More Plant Love

Just a few quick photos today of one of my favorite summertime activities, plant shopping! There is something very therapeutic about being around nature. I always have a calm feeling when I can spend some quiet time outside. Lately I have been really wanting to bring that feeling inside by adding more indoor plants to our apartment, but the task has proved rather tricky for a number of reasons. We have a very mischievous cat who is likely to try to play with just about anything, & we have only a sad two windows in our apartment. Succulents and cacti just aren't practical for my feisty kitty and I just seem to kill everything else. I also don't want to bring any toxic plants into my home either. It can be tricky plant shopping. So far I'm having to be super selective and careful with what I purchase so if you have any recommendations I'd love to hear!

-Reagan

Succulent Love

I couldn't help but take a few pictures the last time I went plant shopping. I love cacti and succulents because they're so pretty to look at, are actually pretty inexpensive, and are easy to take care of. I didn't end up getting any new succulents or cacti on this trip, because some indoor plants distracted me, but I love to check them out regardless. I have never really had any indoor plants before, but I'm excited to have more greenery inside now. If you have any indoor plant recommendations definitely let me know.

Have you planted a spring garden this year?

-Reagan

Patio Gardening Again

With spring finally here it seemed appropriate that we begin shopping for new plants for our patio garden again. We decided to shop mostly for herbs, cacti, and succulents. This year we feel like we definitely know what we're doing a little bit better, and also know what works for us and what doesn't. We ended up getting some sweet basil, lemon thyme, some lavender, two different succulents, and a few cucumber plants. I'm pretty happy with our garden right now because I wanted to focus mostly on herbs. I think we still need some rosemary and mint next but I'm super excited to be gardening again, it's one of my favorite things about spring. We try to spend as much time as we can on our patio or with the windows and patio door open to enjoy the beautiful weather when we can and I'm loving every bit of it. 

 -Reagan

Last Days of Autumn

 

 One of my most favorite things about autumn is the leaves changing into firey hues. They didn't even begin changing around here until late November. I've always thought of December as the beginning of winter so it seems strange to be seeing these beautiful colors still peppering the trees. Many have begun to shed their leaves so I decided to capture a few last photos of autumn before all the trees are bare. I definitely feel like I got to see so much more fall colors this year. It was pretty wonderful! This whole fall was actually pretty great, and it flew by. I know that I should expect the same from winter. Time to switch gears in to all things winter and Christmas. Goodbye fall.

-Reagan

around here...

We've been adding a few more plants to our patio garden. I love succulents and have had a few in the past. They're pretty easy to take care of, and they have very unique shapes and colors and so many different varieties. We purchased ours from the local home depot, but you can find the easily at your local nursery or even walmart. We also added in a little cactus, cause why not? Although these two snapshots are before we potted them, they are currently in a container all together (I'll be sure to share a photo of the final result soon!). The whole process of having a garden has been very exciting, and it's very easy to become obsessed. We love the succulents and cactus and are very excited to add more ornamental plants to our garden and a few inside as well. Do you have any succulents or cacti in your garden? -Reagan

5 Things: Clever Patio Garden Solutions

If you live in an apartment and enjoy gardening you've probably become familiar with container gardening. There are only a few easy options for those of us without a backyard. There are regular pots, hanging baskets, and planters. Again, if you're familiar with container gardening then you also probably know that pottery is freaking expensive, and the larger the pot you need, the larger the price tag. I don't know about you but I'd much rather spend my extra money on pretty succulents or an heirloom tomato plant than dropping it all on a one pot. I have a natural inclination to look at something and try to think of a way to make it myself if at all possible. If I'm short on ideas I check out my favorite blogs and of course I check out pinterest. I love utilizing pinterest when brainstorming because there's so many creative DIY's all in one spot. The challenge is always to put your own spin on things.

Here are a few of my favorite container gardening solutions I found on Pinterest.

The Inspired Room brings you this idea for tea cup gardening. I love this because it combines two things I love. Thrifted Vintage teacups and gardening. Need I say more?

(1st photo: Remodelista, 2nd photo: found via pinterest)

This container garden solution would be both cheap and easy. Plus you can paint any design or colors to really customize this to your own personal style!

LuisaBrimble shares another inexpensive alternative to pottery.

PopSugar shows how an old soda (or wine) crate can make a nifty planter box.

Another favorite idea I've seen all over pinterest and the blogging world is reusing old pallets to create planters. There are so many creative alternatives to pottery! I'm thinking of trying the cinder-block DIY planter for my own container garden.

How do you get creative with your garden?

-Reagan

Patio Container Garden: Round Two

 One of the nice things about living in central Texas is that spring arrives earlier here than the rest of the country. Everywhere outside has transformed into greenery and flowers blooming. It's pretty awesome, and it inspired me and my husband to kick start our patio garden again. We added on a new plant every grocery trip and ended up with one tomato plant, two different varieties of peppers, a basil plant, a cilantro plant and three small decorative plants. We want to add some succulents and possibly a few more herbs, grasses and veggies. What can we say, we have spring fever!

 

 This year around we decided to put all the vegetables in our largest pots, so we won't have to transplant any of them later on. The herbs were placed in medium sized containers, and the decorative plants in the smallest pots. We're pretty happy with the variety and colors on our patio so far. The pets love hanging out on the patio even more than before! Do you have a garden? What does spring inspire you to do? - Reagan

Autumn Eating

Shopping seasonally isn't only smart because it's budget friendly, it's also the best way to get the freshest ingredients for your kitchen. Thanks to this nifty little chart I can share which fruits and veggies are in season in the fall.

  

Arugula  -  Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts  -  Cauliflower

Collards  -  Chiles

Cranberries  -  Curly Endive

Fennel  -  Grapes

Kale  -  Lemongrass

Limes  -  Pomegranates

Pumpkins  -  Shallots

Swiss Chard  -  Winter Squash

 

 source:foodtruthonline 

source: she knows

 source: mediterraneandiet

I'm hoping to use these fresh ingredients to cook with as much as possible this fall. Be on the look out for recipes with autumn ingredients in the near future!

-R  

gardening and pinterest

If you follow me on instagram you probably know that I dabble in gardening. It started out as Anthony's hobby and of course I too, became interested. I've always thought it would be pretty cool to grow our own food, and my mom and grandma have the most gorgeous flower beds, so gardening has always just kind of appealed to me. I don't know that I have a green thumb or any talent in it at all, but lucky for me, Anthony does. Here's a few of the images I've collected on pinterest to inspire our little garden.

these heirloom tomatos are so pretty!

this cute little window sill herb garden.

has anyone else had any luck with their own homegrown veggies or herbs?

-R