Perennials That Thrive in North Texas

Hello.

For those that garden in the same neck of the woods as I do, I thought I'd share which perennials do really well for me :)

Perennials are plants that stay dormant during winter months and will come back in the following spring.

I love perennials for one main reason - you buy them only once! They come back the next year and some come back every spring for years to come :) What's not to love? Flowers that live on and on and spending the money once? That is what I call double duty :)

I have a pretty active vegetable garden at the moment and, while I am certainly no expert to gardening, I have several species of flower that has come back year after year with no complaint :) And this gives me a well deserved boost! LOL

Here are a few from my personal garden that are hardy for this region of Texas:

One of my personal favorites is Creeping Jew (as I have always known it) - also known as Wandering Jew. Such a vibrant purple, very hardy and it can be cut, rooted in a jar of water and then planted else where. A great addition to any North Texas garden - hands down.

The beautiful and tropical Hibiscus flower :) Other than trimming the dead branches back each fall, my hibiscus come back vibrant as ever each spring.

This is a basic lavender that I bought from Home Depot (not sure of the species exactly) but it has returned for the past two years, very full and very vibrant. It draws both butterflies and bees for pollination so very good for the environment and your backyard habitat. 

It also comes back in the most horrid soil possible - the area in which I originally planted it is hard clay (I didn't realize it at the time) and it prevails each spring :)

And of course, any rose bush. They are beautiful. They are hardy. I mean come on... It's a ROSE! A classic to any garden.

Lastly, but certainly not least as I am sure there are many more perennials out there for North Texans, would be strawberries. They do indeed come back every spring for several years. They have beautiful ground cover and blossoms, not to mention the fruit :) It's a win/win all around!

I hope this may be helpful and will also curb your attentions past the basic petunias and other annuals! They are certainly beautiful, economical and worthy of their place in your garden, but perennials prove their worth for several years!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Ging

I will be linking to these awesome parties!

DIY Compost Bin

Hello.

Just let me say, I love gardening! Not only is it a great pastime and stress re-leaver, but there are so many environmental and health benefits as well. It is so satisfying watching things grow and having the security of growing my own food. In addition, a great garden, whether it is a vegetable/fruit or flower garden, can create a wonderful backyard habitat that will make you want to stay out all day long :)

Gardening certainly wasn't always easy for me. As a matter of fact my first three years yielded nothing more than a few lettuce leaves here or there. But I would not give up and over the years, I have come to understand what plants work best for my lifestyle and what type of garden works best.

And I've learned many tricks along the way ;) One of the most important would be the compost bin. 

I used to think a compost pile/bin would be  gross! Smelly, full of spoiled/rotting garbage and bugs, etc. But I've come to learn gardening and compost come hand in hand. And as it turns out, none of those fears held water - except maybe rolly polly bugs ;)

Since deciding to compost, I've had several fails. First, I tried a compost pile in one corner of the yard. My first mistake was not using the container method. The wind blew everything everywhere and it did not maintain the proper level of moisture. 

After some no-go container attempts, I've since decided a giant 20" pot is best for me. I like to work in small batches of compost. Obviously if you have a very large garden, you can try the garbage tote system, etc. 

This is my bin. Wide open top for easy "stirring".

Drainage holes in the bottom of the pot are a plus.

And the existing tray in the bottom promotes air flow. Now to start your mixture ;) 

My second fail when starting to compost was improper ratio of compost ingredients. This is the recipe I like to use and I think it works really well :)

First I start with a dry filler. Here is a separate bin of grass clippings that have dried out. Note I also add a trowel full of fireplace ash to my compost for PH balance. Ash is also good for acid loving plants. But remember a little goes a long way ;)

I fill the bin about a quarter of the way with dry filler. Other dry fillers could include dried fall leaves, straw/hay or bulk dried corn husks - which work great for keeping up compost during fall and winter months.

Then I throw a layer of dirt in there. This could be any dirt - I tend to use the soil left over from the previous years hanging baskets, etc. The dirt will hold water - which we'll add later.

Then add a layer of "green" filler or "wet" filler. Bulk green fillers could be fresh grass clippings or a bucket of weeds you've pulled. 

In addition, I love to throw in organic kitchen waste: egg shells, coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit waste and/or peels, even animal blood!

There are also several everyday home products you can find biodegradable versions of, such as toilet paper, paper towels, feminine products - even tooth brushes. But for now I'm sticking with the basics.

Then I add another light layer of dry filler. I then will add a little water to the mix. I have a fish pond so I generally will grab a cup or so of pond water, which will be full of nitrates.

You can always mix plant food with water and add or just stick to plain water altogether. 

Then mix well with a trowel or shovel and let sit to work its magic. I generally will turn the mixture once a week or so. If it has been very hot I'll add a little more water and mix more often to evenly distribute moisture. 

I add a layer of compost while planting new crops in my beds as well as a thin layer to potted plants. So start gardening!

Enjoy.

xoxo

Ginger

I'm linking up to these awesome parties!

My Vegetable Garden

Hello.

So I wanted to give a little tour of my vegetable garden :) I love gardening and have worked pretty hard the last few years to get it right! Gardening isn't always so cut and dry -_-

Sadly, I've had several epic fails, but after a lot of research and experimenting, I know what works best for my lifestyle and the types of plants I want to grow :) Let's check it out!

Here is my main garden. I love raised beds. Practically fool proof ;) 

And super easy to construct. The wood plank I snagged from the remnant pile at Home Depot for 75% off. I had a few 2 x 4 pieces at home from another project. Add a few screws and done. I added four tall posts on each corner so I could cover the garden with plastic if needed.

In the raised bed, I have cauliflower, cabbage, hot pepper plants, three types of lettuce (butter crisp, romaine, and red leafy) onions and carrots.

I also have quite a bit in large containers. I prefer to put "bushy" type plants in containers, like tomato, green beans and sweet potato.

You can see here my first few little babies coming in!

I also wanted to try some berries this year so here are my blueberry and black berry bushes.

My brother in law built this large wooden planter and I have some spinach starting up here. 

In smaller pots, I have some bell peppers and strawberries :)

I did several vegetable plants from seeds this year; spinach, arugula, carrots and green beans. But everything else, I just went for young plants. Cuts down on the waiting!

My lettuces are looking gorgeous!

It's so amazing to plant, water and nurture your own food! I'm very excited to harvest this year :)

Enjoy!

xoxo

Ginger

I'm linking up to these awesome parties!

Vintage Cheese Cloche Dome

Hello.

I absolutely love thrifting and got a chance to do some thrifting with my mom last weekend :)

And I happened upon a super sweet vintage cheese cloche for only $6.99. I cleaned it up and added something other than cheese. ;)

I added a coral skeleton from my honeymoon, a wasp comb from a family hike and a faux succulent. Such a charming way to display little treasures!

Stay tuned for more thrifted finds!

Enjoy.

xoxo

Ginger

I will be linking to these awesome parties!

Adorable Succulent Wreath

Hello.

After being inspired by the sweet succulent stems at the Dollar Tree, I had a lot of fun making faux succulent arrangements here and here.

And with so many beautiful wreaths I'm seeing, I decided to make one myself.

Isn't it pretty? Very simple and easy to do. Everything was purchased at The Dollar Tree. This project costs me only $6 :)

Enjoy.

xoxo

Ginger

I will be linking to these awesome parties!

In Love with Florals

Hello.

In decorating, every designer has their little tricks for pops of color. Could be pillows, throw blankets, art, etc. Even rugs.

And yes - I use all of the above :)

But I also really enjoys pretty flowers. What better way to add some natural-looking beauty in your home that a lovely vase filled with flowers that never die?!

But being very frugal, I want to pack a color punch without spending a lot of money. Enter the Dollar Tree.

Here is a selection I have in my house - and these are not even all of them. You can see my sweet little DIY Succulent Pot front and center :)

There are several approaches for floral arrangement color schemes but I really appreciate pinks and greens. They are very eye-catching from across a room.

All of these arrangements were made with Dollar Tree floral stems. Most of these are thrift store or gifted vases.

This is my most recent addition. I found this awesome, geo-style, vintage vase at a thrift store for $6. It was a little more than I usually would pay for a vase but I had to have it. I am constantly on the look out for vases and jars to put flowers in.

I added black river rock from DT (Dollar Tree) and some pretty pink, peach and green flowers.

This vase was gifted to me by my mother on Valentines Day a few years ago. I loved the bold pattern and thought smaller blooms would look really cool.

This was an easy DIY project. I bought a small glass jar, stems and decor rock from DT. 

I applied contact paper along the bottom in a pattern, applied frosting spray, let dry and then added decor rock and stems.

You can add height and draw eyes up with tall arrangements. A single, bright yellow DT stem in a tall blue bottle adds height next to my Beethoven bust :)

Speaking of busts, I found this adorable vintage flower holder at a thrift store. It even still had the foam in it. Added a few stems and too cute.

Post a comment with your floral projects!

Enjoy.

xoxo

Ginger

DIY Backyard Oasis

So I have been planning a backyard renovation for sometime now...there is an area in our yard that NO grass would grow...nothing but dust!  And our dogs and any breeze would just stir it all up and my porch was constantly COVERED in dirt!

I mean, I never wanted to be out there because I'd be disgusted by the way it looked! Which in turn meant my kids could never play outside.

Well, I had had ENOUGH!  And I planned a beautiful patio garden on a budget.

A $200 budget.

And here it is...

 We had a great time and I REALLY REALLY LOVE IT!!!

It really is an oasis to sit around the flowers with the candles going and watch the kiddo's play in the backyard.  

Plus, it was super cheap and we did it all in 2 days!

First, you start out with a few land scape timbers.  You could use any kind of border you want, but we snagged these suckers for free so that's what we went with.  We got a few 8" nails, pre-drilled the holes and staked them to the ground to keep em from rolling around.

So plan where you want it and how big you want it and pull up the turf (or in our case, lack there of).  Then level the ground.  We went the extra mile and really loosened the dirt to make it easy to level the stones, that way we could save a little $$$ and not have to buy bags of leveling sand.

Then, place your stones.  We made it easy on ourselves and used a 2x4 to space them.  No measuring!  So laying them down was super quick.  We used 1x1 concrete pavers in the "sand stone color".  Not the most glamorous choice in stone, but economical at $1.27 a piece.  We did 40 pavers in 5 rows of eight.

I used some chairs I already had and used it to make sure everything was level.

The mulch was the only thing I splurged on...I wanted cedar.

I then planned where I wanted the flowers.  When you go to get flowers...check out the sales!  There are usually good sales on annuals at the beginning of the season.  

I also went super cheap on pots.  I wanted ceramic (I already had one), but hey plastic will do.  I snagged a bunch at the Dollar Tree, some in that horrible, fake terra cotta color.  No problem, I spray painted them green. I filled in the corners of the garden with flowers as well.

Then, to spruce it up even more, I did some DIY garden spheres from my decor ball tut.

Just spray paint a dowel rod and you know the rest.  I LOVE how they turned out!  I plan on making more...

I added some things I already had on hand such as some plant stands, the chairs and the fire pit and I got a backyard oasis...and the grand total with tax for everything from the glass beads and Styrofoam balls to the cedar mulch and pavers was only $189.85.

I plan on adding more and more flowers a little at a time, as well as a few more pavers leading to the gate.  But the next big step for the garden will be a DIY pergola!

xoxo

Ginger