This Tree!

I hyper colored this picture to give you my view point of this tree!

I am in. love. with. this. tree!

Can someone out there in the blog world tell me what kind of tree it is? I seriously want one for my yard.

Mother’s Day 2013

Did everyone have a wonderful Mother’s Day?

I believe every year with my girls gets better and better! Being a mom is so wonderful, but it seems as they get older it gets better. <3

We went to Whole Foods for a free coffee, flower, & mini pastries. It was lovely, and while we walked about, they had beautiful bouquets in Mason jars, & I had to have one! So I came home, pulled out one of my Mason jars, and started to walk the perimeter of my house. I feel like I came up with a good combo, don’t you? I wanted to put a yellow tiger lilly in there too, but held back. My husband came home later and brought me some white roses too. I love it!

Varner’s Greenhouse

I know when you think greenhouse it conjures up images like this…

Or like this one…

But.. how about this?

Maybe this in a tropical area, but in Indiana?

Fresh Pineapple anyone? I wish this would grow in my backyard!

I have saved the best for last, however. This is the reason I go to Varners…

 

These beauties are my beautiful girl’s favorite. They are so pretty!

We have Asparagus!

Last year I planted asparagus, & the package says two to four years till harvest. So imagine my surprise when I was seeing little thin sprigs already year one.

So on Thursday, when I came home from work, I saw this, plus a couple more like it. WooHoo!

On Friday when coming home from work, I had all of these! I know it isn’t a lot, but I have them in a jar of water, awaiting a few more. I think I should have them within a few more days, which really makes me happy.

Getting my hands dirty

Bet you’d never guess what I been doing all weekend?!

I know I mentioned that I might not be doing a garden this year because of Europe… but I’m crazy like that I guess.

My thinking is that if I promise someone my harvest for that three weeks, they will come water for that time. What do you think? Even enough trade?

Garden of 2013 has begun

Here it is the end-ish of April and it is snowy/rain mix outside my windows, so I am focusing on the positive!

Here are the pictures I took of my garden this weekend. It is now in bloom, although I pray it’s not all getting frost bit as I type :/

   

    

    

            

    

My Dream Garden

I normally do not like to use pictures that are not mine, or that I can not give photo credits to, but I am in LOVE with this garden!

Would anyone out there like to dig my backyard for me? I can’t believe how amazing the detail is on this garden! I think I have a section that I could recreate something similar, but how do I keep those darn bunnies away from something like this?! I also have been contemplating how much I want to do in my garden this year. If I am going to Europe for three weeks, how much attention is a garden going to get? hmmmm…

Frozen Herbs

I love to make, what I like to call, Faux-Chipotle every so often, but I feel like I waste so much cilantro, so I was on a mission. As usual, I turned to my best friend ever Pinterest, and found what I needed. You can freeze herbs!

The thing is, apparently you must layer it in a jar with sea salt. Why sea salt? Ummm I don’t know either, but if something works, why question it? :)

My thinking is it keeps too much moisture at bay, so that they herbs don’t get mushy. That sounds good, right?! Yeap that is the answer I am sticking with.

Also, I haven’t tested this on other herbs, yet, but I want to this summer. My plan is to have an herb garden this year, but we will see how many other things I get to planting. I get carried away every year.

Frederik Meijer Gardens

I had been wanting to go to the Frederik Meijer botanical garden & sculpture park for a couple years before we finally did. You know how that goes, right? You keep saying ‘Next year we really need to go to *insert some new place, not too far away*. We all know, you just never genuinely make an effort to get there though.

I had my couple of true excuses though. First off, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a ‘guy thing’ for my husband. Secondly, I wasn’t sure it was going to be ‘cool enough’ to drive so far for.

Two summers ago, my girls and I had a “girls day out”. I decided if it was a disappointment, it would only be a true disappointment for me this way. I didn’t play it up to the girls, just told them we were going to take a road trip to look at some pretty flowers.

When we drove up the long drive and this was in front of me, I could tell it was going to be amazing! I was in love instantly, and immediately didn’t care about the two hour drive I had just made.

Do you see that big greenhouse? Wait till you see what amazing things are inside!

Orchids and Venus Flytraps, amazing tropical flowers, and cacti.. oh my!

Outside of the greenhouse was this little beauty… thinking she’s not so beautiful? Here name is “mad mom”! Now you’re looking at her a little differently aren’t you? LOL I know I did!

There were other sculptures as well.. this one was my favorite! Yes that is my then 3 yr old under the horse…massive huh?

This was another cute little sculpture I took a picture of. The most important part about this one though? Umm it was in the Children’s Garden!

Yes, there was a whole other level to this garden & park. I am telling you guys, I was amazed around every new corner! See the ‘door’ on the side for the kids? A-door-able :)

This little guy is awaiting the children on the other side. He reminds me of Stewart Little.

A little ways up the path, a fountain.. and don’t worry guys, I am NOT giving everything away in this long post… there is so much to see!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Like a treehouse?! Yes a two story, amazing treehouse  with a bridge and other “features” I won’t give away on here. There is just so many awesome things to see.

I just felt like it kept going and going, but in a good way.

I mean, how adorable is this alone? I wanted to take him home to my garden.

Did I mention that there is a farm here? Yes, a full on farm, sans people and animals living in it, but very cool none-the-less. There are bathrooms in the farm, but the rest is not for walking through.

I hope your mind didn’t “drift off” in this extra long post, but there is just too much. I loved every. single. last. thing. As I said earlier, I promise there is so much more to see that I haven’t given away on this post. I couldn’t find enough pictures before we went to put together if I wanted to drive so far, but believe me, it is so worth a long trip to see this place. Be sure to put on your walking shoes & sunscreen, and bring a stroller for any toddlers. My girls were “out” before I made it a mile down the road, but they still talk about it two years later.

What to do… love your 3 yr old!

The other day, I was commenting on how it warmed up around Indiana, with this came more flowers. Do you remember, I blogged about how happy I was to have these flowers again in the middle of fall?

Well, When I came home from work a few days ago, I got a BIG surprise! You know how little kids can be, right?! How they can destroy something so quickly, but do it with sooo much innocents?

I found all of these lovely flower heads on the ground lying around its plant. URgh!

Well.. when life gives you flowers with NO stems, make a flower arrangement anyway possible right?!

Not too bad I’d say ;)

Gifts from my garden

As my garden nears it’s end of the season, it has blessed with one last little surprise. I had to capture this beauty and share it with you all. Oh Spring, how I miss thee already!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

So I know I had been having a hard time letting go of Summer this year {cause it was just too much darn fun!} But a few days ago two wonderful things happen:

1. My oldest started to notice the trees are changing colors. Every time she {or her little sister} spots one, she points it out and laughs about it. Isn’t it amazing how you “rediscover” everything for the first time through your child’s eyes?! The other day on our way to the library, my daughter saw a “yellow tree”, and last night at the supper table my youngest noticed the tree in our front yard is changing too. They <3 it!

2. My mums are coming up big & better than ever this year. I purposely planted the burnt orange ones in front of our home, to remind me that Autumn is in bloom, literally. Does orange signal Autumn for you too? I took a few photos to share with you… enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green with LoVe not EnVy

I have many things in this life that I am in love with, some more than others, obviously. One of my favorite loves though… Green! Not just the color, but I love plants & gardening bunches as well. One of my new obsessions lately {thanks to Pinterest} is terrariums. I have been thinking to create one for a long time, but I got half-way serious about it once I started pinning other peoples.

Like with all crafts/projects, it practically has to slap me in the face to get started on it, & this time it did! I was roaming about my yard the other day, and what did I come across? Moss! Moss makes me happy to say the least, and it was exactly what I needed to start this terrarium. So I brought it in the house, got out my apothecary jar that my grandma “lent me”, and got to work.

I knew it was going to need something else, but I was still in the debating stage until… I walked into a local store downtown today. It’s a cute little store that has been calling my name for awhile now, however, today was the first time I had a minute and it was actually open. There actually wasn’t too much that overly impressed me, till I got to the very end of the store. They had a large selection of terrariums and mini-gardens {as they were calling them}. My youngest daughter was standing in front of one of the mini-gardens, when she looked up at me with those big brown eyes and said “mommy, can we have this at home?”. I have to say, it WAS impressive. There were little pots with mini plants inside, a bike parked close to a pebble walking path, and a iron-archway with a vine crawling up it. I decided then and there it was time to add something to my little project at home.

We now have a scooter and a couple potted plants. The girls loved playing with the scooter, but were excited to see the finished project. I think my little one was impressed. It might not be the lavish mini-garden that she had asked for “when my birthday comes”, but it still makes a nice little centerpiece for our kitchen table.

I had some “left over” pieces, and haven’t decided what to do with this little one yet. It is quite cute, but so little I am not sure where to put it so it leaves a big impact. Maybe a shadowbox is in order… that’s just our little secret for now!

Anthropologie Inspires

When I was a girl I can remember my mother doin macramé & as I grew I also recall disliking the plant hanger that she made, with a glass surface, that cradled a plant. “It is so 70s style” I recall thinking frequently as a pre-teen. As I became a teenager, however, I had to request my mother show me her macramé skills, that way I could make the latest crazy, friendship bracelets. 

Now the two worlds collide, all because I stepped foot into Anthropologie in Indy this past weekend. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with this store, love everything, and hate the fact that I can afford nothing! This time I am hoping to fix that though. I snapped this shot with my camera phone {sorry for the poor quality} and I would like to recreate this. I have to admit, it is a bit ironic that these are similar macramé hangers to the one that I loathed as a pre-teen :) In my defense, however, they are quite a bit thinner than the one I remember. Now I just have to channel my inner teenager to remember how to macramé.

Spring is here - So is my garden

Spring has sprung!

Time has sprung forward... & my veggies are springing up too :)
It's almost garden time, I am so Excited. Do you have a garden? Ever thought of having one? It is a lot of work, but it is so rewarding when you can walk out to the garden and pick a tomato to slice for supper. A little salt on that and yummo I am in heaven!

Pictured here are my carrots, broccoli, and tomatoes. I planted these seeds a little more than two weeks agao & look how quickly they popped up. The only problem now... what do I do with these beauties till after Mother's day?

Here is a quick tutorial on how to get these big boys {or girls} planted. It really is too easy! I almost feel bad posting about it how easy it is :)

First things first, go shopping! My personal favorite...
You will need seeds of your choice, and one of these all in one domes that are amazing!



Secondly, open the lid and put the appropriate amount of water inside. Don't worry too much about getting an exact amount on each individual one, there is plenty of water to swish about before it all seeps in.



Thirdly, not really anything here for you to do, just watch each of the soil pellets puff up. My girls thought this part was "cool" :)

Now it is time to feel like a real Farmer Jane :)
Get digging! Take about a fourth of the amount of the dirt out of the center of each pellet. They recommend to put about two to three seeds in each one. I think we, put about three in each one. Yes, my four year old helped me put the seeds in, and her little fingers could do a better job then mine.

Put the dome on the top and wait till you see green, litterally! They recommend to popp the lid up after you see the first green. I just cocked it catty-wompus and that worked just fine. {P.S. Did your grandmother always use silly phrases like catty-wompus}