DIY Pallet Vertical Container Garden

Using pallets for something other than shipping platforms is fun and easy to do. I see lots of furniture and household items created from pallets. I have a posts on a few items I've created along these lines. This spring I wanted to make something for my garden - that being a pallet vertical garden.

Vertical Container Garden from Old Pallets

I created two planters this year, one which I placed in the shade near some hostas. Nothing tall seemed to want to grow here and I thought a little vertical interest would be a nice add. The second I put against a wall with lots of sunshine and perhaps too hot for other items. The latter was great for succulents :)

The pictures are from the shade pallet container garden - my first attempt. I also note some lessons learned that I incorporated into the second garden.

Here is my supply list:
- Wooden Pallet
- Additional wood (optional depending on the pallet) I used old wood flooring
- Heavy duty garbage bags (large)
- Hammer / Nails
- Staple Gun
- Old Coffee Sacks or Burlap Fabric
- Plastic milk jug or other beverage container
- Scissors or Knife
- Potting Soil
- Plants

Wine Crate Container Garden - DIY up-cycle

Earlier this week I was giving a presentation on container gardening with a focus on Herbs. When I give garden workshops I like to have something live to use as demonstration so I decided to up cycle a wine crate into a container garden. 

Wine Crate Herb Container Garden - DIY

There are a number of how-to websites that simply treat - drill holes - plant. This didn't seem to be quite sufficient for a container that I hoped would last all summer outside. I keep in mind that wine crates are designed for one time use; they are not the best wood out there and are usually not constructed very well. Therefore, I decided to do a few things differently than others propose. My technique includes:

Kitchen Scraps to Garden Treasure - Easy Plant Propagation

Starting plants from leftover scraps

Springtime and fellow gardeners are getting excited about planting seedlings. Seed starting is a key activity. This year I'm excited to be planting food scraps. Yes, there are a number of foods that you can grow from kitchen scraps. That's pretty great. The next best thing to buying local is not buying at all. Is this food recycling? It's nice to always have a home-grown supply of these items on my kitchen window sill or garden.  While it saves a little bit of money - it is also easy and fun! Kids that come over find it amazing.

To facilitate the process I use a plastic container from Costco apples. These little impressions are the perfect place to put the root end of celery, carrots, lettuce. Take a look at how this all works with examples of specific veggies. 

Here's my list herbs and veggies that I've (tried to) regrow from the scraps. Others listed at the bottom can be grown from seeds - but that's another story :)

DIY Upcycled Coffee Bags - Gunny Fashion

DIY Upcycled Coffee Sack Pouf (Footrest)

I have a few friends that are just head-over-heels for burlap. One is doing her whole wedding around this fabric - yes, it's even in her bridal bouquet! Thus, when I came into a large supply of jute coffee sacks, I just had to explore the opportunities to up-cycle, recycle, reuse and repurpose them!

Gunny sacks, Burlap, Jute, all very fun to use for crafts and DIY projects.

Coffee sack burlap/Jute is a great sustainable material. It’s a natural, biodegradable, and strong fabric.  In my garden I use it to layer-in a weed barrier prior to planting in the flower beds or vegetables. I use it for mound gardening and mulch with it too.  I drape some of the old fabric and threads on shrubs for birds to use for nesting. Using the coffee sacks for crafts was a little messy - so I have been cutting it outside. 

The most ambitious project was the creation of the burlap pouf - footrest shown in the photo on the right. I really like the look of the item and custom made to just the right height. This project required precision so that all the pieces matched up and the writing on the coffee bags all faced the same direction :) (BTW that beige chair was rescued from curbside and my neighbor reupholstered it!) 

DIY Holiday Ornaments

Folded Fabric Ornaments

Over the years I have been inspired to create homemade holiday ornaments. My grandmother was exceptional at this creative effort! I think this year it was a combination of things - first I'm feeling nostalgic, next I continue to want my children to have reminder each Holiday, and lastly, I wanted to clean out my craft room :)

Please see below come of the items created! All are fairly easy to make with simple tools such as glue gun, sewing machine, and scissors!

Make Your Own Herb Flavored Oil, Butter & Vinegar

I harvested my first crop of spring chives which is quickly followed by a flurry of kitchen activity making compound butters, flavored oil & vinegar and drying chopped chives.   The compound butter in particular makes a fun gift for foodies, it's easy to make, and comes in handy for quick / delicious meal preparation.  Below I've captured my thoughts on using fresh herbs in this way featuring chive blossom vinegar.

Spring Chive harvest - Using all parts to make Compound
butter and flavored vinegar

Compound or Herbal Butters

A great method for using fresh herbs is to make them into flavored butter. 

I've tried two techniques - 

Alternative Deer Repellents - DIY

I'd previously blogged about the challenges I had been having keeping the Damn Deer out of my garden.  I keep a fence that works very well. However, as I started the woodland restoration that now hugs their trail, my love-hate relationship with this plant predator has continued.

Bad smells keep Deer Away. 

Recently folks have suggested some alternatives to the chemical sprays I have been using. This spring as tulips, hostas, iris, and chokeberry are starting to come out. I'm trying these out - the more potential deterrents the better!  If I can make my precious bits of green plants taste and smell terrible - unless they are starving, the deer should just move on (to my neighbors yard!)  One downside of a treatment that relies on taste (like the pepper spray below) is that the deer must taste the plant to discover they don't really want to eat more.  So there will be some nibbling with this method along. Another reason I like using combos.

Just keep in mind that everything needs reapplication. Make sure to treat the plant completely! Rain and time take away the smell and taste. I do not put these treatments onto food crops by the way. My vegetable garden is safe inside a fence (mostly) - although the bunnies do make a mess. That's another blog. 

Up-cycling DIY Coffee Table - pallets, fence posts and fruit crates parts

Anyway, today I was inspired by this DIY project.

A friend quickly put together the frame of a box from pieces of a fruit crate and pallet. I liked the added detail of putting little handles on the sides. Then cut up a square post to make the legs. Viola - I have a new coffee table.  I brought this home and had to put my little touches on it.

I grabbed the hand sander and went over all the surfaces and edges to make sure that there were not rough edges or potential for slivers.  I also checked to see if it was level - which it wasn't, but a little sanding fixed that right up.  I was about to apply a coat of stain, but was halted by my daughter who liked it just the way it is.

DIY Coffee Table from Pallet & Crates

Pallet and fence-post Up-cycles Coffee Table

Quite rustic - and lovely for the sun room. It matches the end tables which are fruit crates :)  but not so much the Victorian couch. Well eclectic is nice right?

It all works for me!  Give this project a try.

Teresa Marie

Sedum Propagation - Spring check-in

Last fall I blogged about easy ways to propagate sedum perrenials.  This is one of my more populat blogs. I hope you all are having success with the techniques I described.

I'm placing here the results of the direct placement and controlled grown cuttings you see in the prior blog.  Just a few months inside or our in the wintery cold - and the sedums are popping back to life!

Direct Set Sedum Cuttings - after over wintering

The cuttings to the right were simply snipped from the host plant and plunged into the dirt. I did not use rooting hormones or any treatments. Neither did I check on or water these cuttings. Here you can see in early April just a few months later, a) the old stalk which just looks like a stick, and b) the sprouts of new sedum plants are peeking out. Of the handful I propped in this manner, about 60% are growing. That's acceptalbe to me.






Controlled Growth Sedum Cuttings

Here on the left hand side are the cuttings that I placed into small pots and kept inside for the winter. These were placed in a cool room and did not have much sunlight. Further, I pretty much ignore them, watering more in the springtime.  You can see that as in the case with the direct set cuttings above, the original stalk has died away giving it's energy to the new plants which sprout from the roots below dirt. The controlled growth cuttings are a bit larger since they were warmer and more gently treated. If I had placed them in a better environment inside - they would probably be even larger.

Anyway you go - it's a fast and easy way to create more plants for no cost. These go into my guerilla garden this weekend!

Happy Day!

Teresa Marie

Gardening with Vinegar and other household staples

Keeping an eye out for DIY in the garden (love this pic!)

I cam across a fellow bloggers post this morning where she lists out various things to use vinegar for in the garden. (it's down below)This took me right back to working along side my grandmother in her household garden. She had a few staples - Vinegar, Urine, Baking Soda, alcohol, and coffee grounds. Yes - kitchen staples also carry over into the garden. (I know urine isn't a kitchen staple but you know what I mean!)

With these items - used alone, mixed with water, or other household products, she raised so many wonderful plants. As she put it, she didn't have time or money to go "all the way to the Piggly Wiggly" and buy fancy products for the garden. All that way was about 5 miles - a lady of the great depression knew her home remedies.

Uses of these staples include:
- altering the pH of your soil
- Adding nutrients (like fertilizer does)
- Killing weeds
- Killing pests (coffee grounds and ants don't mix; alcohol on aphids is ugly)

Check out this fellow blogger's site for tips with vinegar.

If you are wondering - when we would visit as kids she would have us pee into a watering can and then take us into the garden to "water" her plants. Very fun and funny at the same time.

Keep singing.

Teresa Marie

Tea Tree Oil - Natural Skin Care

Pre-Treatment Facial Moles

Earlier this year I went to a dermatologist for the first time in my life! I wanted to have a few things checked out. I've had a few moles on my face for 20+ years without issue.  Recently however some of these moles were increasing in the size and roughness of texture. Well luckily the Doctor said there was nothing abnormal about them (not skin cancer or anything like that!). He said removal was "cosmetic surgery" that wouldn't be paid for by my insurance. Further he predicted that the moles would continue to get larger as I got older. ARGH! Like most people, I wasn't too excited about the prospect of having 5-6 moles getting larger on the side of my face. So I googled home remedies for mole removal and stumbled across Tea Tree Oil. 

After reading several natural medicine websites and blogs I decided to try the tea tree oil because it was inexpensive, readily available at my grocery store, and folks indicated it was pain-free and did not cause scars or skin irritation. I didn't have anything to lose - and really no other options. It sounded too good to be true (and in some cases it was.)

I purchased a 1 oz bottle of pure tea tree oil. Prices varied from ~$4 - $10/oz.  I used the tea tree oil pure; I did not dilute the oil at all.  It was very easy to apply the oil. 

Pure Tea Tree Oil

• Clean your  face and applied toner and dry off 

• Place the tip of a cotton swab into the tea tree oil (it does not have to be fully saturated, you don't use that much)

• Touch the cotton swab onto the moles / skin tags you wanted to diminish (obliterate!)

• Let the oil dry before applying make-up (better to just avoid make-up if you can)

• Do this twice a day - morning and night; during the week. And 3-4 times during the weekend. 

While I read that the Tea tree oil could impact the moles in just a couple of weeks, it was nearly three weeks before I noticed any differences. At almost 2.5 months now since I started the Tea Tree Oil treatment some great changes. The one ounce bottle has lasted me this long! I am treating 7 different moles and each had a slightly different response to the oil.  In one case the mole just started to get smaller in diameter and height until it now is completely even in height to my skin and seems like a small brown scar. In other cases the top of the mole became dried and peeled away. Each peeling making the mole a tiny bit smaller.  In no cases does my skin "appear normal" yet where the moles were/are - but I am super happy with the results. 

Take a look at the before and after photos above - 1 and 2 months. Its not too clear but I hope you can see the reduced size, height, and color of the moles. In the last picture they look completely gone - but I know they are still there! The treatment was well worth the $10!

Before and After results from Home Remedy Mole Removal with Tea Tree Oil

Skin Irritation from Tea Tree Oil
and Skin Cream Application

Here are a few additional helpful hints that I learned along the way - please note that my skin is very sensitive, so I think I may have had more problems than many people...

• Avoid applying oil to surrounding skin. This skin will dry out faster and peel more than the moles. In one case I ended up with a wound because the skin was so unhappy to have the tea tree oil - however the moles never had that issue.Do not get excess oil into wrinkles - ditto the drying issue above
• Do not cover the treated skin with band aid, cloth, or apply other cream. This made my skin become very red and irritated in a broader area than just by the mole. Especially bad one night when I thought to put on a cream mask treatment after oil and leave them on for 10 minutes. Please don't even think about that. It was not pretty :(
• Alternate with Aloe or Mederma (scar cream) as the moles start to diminish. I scar very easily and this seems to help, or at least makes me feel better!
• This stuff stinks. Not much to do about that.
• As a post-script, for some moles once they were gone - they never came back. Others I have had to periodically treat with tea-tree oil (2-3 times a week.)

Once I saw that the tea tree oil was effective on my skin moles, I jumped into using it for other skin ailments. I used it on acne with great success.  I had no luck with skin tags at all. 

What's your favorite home remedy? 

Have a great day!

Teresa Marie

Home-Made / Custom Perfume Experience

This past weekend my daughter and I used a Living Social deal to go to Aroma Workshop and create our own perfume.  It was a fun experience and we made a great day of it. However, I was disappointed in the lack of  science in the process. I had previously been to a perfumer in London that provided a great education and experience in perfumes.

Aroma Workshop Chicago 3/13

In my London experience the perfumer explained that essential oils (which may be synthetically or naturally derived) form the basis of your perfume. Each essential oils contributes a 'notes' of the perfume. A good perfume composition requires base, middle, top and bridge notes.  These “notes” are essentially three different levels of scent, each with varying rates of evaporation. The top note is the most volatile, it's the scent you notice first.  The base note is the part of the perfume that lasts the longest. The middle note linking the top and base notes together, and set the type of fragrance family for the perfume — earthy, floral, spicy, woodsy, etc.  Because the essential oils evaporate at different rates, perfume smells changes as you wear it. Without the base note your perfume will not last. In the London perfumer they systematically walked you through the process of selecting notes, and then weighting blends of up to 10 oils to create your fragrance. They said the best perfumes had roughly equal top and base note percentages and 50% middle notes.  In addition, this shop was expert in understanding from your current favorite perfume, what might be a great blend to recommend for you.

Homemade Orange Flavored Cooking Oil

This time of year I always get a case of oranges from the store. We need that vitamin C! After exhausting the orange zest for every type of baked goods, and alternating using the rind for chicken recipes - today I thought I'd make flavored cooking oil. Adding a little orange brightness into the oil would add a special something to stir frys and many other dishes - and use up these rinds! Waste not want not.

Dried Orange Rinds

Low Heat Extraction of Orange Oil

I had already dried several days worth of orange rinds. I did not try to remove the whites at all - just rough chopped them a bit and then placed into a pan and popped onto the stove.  I placed roughly 3 cups of light oil in the pan and turned on low heat. I used corn oil - you could use anything. I had thoughts of using some coconut oil - wouldn't that be a fun combination?  

Strained Orange Flavored Oil

After leaving on low heat for a few hours I turned off the heat and let it cool down. Then strained the oil.  You can see the rinds turned brown and or white - perhaps I had the heat a bit too high.

The flavor of the oil does have a nice subtle zip of oranges! I'll call this experiment a success.

Thank you for being a grey, snowy and wet day which sparked my creativity!


I guess I should be singing something by Anita Bryant :)

Teresa Marie

Arts & Crafts at Clarke House Museum

This year I'm getting to know Chicago better - most recently I attended a class and tour at the Clarke House Museum. It was a treat!

The Clarke house is Chicago's oldest house - currently located in the Prairie Avenue Historic District.  It was build in 1836 - this is just one year before the city of Chicago was incorporated. Standing through the Civil War, the Chicago Fire, and so much more. Check out their website here.

The Clarke Museum offers several classes on period handicrafts - I registered to take a class on Band Boxes. I'd never really given them a thought - however, I had seen Martha Stewart make one! So I signed up to learn more about how people lived in this period which I so enjoy.

Chicago's Historic Prairie District

Mansion on Prairie Avenue Chicago

Seed Planting and Starting: That time of year

This morning I purchased seeds for this year. I went mostly flowers because a Master Gardener friend in Wisconsin is growing all vegetables and we are going to split up the plants! So excited about this. It does put some pressure on me be successful.

My prior seed starting efforts included clayless seed bombs (prior post here) as well as some home-made seed starting trays (post here)  This year I will again make up the seed bombs as they worked so well in the guerrilla garden. However, I am adding commercial seed trays because of the volume of seeds I am starting this year.

Potting Station from old Bakers Rack

Here is where the work begins - my seed starting / potting station.  This is an old bakers rack that I sourced off CraigsList for ~$50, then added the wood/plastic tops to create work surfaces. My thought was to have it inside in the wintertime and then outside in the summertime. In reality, it stays inside all the time and I use it all year round.  I love this space and have tried to make it as productive and efficient as possible. It holds potting mix in containers, seeds, small pots, and hanging are bottles of various herbicides. Also holds pre-mixed fertilizer, root hormone, and other chemicals in different storage containers. On the right side you can see the pots with Sedums that I directly placed a few moths ago. They continue to do well and will head out into the garden in a few months.  I'm starting to lay out the seeds for the season as well as to accumulate some of the recycle materials I use as pots. The bottom of milk cartons will work well for the ginger root or cannas. Yogurt containers are just like little pots - just put holes in the bottom.  This is pretty messy now :) but not as much as it will be shortly!!



My selections of seeds for this year and plan for starting them are:

Flowers to start in trays:  I will start these around March 10th (6-8 weeks before last frost) assuming that our last frost will actually be earlier this year (Damn Climate change)

• Echinacea, Warm Summer US7,982,110 - Exceptional 1st -yr flowering cone-flower from seed.
• Coleus, Chocolate Covered Cherry  Non-fading bald pattern for sun and shade.
• Coleus, Giant Leaf Mix - Mix of texture and color
• Asclepias, Butterfly Weed- Prolific bloomer. My white butterfly bush needs friends ;)
• Carnation, Giant Mix - My grandmother used to grow carnations, let's see if I can too!
• Tradescantia, Blue & Gold - Wildflower is easy to grow, I liked the vibrant golden foliage with gentian-blue flowers which will be a good match to the purple ones I already have
• Red Hot Poker - so hope these take, I love the Shock & Awe drama this brings to the garden
• Blue Flax - interesting for the border
• Holly Hock - a deep purple almost black color to mix with the pink ones I have already.
• Wing Begonias - these seeds are 2 years old, they are last priority to start in trays.

Flower Seeds to start in seed bombs:  My seed mix this year will be mostly new Shasta Daisy seeds but I will make two batches mixed with other seeds. One batch will include a few packs of old "Garden Flower Mix Perennials" these seem to be taller flowers of many colors. I will place these carefully in the north-most edge of the guerrilla garden where they will be full sun.  The second batch will be the Shasta Daisy mixed with old "Moss Rose" seeds. These will go to the front edge of the rock garden where Shasta Daisy took from seed bombs a few years ago.  I will make these up and place them in the garden approximately April 15th.

Vegetables to Direct Sow: To be completed approximately May 1st - once I get the vegetable garden roto-tilled and plan made (that's next on my list!) Might add some more veggie seeds/plants depending on what my girlfriend has for me.

• Chinese Cabbage, Pak Choi, Toy Choi Hybid; it grows fast so I will make several staggered plantings to enjoy over a longer period of time.
• On the Deck Sweet Corn - this is going to be the architectural element in my large containers this year!

While on gardening sites, I found this little piece of technology that I just "had to have" - the Suncalc sunlight calculator.  While I roughly know the amount of sun each side of my garden gets, it will be interesting to measure it throughout the season and within a few feet across the garden. I have many trees and sometime just a few inches makes a great deal of different in whether a plant thrives or dies. 

This morning I'm singing "Come Rain or Come Shine" by Barbra :)

Teresa Marie

Recycled Cast Paper Ornaments or Cards (or seed bomb)

Molds and Cast Paper Results

When I go to craft fairs or high end paper shops, I am drawn to the hand cast paper items. To me it evokes the Victorian age which I so enjoy. Hence, over time I've developed my own technique to create home-made cast paper ornaments or cards from 100% recycled materials - in a fast and easy way! The batch that I have shown here I am using for Valentine Cards and hang-tags on teacher gifts.

One thing I enjoy doing is marrying my crafty side with my gardening side. I do this by adding seeds into the cast paper items and encourage recipients to plant them! The cast paper tags become seed bombs. When using seeds, be be careful to not leave the casting wet too long to keep the seeds from germinating. Also don't heat it up too much to dry it to avoid reducing the seed viability. Here's my prior blog on seed bombs BTW.

Take a look at this approach and let me know of any tips for enhancing the process or the outcome! I've included lots of pictures to help see how this works.




Recycle Materials Needed:

• Old papers from the recycle (newsprint, white paper, junk mail, etc.) Note that the color of the cast paper will be drawn from what goes in - so if you want white, put in WHITE. My ornaments almost always come out shades of grey or blue because I am indifferent at this point.
• Dryer Lint - yup, no need  to buy cotton linter. Been there done that - and the felt from the dryer works just fine for me. (If you want really permanent decorative pieces you might want to consider purchasing, because lint will be multi-colored and textured which may not be suitable for your needs)
• Water - lots of it :)
• Optional: Spent Tea leaves or coffee grounds (provide antique look when using 100% white paper)



Raw Materials for Recycled Cast Paper Ornaments,
Gift Tags or Seed Bombs

• Optional: Last years or left over seeds! Keep it to very small ones like poppy seeds.Or if larger hand place them in the mold (See the directions below)

Utensils / Tools Needed:

• Blender (a strong one!)
• Strainer
• Cookie or candy mold (I like use Brown Bag Cookie Art by Hill Design) Those with deeper impressions will work somewhat better
• PAM spray
• Sponge and/or towels
• Other: Rolling Pin, drying rack, oven, microwave

OK here is my tried and true process!
Steps to Make the Casting:
1. Rip up the paper into small pieces
2. Fill the blender with water - about half full. You need lots of water to get you slurry moving. All the paper needs to absorb water and float.
3. Add the paper in batches and blend until at least oatmeal like consistency. Be careful not to add too much paper at once because the blades will jam.

Pulp and hands on water removal.

4. Empty the contents of the blender into a sieve and squeeze out as much water as possible. See in my picture above my batch looks really disgusting - both in color and texture.

5. Spray the cookie mold with Pam - very generously. 

6. If you are adding seeds, mix them into the pulp at this step if they are small seeds.

7. Take a handful at a time and firmly press into the cookie mold. Continue the process until the mold is filled edge to edge and slightly over the top. Over-mounding is fine. I find that the thicker you make the pulp - the stronger the pressed result. I never go over the top edge of the mold, and I never go much thinner than 3/4 full.

8. Take your sponge or towel and press the wet pulp in order to continue to remove water. You will  need to wring out frequently.

9. I like to take the last step a rolling pin to make sure that the surface is as flat as possible. 

Press into mold firmly, and flip onto cookie sheet

10. If you are using larger seeds, you can press them into the surface at this point and then roll again to keep a flat surface. Do not leave the seeds on the top too much, they may have issues in the oven or microwave.

11. Next - FLIP your wet casting onto a Pam'd cookie sheet (or plate). Yup, don't wait for them to dry in the mold. They can be extremely difficult to come out when fully dried (because I don't buy specific release agents perhaps.) Plus when I start this project I like to make ornaments in volume which is not possible if you only have one mold working at a time. If you have removed the water, this should be easy. With the mold resting upside down, gently start with one edge and slowly lift until the paper releases itself. Do not pry or pull the wet pulp/casting out of the mold. If it comes apart you can try to push it back together on the tray - or just add a bit of water and start from step 6 again. 

12. Now the pulp needs to dry fully. There are several options.  I tend to oven dry and then microwave (I tend to be a bit impatient to get the first one done to start coloring.) OK you can dry by:

• Air dry - will be at least overnight if not several days. Care needs to be taken that the casting does not also mold, or if you have added seeds that they do not germinate. When they are dry enough to handle, move them to a wire rack so that there is airflow on both sides. 
• Oven Dry - pop the cookie sheet into an oven at about 125-150F (51-65), you can go as high as 225F (107C) but may get some discoloration.   Keep an eye of these as the edges will dry first and may burn. It will take several hours - but that depends on how much water you took out in the steps above. When you can handle them, I like to put the wire rack under them to improve airflow while in the oven. 
• Microwave - I zap a plate with one card on it for a few minutes at a time. When possible to handle, flip over. 

In the picture at the right you can see the varying shades and drying process. I will keep pulping and molding until I run out of counter space and/or oven space. If the ornaments are not completely dry - they will curl over time. So take care with this step.

To finish off your masterpiece you may choose to paint them or spray them with a varnish or other finish.  I usually put down one coat of varnish and then use Sharpie markers to complete and coloring. The paper can be very porous so paint colors might come out a bit strange. Kids can have lots of fun with the decorating process (they also love the mushing out the water part!)  You can embellish with sequins, glitter, and more. 

If you are making an ornament or gift tag, a hole can be made by punching through an ice pick, using a leather punch, or even a Phillips Head screw driver. Make the hole well into the thicker part of the design. Also When you tie the ribbon/cord (or here Raffia), knot it directly above the ornament and then make the loop beyond that. This way the swinging or rubbing of the cord is against itself rather than against the fragile paper edge.

With smaller castings, they can be placed onto card stock and used to make interesting greeting cards. You could also place them onto fabrics and then into an old frame for Victorian-esk artwork.

Happy Crafting;

Teresa Marie

Clever Idea - Container Water Retention system on the cheap

Folks - Check out this blog post on the use of diapers (yup, diapers) as water retention additives to containers.  I have often looked at purchasing these polymer additives in the store. It can range from $13 - $49/pound! You know diapers are maybe $1 each.

The question though is what do you do with the diapers afterwards - I guess it's just garbage. Maybe too many of them in the landfill already...

Anyway, thought it was Cool! It appeals to the frugal gardener in me!

http://www.ladybirdln.com/2011/05/my-dirty-secret-revealed.html


Today I noticed garlic and other spring perennials going crazy in my garden. Darn Climate Change! It does feel like Spring in Chicago. I'm reviewing seed catalogs and starting a landscaping class on Saturday! So excited to get a long range plan going.

Sign along!

Teresa

Garden Whimsy - Joy of the unexpected

I enjoy putting a little surprise into my garden through the use of unexpected items. 
Each of the items shown below were secured for free or at very low cost from garage sales, craigslist of freecycle. 

Here are a few examples.

I have a few of these "plastic" gargoyles.  They move around the garden and hide in different spots. They neighbor kids have fun trying to find them!

Gargoyle in the West Garden

Antique Bed Frame as architectural element

The antique bed frame looks really great in the winter when the foliage has fallen.  Last summer it looked much better when the plant in front of it was smaller too!  Nonetheless, it's an unexpected element in the garden. It helps add some interest to all the green, and break up the vertical element of the evergreens behind it.


Old Bronze pump / fountain

This bronze fountain I literally picked up from the side of the road. I first noticed the shine, then the little faucet.  It was in three pieces - but I thought there was some use for it.  After trying to convince my helpers to reassemble it and make it a functional fountain, we agreed that more standing water in the yard was not a good thing. So we just assembled it and put it into the garden.  Here tucked up in the shade, it adds a little visual interest. 

Wire Sculpture

This last picture is of a wire sculpture. We have had several discussions on what exactly this is supposed to be used for.  Options range from plant stand, ivy form, to just plain art.  I have these in the hosta bed on my porch. I was able to pick up two at a garage sale for only $15.  They flank the bay window nicely and add structure and visual interest. 

Gardens - not just for plants :) It's a canvas to your creativity.

Teresa Marie

Easy Fruit Fly Trap

I'm starting to harvest from my vegetable garden and that always means fruit flies in the house.  A few years ago we stumbled across this simple trap.

All you need is:
- A glass or vase
- A piece of paper (8x11 or larger)
- Tape (any kind)
- A piece of fruit or vegetable peels

Simple Paper cone with hole at the bottom

Here are the instructions:
1) Put the fruit or vegetable into the bottom of the glass
2) Roll the paper into a cone shape so that it fits easily into the glass, flush with all sides, while still keeping a hole at the smallest end of the cone (see picture below)
3) Tape the side of the paper cone so it holds it's shape
4) Place the cone in the glass.
5) Sit back and relax while the trap catches the flies
6) Empty the trap and change the fruit out periodically.




The flies go into the glass to get at the fruit and cannot get out!!! For the most success you must minimize other distractions for the fruit flies - clean kitchen, no fruit or vegetable waste available.

Every day, and sometimes a few times a day, I release the fruit flies outside.  I also periodically replace the fruit at the bottom. The older the fruit gets, the more aroma it puts out that attracts the fruit flies.  But I also worry that as the flies might be laying eggs in the fruit - I could be generating them as well. So I like to change it out!



Completed Fruit Fly Catcher

Success - lot of trapped flies :)

I have a bumper crop of cucumbers - anyone have recipes?

Happy Day!

Teresa Marie

Easy Composting Bin from Garbage Can

It's something I've been doing my whole life. My Grandfather got me involved.  My mother and father were fans. Now it's just part of life - yup, that save the earth trend of composting.

We have always taken all grass clippings, leaves, and plant food scraps and put them into compost in our yard. Then each spring and fall it gets rototilled into the vegetable garden, and that soil also gets dispersed around the yard.  Over the years it's really helped improve the soil (and the crops!)  in addition to reducing the amount of trash.  Then, our village recently increased their attention to our "compost pile" and despite the best intentions, some neighbors were complaining that it was unsightly.  So rather than pay for yard waste bags and stickers, we sought a creative and frugal outlet. 

We already had one container and had previously tried a tumbler without success.  I never did tumble the materials - so that was not a good investment.  Some of the containers are so fancy and expensive.   I readily admit that I am not savvy in the ways of composting.  I just put stuff in, it rots, I use it ;)  My dad had a compost container made out of wire stretched around large cement blocks.  He never turned it or minded it much at all, and that worked just fine. I know that I'm not doing this the best way - but it gets the job done, and we don't have to get fancy.  Looking around for raw materials - we immediately thought of two large garbage container that the village had deemed too large for use.  Eureka - we made our own compost bins from recycled garbage cans!

Making Holes for Air Flow - July 2011

 One thing to keep in mind is that as the plant matter starts to decay it will generate heat and moisture.  Here you can see we are putting holes in the bottom of the container to allow moisture to drain out.  I think there is probably a balance between wanting it to drain and not to dry out.  I'll have to see how that goes.

Finished Garbage Can Compost Bin

This is the final garbage can compost bin - we ended up putting about 100 holes around all side and on the bottom.  I like that this container is on wheels, which will help us get the compost to the garden.  We also considered just cutting the bottom off the garbage can all together. I think if we do fill this up with compost it might be too darn heavy to tip over. We can always make that adjustment next year if we need to do so. 

Store bought Bin, and new re-purposed bin ready for duty.

We hid the second container on the side of our yard and will use that one exclusively for grass cuttings and other yard waste. It is tucked up behind some honeysuckle and big hostas, so I'm hoping that our neighbors of the city don't mind too much.

Today I'm singing something trashy! LOL

Any advice let me know!

Teresa Marie