Dirt Chic

BonsaiLove

This

is where I get all of my bonsai.

All one of them. 

:)

I've wanted a bonsai for FOREVER.  Like, 4+ years.  Today, as I was going to drop off some clothes for repairs, I saw the set-up in a parking lot.  So I went and got one.  The lady who sold them was awesome and funny - she considered the clay fisherman to be a major selling point.

I think $25 is a lot for a plant.  But if it's 2 years old, and cultivated, and you've waited 4 years to get one... not so bad!  (But I really just wanted the clay fisherman)

Setting Up House With Houseplants

As an apartment dweller, I enjoy houseplants especially, as I can take my Nature with me, no matter what the surrounding terrain of my apartment is like.

I haven't got to the point of having a greenhouse-amount of potted plants, but it feels like I'm well on my way.  Some fun ideas for setting up house with houseplants:

Painted wood!  My jam!

Plexiglass shelves - but I think any shelving system would easily do.

A modular stand area, very transportable as well (replete with wine!).

A unique idea, from The Apartment Book: a hanging ladder on which to hang plants.

And for the truly ambitious: a hand-crafted bamboo arboretum. (But do you have to have matching bamboo wallpaper?)

For that conservatory effect. :)

Nature Moments

My parents have a "Secret Garden" at their house, a quaint little spot carved out between two rows of evergreens.  They say they made it for their grandkids, but us big kids love it just as much as the little ones!  Today I enjoyed finding small treasures there-- in the pine forest garden.

   

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about how much fun stuff you can find outside to
*play with* *craft with* and even *decorate with*.  It's just always nice to me to have something sitting around that we brought in from outside. 

Here's what we did with some of the treasures we've been collecting recently:

These are by the kitchen table.  Just having them there and accessible really attracts Adele's attention, which is what I want!  It helps her (and all of us, really) pay a little more attention to the little details that make Nature what it is.

 

Also, we currently have an excessive amount of "helicopters" in our back yard.  After throwing a few (hundred!) handfuls of them off the back porch, I decided to bring some inside for a little 2-yearr-old-style craft. 

They don't look like much, but from her little eyes, hanging way up there on the wall... they're masterpieces! 

Greenthumb Gert?

Does Gert Exist?  Not in my world.  Every Spring I have an unexplainable yearning to garden.  Never mind that I hate the sun.  Never mind that I hate weeding.  Never mind that I am horrible about hard labor and planning things out.   Did I say that this yearning was inexplicable?   

Well this year I decided to put in a small kitchen garden. It seemed like such an easy idea.  I found a picture and bought some plants.  Then I was like---"uhhhh. what next."  So I did what seemed obvious to me.  I called my Grandma to ask her what to do.  Grandma Mitchell said, "Well honey, what do you mean what do you do next?  Just get some dirt and put those plants in the ground."  Did I mention that Grandma Mitchell is a master at stating the obvious? 

So I called my neighbor and offered to trade him two haircuts to till up my ground for me.  It was worth it.  That saved me some back-breaking labor.  Then I called my dad and asked him to come help me get rid of the grass.  Then I had to have my neighbor come and till again.  It was quite a process.  It felt like I would never be ready to actually dig and plant. 

It's amazing how little money you have to spend on your yard when you know your neighbors.  I highly recommend getting out of the house to talk to them.  Also, there is so much in your yard already that you can use.  For example, I used some rocks that I found in the front yard last year to border the garden.  I also used pine needles to mulch around my plants.  Many gardening neighbors are happy to divide Hostas or other plants with you and many of them buy vegetable plants in sixes and don't want all of them.  All you have to do is ask. This is a pic of some Hostas I divided last year and my pine needles to mulch.  Hooray for frugality.

Anyway, I finally got my herbs and tomatoes in the ground and am looking forward to using them to make various gifts.  I used pavers in between each plant to cut back on weeds.  They were only .50 at Lowe's.  Here you can also see my beginings of a rock border.  James, my two-year-old, loved helping me with this. I planted lavender, sage, oregano, some arugula, tomatoes and sweet peppers.  Carra gave me some wildflower seeds that I threw in too. 

It took a long time but it looks really nice.  James loves watering all the plants and I love knowing that I am providing a little something extra for my family and neighbors.  Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.  Maybe I'll do something in front next.  Haha.  Stay tuned for more adventures with Greenthumb Gert.