Porch Railing Flower Boxes

I thought the front porch needed a little color. So I planted some flower boxes.

I found the railing mount planters at Home Depot. They are designed to hold a plastic flower box, so I had to modify them to hold the moss. Using thin copper wire, I created a grid small enough to contain the moss and dirt. Then followed the same steps as when I plant my hanging baskets. (tutorial here)

I used purple New Guinea Impatiens, blue Lobelia (upright), Coleus, and Sweet potato vine.

I think it gives a nice pop of color to the front of the house. :-)

Climbing Roses and More Patio Photos

We had a nice surprise this year with the addition of red roses to the already pink rose covered shed. Evidently, this red rose was the stock used as a graft for my Joseph's Coat rose, which died two years ago. This base rose took off last year and is now blooming very well. Oh, and a little bunny came out to have his pictured taken, too. :-) I went with a mostly red and pink theme this year for the annuals. The hanging baskets are planted with multi-colored flowers, though.
To see a tutorial on how I plant my moss lined baskets you can go to this post from last year. And to see what they look like by mid-summer, click here.
We're going to have an early taste of summer this week here in Ohio. Its supposed to be in the mid to upper 80's all week! Nice! :-)

Yard and Getaway Photos

Another busy weekend around here. But I thought I would share some pictures of the patio flower baskets (click here to see how I made them) and a few from our getaway last weekend.
The flowers are doing surprisingly well for this late in the summer. Usually they start to get straggly and faded out from the summer heat, but thanks to the coolest July on record and a very comfortable start to August, they look pretty good. :-)


The peaches are almost ripe on our small tree.

And as I mentioned in the last post, hubby and I spent a couple of days at Salt Fork State Park.
Its the largest state park in Ohio and has a huge lake, a golf course, a couple marinas, a beautiful lodge with two pools, campgrounds, and cabins. Now normally, I'm a lodge girl all the way, but it was a very last minute trip and everything was booked except for one cabin. So, we took it. It was a very nice cabin right on the lake. We were even able to do some fishing. Although it was just the two of us, the cabin could have slept up to 6 people. There was a jacuzzi on the enclosed porch and a place to cook out and have a bonfire down by the lake.

Here we are in front of the lodge.

A very peaceful getaway.

The Roses are In Bloom!

Our little shed is once again covered in pink roses. Its a variety called New Dawn and is very hearty. Despite having killed every other rose bush I've ever touched, this one thrives. I'm sure being planted in close proximity to our compost pile helps a bit, too. ;)

The blooms are such a lovely blush pink color!It certainly helps to bring a little cottage charm to the back yard. And speaking of cottage charm...the third annual Cottage Charm Giveaway, being hosted by Kim of Twice Remembered , is going on right now. Sadly because of scheduling conflicts I wasn't able to participate this year, but be sure to check out the link over on Kim's blog to see all the wonderful giveaways (now more than 60!). And if you would like to join in with a giveaway of your own, there is still a few days left to sign up!

And just because they filled out so pretty in the last couple of weeks, I'm showing another picture of the patio flower baskets.

Moss Lined Flower Basket ~ A Garden How-To

I was able to get my hanging baskets planted this week, so I thought I would share a gardening How-To. I love the naturalized look of moss lined flower baskets. They are so much prettier than a plastic pot and surprisingly easy to do.


What you will need:

* Wire basket (mine is an 18 inch)

* long fiber sphagnum moss

* rubber gloves

* potting soil

* small plastic garbage bag

* bucket of water (for soaking moss)

*pretty flowers and trailing plants



Step 1 - Wearing rubber gloves (and a mask if you're sensitive to dust), soak the long fiber sphagnum moss in the bucket of water. Squeeze out the excess water and begin lining your basket.
Step 2 - Once your basket is lined with about 1 - 1 1/2 inches of moss, place a small circle of plastic with holes punched in it, in the bottom of the basket. This will help retain soil and moisture. (BTW, at the end of the season, keep your plastic piece with your basket and reuse it next year. I've been using this same circle of plastic for 7 or 8 years now)
Step 3 - Fill with potting soil and press in up the sides. I use a soil with a slow release fertilizer.Step 4 - Now start putting in your plants. I start with my larger anchor plants. This year I used Chartreuse sweet potato vine and a pink and green coleus. Step 5 - Fill in with smaller plants and flowers. My baskets are in filtered sun all day, so I chose bright multi-colored impatiens. Step 6 - Hang your basket, water, and enjoy!
Some people like to trim the the moss close to basket, but I prefer the look of the little hanging pieces. :)
Enjoy the weekend, everyone and Happy gardening!