Back in the Garden Again!

How is it that time goes by so fast?  Is it really the weekend already?  Well, I am still out in the garden and I'm so glad I've been posting about it because I've been getting some really good advice and feedback!

I started to write that this week I picked up a clematis, but after re-reading it, I didn't want anyone to think I'd gotten some kind of virus...so, to clarify, a clematis is a lovely, climbing plant with beautiful flowers (that Costco had on sale).  :)  Although the plant is sold with a little trellis attached to the pot,  I definitely needed a larger one for it as it grows.    You can buy your basic, inexpensive trellis for about $20 at Home Depot or the like, but I would prefer mine for free.  Time for some in-home shopping..

I have a section in my basement storage room where I toss things that will eventually go on Craigslist or be sent to Goodwill.  This CD rack was in that area and, heck, it looks like a trellis to me.

I'm not even going to paint it (gasp!) because I think it will be completely covered with the greenery by the end of the summer!

I went into my garden shed and pulled out all of the small old pots that I've had for years; painted, half-painted, styrofoam cut outs glued on for my son's craft project - no matter.  I want it to look worn.  To keep them from falling off of the shelves, I decided to wire them on.

First I looked for something that would serve as a stopper in the bottom of the pot.  Oddly enough, I seem to have plenty of wine corks lying around...ahem.  Anyway, I poked two holes in the cork and threaded some wire through it, then put it in the bottom of the pot with the wires through the hole so I could tie them onto the CD rack. 

threading the corks with wire



the cork in the bottom of the pot with the wire coming through the drainage hole in the bottom so I can fasten it to the CD rack.

I picked up some annuals at Home Depot and also potted some of the Hens and Chicks that are overflowing my birdbath amongst my irises.  I tied them onto the shelves and then tied some dried mushrooms I've had since the '80's that I used for dried arrangements on the shelves as well (again..never throw things away!).



My friend Kim may remember this pot - I painted it for her baby shower as a hostess gift with the baby's name painted on the back. I had a little baby laying in it consisting of a bulb for his head, a piece of fabric for a blanket and a packet of baby's breath seeds as the headboard.  So cute!  That baby is in middle school now..sigh!

 Now to plant the clematic at the base.  No easy task to get it sorted out from the trellis attached to the pot.  I wound up cutting it all off so not to break the plant apart too much. 

It is a wet, dreary day in Virginia today so I know that these photos are awful.  I'll take some more when the weather clears - although I admit that I've been hoping for rain to help along my bulbs I also planted this week.  I'm going to spare you the photos of the naked mulch since they haven't come up yet.

In other news, I also added my other planter to the fence near the bench.  It's a little in shock, but I think will do just fine.

There are some exciting things happening inside the house as well.  First, we FINALLY replaced the lunar landing, builders grade light above my kitchen table!  With the new, ugly lightbulbs we've all been having to use these days, I couldn't be happier to see it go!  Bonus, I don't get tan every time we eat at the table!

Ground control to Major Tom....(did you see that video this week??  Awesome!)  If you are my true friends, you will not mention the caked on dust on this light - my only excuse is that I didn't see it for the glare of the sun coming from the bulbs!

One awful photo after another!  This is nickel with a white shade.  I love it and my family is much better looking eating dinner under this diffused light now! 

I will end this post with a photo of our little visitor this week.  Poor little bird found his way into our sunroom and looked outside at my garden the same way I do every morning when I have my coffee in there - "I'd rather be outside than in here!"  We got him out safely, thankfully, but after posting the incident on my facebook page, a friend responded that a similar situation happened to him and the little bird kept coming back to look at him through the window.  Not sure I'd recognize this little guy if he came back again, but I kind of like the thought that he just might!  Have a great week everyone!