I have been patiently waiting until my Annabelle hydrangeas were just right, so I could cut off the blooms and dry them. I did this last year and I have been so pleased with how long the dried flowers have lasted! I cut them almost a year ago and they still make a nice bouquet. I waited until the blooms … Read More
july 2019 garden update
Well, things in the garden are finally blooming and looking much better after a harsh winter and a late spring. A couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t sure that this garden was ever going to fully wake up, but the cycle of the season is carefully built into each plant and they know what to do even if I don’t. … Read More
gardening around the electrical box
Last year, on the wave of getting the front garden done, I got a bee in my bonnet and decided to start working on the section of garden around the electrical boxes. This is how far I got… My grit and determination stopped at digging out a few monster perennials and hauling three wheelbarrow-loads full of rock to under our … Read More
spring garden update 2019
Now that the kids are on summer vacation, spring is in full swing here in MN! Seriously, that’s how long it takes!! The garden is finally more than just a few sprouts. It still has a ways to go, but I thought I would share how it’s coming along. The house finches vacated their nest on my Christmas wreath, so … Read More
lavender topiary & customized planter
The lavender topiaries, the ones I anticipated with eagerness each spring in PA, the ones I would stockpile in the back of my van, so I could sell them at Lucketts, have finally made it to Minnesota! Well, maybe they were here before now, but now is when I finally found them! The only difference is that these are much … Read More
a little “spring cleaning” for my indoor plants
Just a quick bit of business first… We were having some technical glitches with the Personal Retreat Guide for Creatives yesterday, but it’s working now. If you were having that trouble, you can click HERE, enter your e-mail, click subscribe, and then you’ll get an e-mail to download the guide. Sorry about that! I noticed last week that some of … Read More
why there is a Christmas wreath on my door in April
I learned last spring that one can get away with having Christmas greenery and lights up on a porch until April in Minnesota. Since there is still snow on the ground, it just works and seems acceptable. (On Instagram, a reader and I dubbed the snow pattern on this door “snowmbre”. Get it? Snow…ombre? Moving on.) But, the live greenery … Read More
mid-summer garden update
It’s been a few weeks since our front garden overhaul, so I thought I would give an update! First of all, everything has been a success so far. Everything is growing well and I’m enjoying checking on all of my flowers and bushes in the evenings to water, deadhead the petunias, pull weeds (although there aren’t many popping up), etc. … Read More