Grow it and just....Wait

Before we moved to the country, I would have classified myself as a pretty impatient gardener. Well, make that really impatient. On the weekends, I would run to the Garden center for my flats of flowers, shrubs and trees, come home put them in the ground and expect overnight maturity and beauty.

But something had to change when I moved to the country. Now with a surplus of land, plopping a flower, tree or bush wherever I wanted wasn't part of the plan nor was the expense to buy the number of plants that I would want to fill such vast space. I needed to change how I approached gardening. I needed to change........ me.

I remember my girlfriend calling me one day and asking if I wanted some daylily plants from the side of the mountain where her mom lives in North Carolina. I said sure, give me what you got. So she did and brought over 14 full size Daylily plants.  

I divided each of those 14 plants into as many plants as I could. I dug deep into the hard Georgia clay and planted them all in a single row along this wall. Although they looked slightly weak and almost pathetic ( imagine Charlie Brown Christmas Tree) I envisioned that one day with care and patience watching them grow, my single stem daylily plants would grow into something spectacular and amazing.

 So year after year my single stem daylilies all planted in a row, began to grow...spread and naturalize. My patience was paying off.

And if that's not enough, during the past 8 years I divided those daylilies from the wall and planted them along a walkway to our Guest Cottage. In a single row from a single stem.

So each year when the daylilies are in full bloom and I am walking on that pathway that I call the 'pathway to patience', I am reminded of that very impatient gardener and how she learned a valuable lesson 8 years ago, how it paid off and how she never bought another daylily at the Garden center again.
Have you learned your lesson in the garden yet?

PS- My thoughts and what's worked for me on the best times to dig up and divide-  Spring and Early Fall. Either before your plants have blooms on them or after they have bloomed. 

Grateful for~

The friend who gave me those 14 plants

Sharing at ~

Fishtail Cottage
Uncommon Designs
Between Naps on The Porch
Cozy Little House
Savvy Southern Style

Want Top This Top That delivered directly to your inbox?

It’s easy!  Just enter your e-mail address.

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

New Years Arrangements and the 'Stare Down'

I look out the window and not much of anything is blooming right now, except for my Camellia bushes. Yesterday I decided to cut a few and scatter them throughout the house.

For a festive look that didn't scream Christmas and more like New Years, I added the stems to a few mercury glass candle holders that I got at Garden Ridge Pottery for next to nothing, and placed them on top of a mirror with a few glass balls sprinkled around.

For an extra touch of whimsy I added these silver curly sticks ( I have no idea what you call them) that I got in the dried floral section of Hobby Lobby.

I love seeing the pops of pink especially with all of this dreary, rainy, cold weather we have been having. 

I know it's a winter bloom, but it just screams Spring to me.... 

but not so fast. 

I look in the other room and not only is the Christmas tree staring at me ready to come down, but also the dog and the new pony are in a stare down of their own. 

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas Day.

Grateful for~

wonderful 2 weeks with my mom

Sharing at:

the 36th Avenue

French Country Cottage

Tatertots and Jello

My "Serenity" Deck gets a makeover

Welcome to my little place, tucked in the corner of my garden that's just mine.I call it my Serenity Deck. 

My little escape. It's where my kids send me for my "time outs". It's where the family knows they need to make a reservation in advance if mama is on the deck and they need me.

This weekend my little Oasis got a quick and inexpensive makeover. The makeover actually revolved around these $4.00 pillows. 

End of season sale pillows at the Home Depot and a $6.00 side table that I picked up at a garage sale.

What's cool about the table, is that the top is a removable tray so when I am in 'time out' I can move it around.

The chairs were freshened up as well with a few coats of Aqua Spray paint. They were looking a bit drab and beat. Certainly not something that I wanted to be sitting in during my moments of escape.

 When I do feel like having company( with a reservation of course), it makes a great spot for a date night with my husband. 
Or I can just sit here all day with my Restoration Hardware catalog and eat watermelon and pretend that I don't hear the kids screaming!

Can you believe the size of that thing? It may take me all day just to read it. Oh well.

For More of My House Tour Click here

Sharing With:
Fishtail Cottage
Crafty Scrappy Happy
Miss Mustard Seed

Butterflies and the Butterfly Bush

Have you ever wondered why the butterflies like the Butterfly bush so much? 

Do you think it's because of the beautiful white, pink or purple blooms that the bush produces all summer?

Maybe the massive amount of blooms that sprout out all over the bush and make excellent cut flowers like I used here . No worries though, the butterflies don't mind since there is plenty more.

 Or do you think it's because the bush, although a perennial in most regions, is a fast grower and virtually maintenance free?

Perhaps it's because the bush emits a special honey fragrance that attracts butterflies like some mystical spell?

Maybe they can't get enough of the sweet nectar from the flowers?

I don't know the real reason, but if I were a butterfly these are some pretty good reasons to stick fly around! 

Have a great weekend. 

See you back here tomorrow for My Weekly Wow's.

A Colorful way to greet your guests

Who would have imagined that these..... 

could look so beautiful, vibrant and colorful?

My Crepe Mrytle stems (which I never would have thought to cut) in various colors from the front yard

placed in a straw tote with a small chalkboard sign

And perched on a chair near the door to Welcome You!
For more beautiful outdoor gardening ideas, I invite you to visit my Flip Flop Gardner Series (which is also located in my sidebar).

Sharing with:
Fishtail cottage
French Country Cottage

How To Add Color To A Hot Summer Garden

Man Oh Man is it Hot! Driving back from Dallas last weekend I actually saw a few crayons on the ground at a gas station that had melted. That's hot! 
Living in Georgia I have become more familiar with the term HOTLANTA especially these last few weeks. Although my garden has not lacked water ( luckily I am on a well and not faced with water restrictions) it does lack color. It usually does this time of the year with the heat.

 I wanted to share a fun and quick way to add a pop of color to your hot, hopefully still green and really sorry if it's now a brown garden.
I took my metal bicycle planter that usually gets around the garden and yard quite a bit, and sprayed it a fun Spa Blue color.

I added a basket with a bunch of Brown Eyed Susan's, which is the only burst of color that I have around right now that grows extremely well in dry, hot conditions 

I put the flowers in a container filled with water inside the basket and can have color from the bunch for a couple of days. When they die down I go here and pick more. This plant actually likes to be cut so more flowers will pop up.

Attached to the back is a picnic basket that most likely won't be utilized until the temps cool down a bit, but looked cute on the back of the bike.

So there's my solution for a pop of color. 
What things do you do to add color to your garden this time of the year?

PS- Did you know you can follow me on Hometalk now? It's a great online forum where I and other DIY'ers post great tips and suggestions on anything home and garden related. Click the button below or in my sidebar to start following me today!

Sharing the bike with: Jennifer Rizzo French Country Cottage Answer is Chocolate Tatertots and Jello Funky Junk Interiors Too Much Time on My Hands Maleviksrosentradgard It's Overflowing

A Really "Green" Idea

If you know me,you would know of my love for Daylilies. If not, you can witness that adoration here . The love fest goes on for months until the blooms die back and I am left with the sight of this

and this. Just think, a million of these stalks just staring at  me. 

Determined to proclaim my continued devotion to my sweet Day Lily, I decide to do something that I have never done before. An idea that not only  keeps me "green" but also keeps me in good grace with mother nature.

I went out and picked all the spent stems from the Daylilies and trimmed off about an inch from the bottoms

I then took Ivy Green Rust-Oleum spray paint and coated the entire stem front and back, and let the stems dry completely

I then placed my new found "green " idea in a container on the patio.

It provides some nice color and interest for something that would have just ended up on the ground, unnoticed as it decomposed.

Not bad for  spent Daylily stems.

 Mother Nature thinks it's a cool idea too!

Sharing over at :
Homestories AtoZ
Domestically Speaking
52 Mantels
Addicted 2 Decorating
Tatertots and Jello
Funky Junk Interiors
Malviksrosentrafgard