A springtime terrarium centerpiece

A couple weeks ago, a friend asked me if I was interested in going to a class at a local greenhouse on how to make a terrarium. I didn't know a lot about terrariums, but I was intrigued, so I said yes!

The class included all the supplies we needed -- a glass container, rocks, charcoal, soil, moss and plants -- plus a handy-dandy handout on how to care for them. I seriously, totally kept all the little tags on my plants so I could tell you all what I planted in here...and I lost them.

So, I wish I could tell you what I've got growing in here, but I can't, except that I remember the low-growing green one is called baby tears. I remember that because it kind of bummed me out, but the plant was pretty so I used it.

The instructor said to keep the terrarium in medium light. It makes a lovely spring centerpiece on the dining room table.

Every few days I give it a mist with a mister. I'm really nervous about keeping it alive, since I'm got a pretty black thumb. So far, so good.

I'd love to find a tiny, adorable little animal figurine to put in here. I'm on the hunt for just the right addition.

Have you ever made a terrarium? Any tips for keeping it alive -- I think I'll need them!

Containers of flowers

Hi, everyone! A belated happy Mother's day to all you moms out there. Seriously don't know how you all do it!

I hope the weather is nicer where you are...it's quite rainy and dreary here today, like it was yesterday, and practically all of last week. *sigh* I'm getting sick of this weather!

At least the weekend was warm and sunny -- truly perfect, weather-wise! I got outside and finally did some serious gardening. And by gardening, I mean I put some flowers in pots. :) We do have a couple gardens that the previous owner planted with lovely perennials I don't really know how to take care of, so mostly all I do is weed those and cross my fingers. So far, so good!

I might be intimidated by my perennial gardens, but I love doing container gardening to liven up our porch, deck and other areas. I thought I'd give you all a peek at what I potted over the weekend.

I mostly stuck with hues of pink, purple and orange -- they just seemed so summery and fun to me.

Remember last year when I added window boxes to our shed? I'm still totally in love with them...especially when the boxes are full of dahlias. They are one of my favorite flowers -- they just make me so happy to look at it.

The metal bucket I got last year from the restaurant that was renovating downstairs is holding some petunias -- another favorite of mine, because they are easy and pretty and always blooming.

Two big pots our neighbors gave us are filled with petunias, calibrachoa and snapdragons. They flank the stairs up to the deck. They don't look very impressive right now, but I'm hoping they fill out nicely.

I was dumb and watered them before taking the pictures, so that's why the flowers look a little droopy.

I filled two big pots with flowers to flank our garage doors. The greenery is sweet potato vine, the purple flowers are calibrachoa, I think, and the orange ones are pansies. The tag for the fuchsia flowers just said "stock," so who knows. :)

 

We call this our front porch, although technically we have two front porches. This might really be a side entrance, but it's the one everyone uses and opens to our entryway -- and it actually has a porch, instead of just steps like our front door. (Did you know that practically no one in Maine uses their front door? True story).

The tag didn't say what this hanging basket is, but I love it. Not only are the flowers just to-die-for, but the basket is pretty cute too!

I also put some shade-loving impatiens in the house number pots I made last year.

The steps are flanked with two pots of torenia.

Our porch is a little lackluster right now -- all my attention has been focused on the inside, with accessorizing the newly painted living room, finishing the office and filling our new sitting room. So I hope you'll forgive me for this somewhat boring porch I've got goin' on.

I had some flowers left over, so I potted them and put them on the front stairs. The left pot has snapdragons and a dahlia, while the right has some torenia and flowers I actually planted last year that somehow survived the winter (even though I left them potted in the yard). I found them growing! I decided to keep them and see if they live.

My garden owl watches over everything.

So those are my flowers! Let's see if I can keep them all alive. I've got to watch the forecast to make sure we don't get any late frosts overnight.

What have you planted this year?

A prettier shed {before and after}

Argg...sorry everyone! I've been a little MIA lately. What can I say...the last, lazy days of summer call to me, luring me to the beach, the deck of my favorite restaurant, etc. I hope you don't judge me :)

I finally finished something I'd slowly been working on for a little while, something we talked about doing at the beginning of the summer but never got around to, until one day we spotted these at Home Depot and bought them on a whim:

We wanted them to pretty up our little shed:

While at Home Depot, we also picked up some Behr exterior primer and white paint. I gave the window boxes a good sanding, then one coat of primer and two of the white semi-gloss paint.

After a little primer...

We used a few heavy-duty screws to attach it to the window frame.

And I drilled a couple holes in each liner, since they didn't have any drainage.

Here's our "before" shed again...cute, but needing a little something.

And here's the after, with our new white window boxes!

There weren't many flowers left for the season at Home Depot, but I did find some fall-hued marigolds and mums. They'll look so pretty once they fill out.

Looking at these photos, I think I need to take some wood filler to those nail holes and repaint them. I like how they have a kind of rustic look, but the holes are a little too distracting...

It's not a big change, but it adds a little color and interest. I'm imagining them overflowing with petunias next summer...wouldn't that be lovely? I'd love to paint that ramp white too, but I can't imagine it would look very pretty after the lawnmower and snowblower get dragged over it. Maybe paint it black to match the door hardware? I'd also like to disguise those cinder blocks on the right that keep the shed level on the uneven ground. We inherited a couple bushes on either side of the ramp, but we don't know what they are, and they've hardly grown at all, so I think we should take them out and plant something else. (Check out the before shed picture, which I took last fall when we bought the house, and you can see that the bushes haven't grown an inch all season. But the weeds have sure grown a lot...oops!).

Ignore the crazy-long grass. I took these photos before the hubs dragged out the lawnmower.

Wondering what those crazy vines are climbing that stick coming off the shed? Those are the hubs' hops plants that he's growing to use in his beer-making. They vine like crazy, and he was sweet enough to ask if it was okay if he attached that stick to the top of the shed for the hops to vine up. Aren't I a nice wife for saying yes?? :) They kind of make the shed look like a sailboat or something.

Linking up!

Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesdays

A not-so-green thumb, and other random things

Hey everyone! I swear I'm still here. I've just been thoroughly distracted from crafty things lately. I hope to have some things to share with you really soon.

In the meantime, I thought I'd keep it real and confess that I'm not great at keeping plants alive, indoor plants more than outdoor plants. I always forget to water them, then I feel bad and overcompensate with too much water, and then they die. I just can't seem to learn.

For instance, I noticed my jade and succulent plants seemed to be suffering from too-much-water syndrome, so I decided to put them outside in the sun yesterday in a desperate attempt to dry them out and save them. I also pulled a couple of the jade leaves off and put them in water to try and root them.

My previously adorable succulent

Except I forgot they were out there, and we got crazy downpours yesterday. Which means I came home to this sad sight:

Yikes!

Oh boy...

It's safe to say these plants are toast, don't you think? Fingers crossed my attempt at rooting my jade cuttings works!

But how cute is that bird pot from Lowe's?? I simply adore it. I spotted it in the store one day this spring, but didn't buy it. Then it was out of stock for a couple weeks and I practically stalked their website to see when it would be back in stock, and I ran out and bought it right away. (And yes, that's a salad plate underneath it. My secret for adorable pots I find that have no saucer thing for drainage is that I shop the "as is" section of Bed Bath and Beyond. The one in my town always has random plates for sale for really cheap -- this one was only 48 cents!)

This plant my mom bought us as a housewarming present always looks like this. I have no idea what it wants -- more water? less water? more sun? a little song? It's still alive, but I'm constantly sweeping up leaves. Anyone know what it is and how to take care of it?

The only plant that is looking good is this little guy that hangs out in our bedroom. The tag at Home Depot just called it "houseplant," so I have no idea what it is, but I need a few more, apparently, since it's the only thing I can keep alive!

Here's where it started -- not bad, huh!

In other news, I thought I'd let you in on what's been taking up more of my time lately. I've started doing Jillian Michaels' Ripped in 30 DVD in an effort to get more in shape. I'm about half-way through, and it's tough! But I'm really liking it. It can be hard sometimes to fit working out into your daily routine, and I have to admit falling off the wagon lately. But the hubs and I are both making it a priority, and let me tell you, I definitely feel happier when I'm working out (okay, not WHILE I'm doing it, but afterward ;) ). It's great for mental and physical health, and I have more energy and sleep better when I'm doing something active on a regular basis. And it's probably just in my imagination at this point, but I think I'm looking a little more toned. But of course working out more means less time on crafts and blogging. So I hope you forgive me, but I've gotta make taking care of myself a priority.

I also find it really funny how much Jillian Michaels has changed her image in the past three years (in an effort to brand herself or boost her influence, maybe?). Here's the cover of one of her first DVDs, the 30 Day Shred (which is also a great workout).

Source

And here's the cover of Ripped in 30, released this year. Holy glamour! I like how she's gotten tanner, her hair's gotten fuller and her sports bra has gotten more revealing... :) But I forgive her because she kicks my booty. The design has also gotten more intense...the happy, teal-and-orange color combo is replaced by scary black and yellow, and the fonts went from fun and light (there's even a little shimmer to the J!) to chunky and serious. Jillian means business, people!

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And last in my list of totally random things: Christina's Adventures featured my DIY key art! She is just the sweetest. Thanks so much, Christina!

I hope to be back later this week with something more interesting to show you than my sad plants... :)