Bless the Blooms

In my backyard by a old dying birch tree, I set up an outdoor vignette, mostly in neutrals and foliage plants.

 Remember my Shabby Chic crosses from Easter?  They are made from a vintage level (tool) and vintage door knob plates.  For garden use, I put a thin metal rod in one end as a stake.

A couple old half barrels filled with sweet potato vines, bacopa, creeping jenny also topped with a galvanized pail planted with pony tail grass,

 Flank my recent old barn door purchase.  

(I am so happy I got this door) 

The door is attached to the tree so it doesn't blow over.  A simple grapevine wreath hangs over the window.

My framed lobelia is close by hanging from the birch tree.

Kind of a serene spot in my Organized Clutter life!

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Outdoor This & That 13: Spring Blossom Macros

I will be the first to admit that I am not a great photographer.  I have taken photos of my flowers for 20 years, and I thought the photos were good for an amateur.

I had never even heard of macro photos.  I always thought you had to have a really expensive camera with the really thick lenses to take those cool close ups.  Come to find out you can get decent close-ups of flowers with just a point and shoot camera.

Victorian Ruffled Pansies.

Dwarf White Columbine.

So glad I bought some fuschias this year.  This is the Swingtime in galvanized buckets.

This fuschia is just starting to bloom.  It's in more shade.

This is a "Blackie" Fuschia.  Also just starting to bloom.

These are Ajuga Reptans on the side of my deck with a few creeping phlox still in bloom.

I have these Calibrachoa Cherry Star in a terra cotta pot.  I did not boost these colors.  

Fuschias are beautiful, but I think the pansy close-ups are my favorites.

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Fertilizer Tips & Tricks That Work For Me

With a very short 3 to 3 1/2 month growing season here in northern Minnesota, I need a little help with the blooms.  I seldom use much fertilizer at all until the temps warm to at least the mid 70's during the daytime.

Here is how I fertilize my flower pots and gardens:

1.  At Planting Time

I sprinkle a scoop full in each planting hole, stir up the hole a bit with the hand digger, and plant.   I use this timed release granular fertilizer on all new annuals and perennials.

Vintage Cameras and Books

Seems like the small camera collection that I started last summer eventually migrates to a stack of books...

Like these Reader's Digest condensed books from the 1950's.

A Dozen Fun Ways to Plant Hen & Chicks (Sempervivum)

One of my favorite little succulents is the sempervivum, houseleek, or hen and chicks.

They are hardy little perennial succulents that grow in almost anything that can hold at least a small amount of dirt.  Here are 12 ways that I have used hen and chicks in my gardens:

1.  In barnacles in a terra cotta pot of New Guinea Impatiens.

Update on the Framed Pots

One of my first outdoor posts this season was a framed lobelia plant.  I had just found this square frame for $11.

This is early May.  I planted the bedding plant in a small galvanized pail hanging from a wire.  A hole was drilled through the top of the frame for the wire which connects to the pail and to a hook hanging in one of our birch trees.  

No leaves on the trees yet.  (Just fall leaves on the ground from last year that needed to be raked up!)