A green thumb: Who, me?

A little before and after peek at the backyard, 'urban' garden.

As of May 22nd

BEFORE

While I can't take all of the credit for this amazing garden, I can say that I am extremely proud of how the little veggie patch has taken off this year. Shortly, we can expect red ripe tomatoes and fresh edamame.

There is a little section of herbs and a pepper patch too. Brussel sprouts, zucchini and cucumber have all taken off nicely.

As of June 3rd

AFT

 This will be the summer that the backyard finally gets some attention; it has been an uninhabitable mosquito pit for far too long.  My pinterest feed is blowing up with links to wooden fences, potting tables, and fire pits.  I might be a little over ambitious for the small space....I would love to install a fountain, high-top stone bar area and lots of other little amenities to make it a cozy space.

BEFORE

(perhaps now it won't be a haven for all the backyard junk!)

After the tornado last summer, we rescued this patio set from grandma and grandpa's house. It was a little dinged up, covered in tornado scum, and piled with junk so I treated it to a fresh coat of spray pay and VIOLA! Its a cheerful addition to the backyard.

AFTER

And I know I should probably just keep this a secret....but I am completely in love with the selection of succulent plants at Lowe's this season. I could seriously drop some cash on those lovely little plants. I'm going to HAVE to start collecting vintage planters (perhaps tiny deer) just to house all of my new additions.

Finally, I would like to share the small and beautiful re-do my screen porch has undergone recently.

BEFORE

 

 

AFTER

The rug completely ties the room together! I love the soft turquoise colors and the Native American feel. I picked it up at Saver's in KC on a recent adventure with Martha.

Thanks for reading!!

DIY Create a Succulent Terrarium

Lowe's has some lovely succulents right now if you are interested in creating a succulent terrarium of your own. I first saw succulents on Etsy, and I thought they looked so cool, I was happy to find them locally.

 I am not much of a green thumb, but luckily, they only require watering every two weeks or so.

I have them on my front porch, hopefully it is sunny enough for them....we'll see how they do. A sunny window sill would be ideal.

To make a terrarium, select a glass container with a wide opening, so that moisture does not accumulate inside. I used a fish bowl and a glass candle dish.

 I put a layer of rocks/gravel in the bottom as a reservoir for the water so the dirt doesn't stay saturated. For looks, I added a layer of pretty white sand.

Then I made a layer of cactus/succulent dirt for the actual plants to grow and thrive. I planted the succulent plants in the layer of dirt and then added pretty shells and rocks on top.

The photos below were taken with my Lens Baby 2.0. Pretty cool, huh?

My existing porch plants.

I put this one in a little cracked tea cup.

I'm actually growing...

An herb garden!! I don't have a green thumb at all but I love to try new recipes and it is a lot more fun if there are fresh herbs readily available for me to use. I hope they don't get too crispy this summer--we'll see!

Fresh Mint

 Sage

 Cilantro

 Parsley

 Pineapple Sage

 Basil

 Dill

 English Thyme

 Lavender

 Yay! I am excited to have this little garden growing. Maybe next year I will get more adventurous and plant some real veggies...or some pretty roses.....We'll see!