Fruit from my Garden

  Last year at around this time I was browsing stands and markets for flowers and herbs to dry just longing for a garden.  I missed my flower gardens so much!  There are so many things that play into making a place YOUR home.

Having your loved ones near is the sweetest thing.  My family is truly my home, but I always wanted to make the buildings, that we dwelt in over the years, cozy, peaceful, and warm.  You know, which truly starts with our hearts.  When Mama isn't right in her spirit then it really reflects on our husbands and children. (I put that in there as a good reminder to me.  Sometimes I can get so caught up into the outward, that I am not taking care of the inward.  We all have good and bad days though.)

Anyway this post is to share my excitement about the smell of dried flowers/ herbs

I hung this ladder in our mud room in hopes that I could dry my own flowers/herbs.

I have oregano, dill and lavender drying. 

 I did not get flowers from my English lavender this year *sigh* maybe next year.

The smell is wonderful!

Oh the memories those smells bring. 

 I have had dried flowers in our home since we married 22 years ago.

So thankful!

Gardening with our DYI Cold Boxes

I really miss our gardens!

Moving here,we have to start all over.

One of the things I wanted in my new garden was Cold Boxes.

My son and I gathered all kinds of scrap wood around our house and got started on building our own.  We found three windows on the Facebook Marketplace which is very addicting.

I painted them with some outdoor white paint we had.

We planted some Kale from seed in one and English Lavender in the other.

Here is some squash, dill, and a hanging gourd all from seeds.

So here is the beginning of our new garden.

We have found that too many bunnies live in our yard!

They love my oregano.

Kale is growing and my daughter also is trying to grow some zinnias too!
Hubby also built the stone wall in the background.  A stone wall must have been there years ago, because we found all those stones hiding under the bushes.  Great find for us!

Early Summer Garden Update

They are calling for some severe storms in our area today.  I wanted to take some pics of my veggie garden's progress before any high winds damage it.

All the plants that I transplanted have taken well in their new spots.  

Maybe my thumb is getting greener :)

My son's potted Mint is doing well in the 'Greenhouse'.

As an experiment I planted some red potatoes that had sprouts on them.

I remember planting potatoes with my grandpa when I was younger, and we just threw them into some mounds.  That is what I did, and we have potato plants!  Now I have no clue when to harvest them. 

Any Suggestions???

Here is a pic of the garden a few months ago before my hubby added another small stone wall.

Here it is today with the new wall and some transplanted perennials. 

and here is last year's garden design

Spring 2012

Today 2013

We got some real gusty winds after I took these pics.  I heard the second batch of storms is suppose to be more severe than this one was this morning.

Have a great day :)

DIY Greenhouse Out of Old Windows

At the end of last summer, my neighbor was replacing all of their six-pane windows.   As a good neighbor, I thought I would help take their trash off of their hands.  So embarrassing my kiddos, I walked across the street and asked them what they were going to do with them.  They were just going to throw them out, and they told me to take as many as I wanted.  I think I took nine.  I sold two without glass at my craft sale, and I had these five left over with the glass still in them.

Last fall I saw a greenhouse made out of windows, and I knew that I wanted to make one for my garden.

I used these "L" brackets to attach the side walls together on the top and bottom. 

  

I used my old cabinet hinges to secure the side wall to the roof, and I had bought a set of the rectangle hinges  to form the roof.

Here it is!

I had plenty of hands to help me: my mom and two of my boys.  I know there would have been shattered glass if I did it myself.  Our little greenhouse was tested the night we built it.  Our first thunderstorm brought strong winds and rain.

 But she is still standing with no broken glass.

I think I am the kind of person that has more fun decorating my garden rather than growing something :)  My son is so excited to grow more veggies, and I am more excited to plant "perty" flowers.

Pallet Project #1

At our church's work party my oldest son was put in charge of throwing away some pallets.
My son knew how much I was wanting to try some projects using pallets and saw an opportunity for me to get some trash treasure.
Hubby and I drove in separate cars that night.
He went home first before my treasures were known to him.
Hubby wasn't too thrilled when he was trying to get them out of our van after three men strategically stuffed placed 3 pallets in my van.
At least I could still fit all the kiddos in the van, and we got home safely :)

Today I wanted to make some raised garden beds for my little garden.

The nails were very rusty.

The boards did NOT come off easy.

In fact, I ended up hitting my shin with a hammer twice in the same spot.

What crazy person does that and still insists on completing a project?

ME :)

I had my famous helper getting nails out of the boards.

Guess who?

Yep, my little buddy--always ready to work.

I know I did this all wrong, but I nailed the boards together.  

I probably should have used screws to attach them

It works for me.

We planted some onions and peas in them that a friend gave me.

Today was so lovely.

We have a total of 18 days of school left.

I love this pic of their boots.

The bars remind me of a sort of prison that the kiddos have with school work, yet they want to be outside in the dirt.