Gardens Under Glass A Craft Project

The winter weather and post holiday blues may be creeping in on you, so here’s a fun way to bring some life to a blue day.

What You Need
A glass container with a large mouth and a base with a deep enough bottom to hold soil and rocks (apothecary and bell jars work great)

Plants

Potting soil (African violet mix works well)

Horticulture charcoal (available in the houseplant and garden section)

Pebbles (3/8 inch is a nice size)

Anything you’d like to add to give your terrarium some personality ( this is optional you can just use plants if you prefer)

Lets make It! Choose your plants. Any green plants will thrive. Other favorites include members of the Peperomia family, pileas, miniature fern, coleus, cuban oregano, penta, tradea scentia, miniature mums. Even collector plants like African violets, orchids or small begonias are great!

Place one to two inches of pebbles in the base of your container, add a small handful of charcoal ( wearing gloves helps to keep you and things clean)and mix them in with the pebbles. Level off the layer. Spread a layer of 2 to 3 inches of soil and gently pat it down. Dig a small hole in the soil, tuck in your plant and pat down the soil around it. Make sure no roots are exposed. Repeat this process for each plant. Don’t crowd to many plants in one terrarium, and make sure you have room for any additional decorations you may want to add.
Lightly water the plants and put a lid on your garden. DO NOT place it in direct sunlight. Rotate the terrarium occasionally to make sure all of the plants get light. Condensation means your garden under glass is doing well. Every couple of weeks take the lid off of your terrarium for a few hours.

* If you do not see any condensation add a spritz of water.

That’s it. Taa daa, winter blues just met a bit of early springtime.

Click Here for another post holiday pick me up

Wordless Wednesday #2 Late Bloomers

Abundance

Summer is slowly coming to an end and the temperatures will hopefully be cooling down soon. We have been enjoying the abundance of fresh vegetables from our garden and strawberries too. There is nothing tastier than biting into a fresh tomato warmed by the sun. Our zucchini, green beans, scallions and brightly colored bell peppers fill our plates every day.
It is my prayer for you that each of you will always have a full plate of good things to eat.

#1 Burpless Cucumber, Hybrid Cucumber, Zucchini Bell Peppers
#2 Tomato, Purple Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper,
#3 Green Beans
#4 Lemon Cucumber in my husband’s hand
#5 Armenian Cucumber

Wordless Wednesday My Summer Transportation

Vegetable Rainbow ( repost)

There’s a rainbow of color in your vegetable aisle! Have you noticed that bright white cauliflower now has a purple friend? Or that green peppers aren’t always green? I don’t mean yellow, or red, I mean purple!

Purple, my favorite color! Is making its way onto the produce shelves. Thanks to hybrid farming your dinner plate can look like a rainbow. Now, I don’t mind trying something different so purple cauliflower may be the next new thing on our dinner table.

Our vegetable garden has been thriving this season. We are currently overwhelmed with fresh tomatoes. No complaints, we love them even if they are just a beautiful red color. I wonder if someone will develop purple tomatoes! That would be perfectly fine with me. I’ll plant them alongside the red ones.

Our green peppers are green and that’s just fine too. But next year, I think we’ll try purple ones and maybe purple carrots too. Maybe our grandchildren will eat more vegetables if they resemble candy.
Don’t forget to stop by your local farmer’s market and help support your local farms.

Wordless Wednesday Cute No Flower Garden

Kitchen Beans

I love fresh vegetables and my husband and I both enjoy our vegetable garden. Every year we plant yummy veggies and strawberries too. This year the weather here (it was still snowing here on Friday) kept us from putting our starters in the ground.

I started plants in a little hothouse in our kitchen window. This year we are excited about adding green beans to our garden. Yes, we get excited about green beans…sigh. They grew well along with all of our other plants, and they were ready to go in the ground. But, the ground wasn’t ready.

I transplanted my starters into pots and soon, I had wonderful jungle of green in our kitchen window. Take a look at these green beans! So the next time you pick up some kitchen cut green beans from your market, remember they actually grow in the kitchen! Who knew, giggle.

Wordless Wednesday Bright Blooms

Wordless Wednesday Bright Blooms

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung and I couldn’t be happier. The crocus and tulips are peeking through the winter ground each one stretching to find the warmth of the sun. My window sill green house is sprouting peas ready for the first vegetable planting. My knees and back await the ache that follows a day of digging in the dirt. My smile grows with anticipation of a garden filled with a rainbow of colors. Of bees buzzing from flower to flower and happily pollinating our vegetable garden. I wait patiently for my hands to be covered with new turned soil. My senses are heightened with each birds song my joy is abundant now that Spring has sprung!!

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Writer's Block

I have been having a bit of writers block lately. Not just for my blog but for my new book as well. I thought I would share some of my photos with you instead.
Please stop by photo gallery if you get a chance.

My daughter has some beautiful roses growing in her garden.


The Iris is one of my favorite flowers. This one was growing in our garden


I've been making some things for my shops. Can anyone read my palms?

What does my future hold?


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Recession Garden

I think nothing taste better than biting into a fresh, juicy, sun warmed ,tomato picked right off of the vine. The juice and seeds run down my chin and I do a little dance maneuver to avoid having it all pool onto the front of my shirt. It tastes even better when the vine is in my own yard.
One of my favorite things (gardening) has become a necessity for many as a direct result of our current economy. The term “recession garden” has sprouted and is growing across the US. People are planting gardens in pots on balconies, amongst their flower beds, and along their fences. Even those with very limited space have vegetables growing upside down from pots hanging on hooks.
Lines to buy dirt, seeds, and seedlings are long and optimism is high as people plant vegetable and fruit gardens wherever possible. Many are planting gardens for the very first time. No, you do not need to have a green thumb to plant a garden. Mine is partially green and partially brown. But, what you do need is a little bit of money, plenty of patience, good soil, sunlight and water.
Growing organic is easy when it’s your own garden, and no need to worry about salmonella when you’re the one who planted the seeds. It is hard work and can bring on back aches and blisters. But, the end result is both frugal and delicious.
I encourage you to dig in, get dirt under your nails, and share your harvest this season.

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