. When I find a cushion for it I'll share a picture of my $25.00 find.

Both of our cars were filled with goodies.

Here is a peek of the fairy garden plants and accessories I bought this weekend. The planter is pretty rusty so that needs to be painted too. I can't wait to start putting this together!

And finally, some old jars that I will use as candle holders for outside and an old locker basket. I have always wanted one, now what will I do with it?

Linking to Thrifty Treasures