Saturday, March 24, 2012

Succulents

Every March, early in the Spring season, I have good intentions of creating a luscious green garden, full of flowers and vegetables.  I spend hours in the sun, pulling weeds and turning dirt.  I wear holes into my gardening gloves and stains into the knees of my pants.  But the truth is, my thumb is black as night.  I can kill evergreens and mums, the hardiest of plants.  I decided to try succulents last spring, and I'm happy to say that they have made it through an entire year with me!  


They even survived during chemo, when I would forget to water them for weeks (maybe even months) at a time.  In fact, it's easier to over water, than it is to under water these plants.  You should let the soil (special for succulents and cacti) dry out before watering, and succulents should never be sitting in water, as this can cause root rot. 


In the winter, watering about once a month should be fine.  In the spring and summer, they should be watered every 1-2 weeks.  I don't bring these outside, but you can if you want to.


I got these tiny planters on clearance last year, but I think vintage tea cups or other pottery would be cute too.  The ones I have are a little larger than my coffee cups.  I just filled them with the potting mixture, planted the succulents, and watered.  


I got my plants at Lowe's, they had about a dozen different species to choose from, and they were only a few dollars a piece.  


I love having a little touch of "spring" year round, so I picked up this old, chipped up table at a thrift store for about $10.


I keep a stack of books, mostly vintage, that remind me of warm, sunshine-y days.
 

This old wooden box holds a small watering can and vintage binoculars, for my Gladys Kravitz moments.  Just kidding, I actually used them last summer to spy on my tomatoes when I was too tired to go outside and take a closer look.

If you don't have much time or energy for gardening, but want a touch of green, I strongly recommend giving these a try!




Saturday, March 10, 2012

Quotes for Spring


"Expect to have hope rekindled.  Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.  The dry seasons in life do not last.  The spring rain will come again." -Sarah Ban Breathnach

"It's spring fever...you don't quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!" -Mark Twain

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." -Anne Bradstreet

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." -Hal Borland


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