When people have shade in their yard, they either don’t realize that shade is less than 4 hours of sun, or they’re bummed. Consider it a blessing. When it’s mid summer and 90-something degrees, you’ll be lounging and happy. There are so many great ways to add color and unique foliage to a shade container. [...]
As the weather warms, I dream of being outside all the time. With a full sun yard, it’s a struggle to make a comfortable shaded seating area. This trellis and bench project from The Family Handyman offers hope. With a cost range $500 or below and “simple” rating, it looks like something I can tackle.
Oh my are the chickens everywhere in East Austin! I would wake up in the morning to their chuckles. It seems Austin has embraced the backyard chicken and celebrates it with the Funky Chicken Coop Tour in early April. The benefits of chickens: great addition to your garden ecosystem local protein no need to worry [...]
Christmas is just around the corner. Besides your tree and wreaths, you can add a little nature in your holiday spirit with bark, pine cones, and ornaments made of natural fibers.
These are so beautiful, I had to share. With instructions from Ordinary Life Magic, add these ice lanterns to your holiday decor! Collect bits of nature, freeze them in a container, add a smaller container to make the candle’s spot, and keep in the the cold out of doors. Would be a nice substitution for [...]
After clearing out much of my garden this weekend, I decided to get creative with the seed packet making.I had some old construction paper and stamps….voila….personalized singing dog and cat seed packets. Perfect for snapdragon, cosmos, globe amaranth, and zinnia seed!
I always use random pieces of paper to keep my collected seeds, but Heavy Petal, a Vancouver garden site (lucky them in zone 8), has given us gardeners a template. What an adorable nasturtium design! And…just in time!
This weekend, we made a formal spot for our fire pit. Here is what our plan was an what we should have done to keep it a little less muddy. Decide on dimensions and buy materials appropriately. Planning out is good and will make your day easier. We thought a square would be nice to [...]
It’s the time of year that’s perfect to sit by a nighttime fire. Fire pits can be as simple as buying a metal dish, or a little more work and making a permanent place in your garden. Being a distance of 25 feet from any house, garage, or deck is optimal, but living in the [...]
With Autumn blowing in it’s cooler temperatures, it’s a great time to jot down some notes from this year’s garden. Things to note: Where you planted your vegetables. Plant rotation is key to a healthy garden and keeping disease under control. Different plants take different nutrients from the soil. Allow three years between plantings in [...]