Category Archives: Flowers and Garden

Winter Blossoms

Crafts, Flowers and Garden, For the Home, Valentines, , , ,

We have had a very mild winter here in Utah with hardly any snow.  We have had unseasonably warm weather and it seems like it should be spring, not the dead of winter!  But all good things must come to an end and the forecast for the next week is snow and rain almost every day, with winter storm warnings.  Ugh!  I got way too spoiled with the good weather and do not look forward to the cold so I decided to bring some of that spring time feeling into my kitchen.

This arrangement sits right behind my kitchen sink and I love how much it brightens up that corner!  Every time I walk into my kitchen this is the focal point.

My next door neighbor and great friend, Susan, works at a greenhouse and she lets me know what is blooming and when to plant different plants and how to fertilize etc, etc, etc. I really do not have the best green thumb but with her help I am learning a lot about different plants and how to take care of a lot of different flowers.

She told me about this pink plant and that it was in bloom right now, so I went down to see her at work and I got this “cyclamen” flower.  Isn’t it beautiful?  The blooms do not last for very long so I will have to enjoy it while they do.  There are several new buds coming so I should be able to enjoy it for a little while.

I also saw this fun heart topiary and thought how cute they would look together for Valentines Day! 

I tied a couple of ribbons into bows and made a vinyl with “Hugs & Kisses” to put on a tile to finish off this little winter arrangement.

I love the sunlight of the morning coming through my south window in this picture, it really does make me happy!  Now I just need to look at this picture during the coming week when all the snow storms are here (Ugh) and remember that spring can be here in my kitchen!

What do  you do to chase away the winter blues?

Pumpkin planter aka “Mumkin”

Crafts, Fall, Flowers and Garden, , , , ,

I saw this darling idea on Pinterest and just had to make it. I think they called it a “Mumkin!”All you do is hollow out a pumpkin.  Make the hole in the top big enough to put your pot of flowers in.  After I cleaned out all the guts, (which, by the way, you will want to clean and save all of those seeds, because I have a yummy recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds coming tomorrow!) I filled up my pumpkin with water and added a litle bit of bleach to it.  I let the water run over the edges and down the outside of the pumpkin.  This helps the pumpkin not rot as fast.  Empty the bleach water and let the pumpkin dry out for awhile.  Add your potted plant and a cute bow and waala, you’ve got a darling “Mumkin!”Make sure that you take the pot out of the pumpkin to water it and let it drain good before putting it back in.  I am also going to spray bleach/water to the inside of the pumpkin when I take the pot out to water.  I have heard that your pumpin should last about 2 weeks by doing this.  Then when my pumpkin has finally wilted too much, I will just hollow out a new pumpkin to put my pot in!Add some pretty gourds around it and you have a fun fall arrangement!

Pinterest is a virtual board where you can pin any of your favorite finds on the internet.  If any of you would like to view my boards, you can do it by clicking on the link on the right side of this blog.  If you would like an invite to Pinterest, let me know, but be warned, it is very addictive! :)

Happy fall y’all!

Fall Flowers

Fall, Flowers and Garden, , , , ,

I worked all morning in my yard, I was weeding and pruning some of the perennials. The flowers this fall have been absolutely beautiful!  I do not have the heart to pull some of them out!

These marigolds were planted from seeds that I gathered last summer, I could not believe how well they grew.  I just kind of threw the seed into the soil and started watering them and I think that they are some of my prettiest ones yet.

This is one of my planters on the front porch.  I need to pull them out so that I can put all my Halloween decor out.  I told myself that I had to wait until Oct, so next week my  planters will be history!These are some of the perennials in my yard.  I love the fall blooms.Beautiful!While I was out weeding and pruning, I came across this one lone Shasta Daisy.  I could not cut it down so I took a picture instead!My pink bush by the waterfall.Trumpet plantThese are actually in my neighbor’s yard, but they are on the fence line.  These morning glory are so big and beautiful.  I took this picture in the middle of the day and I was going to go back this evening to retake the picture and the blooms had closed up.  I did not know that the blooms only last for one day.  They are like the moon roses that my daughter in law has at her house.  They are very beautiful but only for  one day.  Thank goodness there are lots of new buds!These are Concord grapes that I have in my garden and even though they are not flowers, I think that they look beautiful.  However, I feel like the birds are going to win the battle with these beauties because I have to wait for the first frost before I can pick them and it has been so warm here with no frost in sight in the near future that I fear the birds are going to have a feast!  Oh well I guess it will have to be my contribution to nature!

I have been working on several printables for Oct including the new VT message and a couple of games.  So check back soon for these!