Things have been busy around the house these days so I thought I’d give you a little update on a couple of projects.
Last weekend all sports activities for the kids were canceled because of the holiday so I was able to get started on my flower pots. So far I’ve only planted two and have five more to go. One of my favorite plants is Fuchsia which finds it way to my back deck every summer, and I’ve found a nice shady spot that it seems to thrive in every year. One piece of advice is to take photos of your flower pots/boxes every year and make note of what you planted and how it did. If you do this, it becomes much easier each spring when you head to the nursery to pick out plants. You have the photos and a list of what worked–it makes your shopping so quick and easy.
Along with the pots, the first flower box has also been planted which you can see below. By the way, Tessa’s husband and I both compete for who has the greenest grass. By the looks of this photo, I think I’m winning so far!
Someone once gave me the advice on how to prevent a ‘boring’ flower box is to plant three heights and shapes of flowers: thrillers (tall plants used for dramatic effect), filler (plants that add bulk) and spillers (plants that cascade down the front). Follow that simple rule and you will always have an interesting flower box.
Two years ago, I ripped everything out of this flower bed and started from scratch. The first year it didn’t look great because everything was really young and small (plants are much luckier than humans when it comes to expectations ;). Three years in and I think this might be THE year. Plants and shrubs are filling in and soon things will be blooming and I will have some beautiful color. For me personally, I like a flower bed that is filled with texture, color, and most of all not symmetrical. Instead, I focus on mixing different leaf colors and texture. The biggest lesson I learned is to not plant everything all at once. Buy a few things each year and add to, which will produce a beautiful flower bed that is unique. Yes, it takes more time but it’s worth the end result.
On a totally unrelated note, I’ve started to conquer another project–mounting a TV above the fireplace. I fought it, but it looks like my husband won this round…hope to show you photos next week. To give you a hint, it wasn’t quite as straight forward as I anticipated…more to come.
Enjoy the weekend! Tessa will be back tomorrow with some eye candy photos.
