Showing posts from June, 2014

Easy Re-purposed Chair Leg Sign Hanger

June 30, 2014
Because we have prefinished steel siding, I have very limited outdoor decor hanging places.  I have one nail by the front door, one over the picket fence shelf under the covered patio and one on the front of the house.  All my seasonal decor, signs, stars, etc. have to work with the existing nail holes.  This keeps my husband happy, and I really don't want a lot of nail holes and dents in the siding either.   I found two of these old ornate chair legs a couple months ago.  With just two instead of four, I really couldn't make a table or stool, but I thought one of the legs would make a great sign hanger.


Junk Gardening: You Either Get It or You Don't!

June 29, 2014
What makes a crazy lady place an iron horse shoe game around succulents in a garden?


Updated 2014 Junk Container Gardens

June 27, 2014
June 27, 2014 Here is a link my newly planted Junk Garden Vignette  on May 22, 2014.


A June 25th Front Yard Flower Border Update

June 25, 2014
Here is my newly planted front yard flower border on May 25th.  If you would like to see this flower bed diagrammed at planting time, refer to my May 25th post  here. Here on June 9th, the flower bed had already begun filling in nicely.  Since May 25th, I switched out a terracotta pot of purple Calibrachoa with red on the stepladder.  I also had to change out the yellow pot of Calibrachoa with a brighter yellow Calibrachoa as it had died from root rot.


Sedum & Sempervivum Updates

June 24, 2014
This junky contraption was part of a knife sharpening system that my Grandpa used to have in his garage.  Here it is with a pot of Angelina Sedum and two pulleys and a pot with Sempervivum.  More details  here on my May blog post.


A Rustic & Patriotic Potting Bench

June 22, 2014
Earlier in June I picked up this second hand ice cream freezer bucket.  The bottom and liner are plastic and the sides are wood.  I don't think it's terribly old.  It was all ready spray painted this bright red.  I also picked up a red, white and blue Minnesota license plate from 1990.


The Prettiest Window Box in Town 2014

June 21, 2014
The last two summers I have treated you to the most beautiful window box in my town, and here it is again this year!  It is lovingly created and maintained by my sister in law at her office building.   Starting at the left you will see angel wing begonias, pansies, lobelia, variegated verbena, Marguerite daisies, sweet potato vines...


Barn Wood & Barbed Wire Flag Tutorial

June 20, 2014
It's hard to be a junker/repurposer when you have very limited storage space.  See the pile of barn wood to the left of the white ironing board.  That is a some scrap wood given to me by a good friend that makes signs.   Since the 4th of July is only two weeks away, I decided to make a rustic flag with some of it.


More Outdoor Junk

June 17, 2014
 Luckily my home and property are not in flood danger, but many properties along the Rainy River and Rainy Lake are flooding, and water levels are nearing records.   June is always a pretty rainy month in northern Minnesota but this June has been a washout!  Maybe our forefathers were onto something when they named the river and lake Rainy. Since there is nothing much too report on in my waterlogged, sun deprived gardens, I will share a few recent vintage and/or junk purchases.  This Arthur Kaplan (Artist Art Lamay) lithograph of a finch and tiger lily came home with me from the thrift shop for $2.  I just love to watch finches at our bird feeders.


More Garden Junk: I've Flipped My Lid!

June 13, 2014
Last year I purchased the most perfect chippy white barn door.  Here it is from a post in 2013 , do you remember it? I kept the whole vignette pretty calm and neutral, but not this year.   For this year, I amassed a small collection of enamelware pot lids, a small rectangular crate, a square wood frame (not a picture frame, a part off of something), a rusty wire soap dish and rustic sign. Now to put them on the door!


Red Annuals & Perennials Are Always Garden Showstoppers

June 06, 2014
Source:  Leavenworth Nursery Source:  Broyle's Whenever I walk into a greenhouse in the spring, my eyes immediately go to the red blossoms.  Warm colors like red (and also orange and yellow)  advance to the eye, while cool and/or paler colors recede and seem to disappear in the distance.  


Outdoor This & That 18: More Cool Container Gardens and What's Blooming

June 04, 2014
I found this rusty little chicken wire cloche with bird finial at a local occasional shop. I love its rustiness with my rusty milk cans


Welcome To My Vintage Summer Covered Patio 2014

June 03, 2014
Welcome to my covered patio for 2014!  Most of the decor is vintage.


Vintage Gardening Container Vignette

June 01, 2014
Here's the summer vignette that I put together for the Red Wing crock table between the adirondack chairs on my covered patio.  I started with a most perfect wooden crate! What's in the wooden crate?  Vintage gardening books, a vintage geranium canister, a white ironstone pitcher with a live variegated ivy, a white bird finial, a vintage pansy print, peat pots, and vintage hand tools.