Cascading succulent bloom
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August 2011
I was putting a coat of paint on a set of drawers I bought at a garage sale and ended up with a lot of paint left in my tray. What to do, what to do. I wandered around outside looking for something to paint and noticed a bunch of pots I had just cleaned up. Voila! I painted a bunch of clay pots, and put a finishing touch on the rim of a pot that I had mosaic’d.
Semi-Gloss Enamel works wonders!
I had done mosaic with some “beach” glass on this pot but it just didn’t look finished until I painted the rim of the pot. Much improved.
A painted rim finished off this pot that I did mosaic work on.
Here are a few of the pots I painted. I ended up with all these pots painted plus five more just like the one under the paint can.
My painted pots project is a success! I've created a monster - ME!!!
I like them. What do you think?
Important Point: I used a combo primer/paint, semi-glass enamel which I think was key to a successful project. I’m lazy (hence the combo primer/paint!) and the semi gloss dressed up the pots a bit. I did two coats on most of the pots which gave them a better sheen.
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With kids going back to school, I offer up a few resources I’ve found for kids and gardening, amongst other picks for the Miscellaneous Monday line-up.
KidsGardening is a site full of resources school gardeners and family gardeners, including some available grant possibilities.
The Children & Nature Network is working to build a movement to reconnect children with nature.
The US Dept of Agriculture created Agriculture in the Classroom, an online searchable database that lists hundreds of educational resources designed to help educators locate high quality classroom materials and information to increase agricultural literacy among Pre-K through 12th grade students.
Empty lots can be full of promise – finding the potential empty lots in otherwise wasteful space.
Being in a wheelchair doesn’t mean you can’t garden – helpful tips for wheelchair gardeners.
Our Eating Disorder by Michael Pollan. It’s an oldie but goodie…..
That’s enough for you to chew on for the week! Stay cool!!!!
Oh, Happy Day!
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This guy might want to cut back on the carrots....
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I’ve been curious about this tree every time I come off the bridge and drive past it. It’s an African Tulip Tree – Spathodea campanulata. I finally had to stop the car so I could look at the flowers up close. Incredible! Normally you see these trees with orange petals, but this small tree is a brilliant yellow.
These trees are native to African rainforests, but can handle cooler weather. They are pretty hardy and grow quickly. In some places they are considered invasive. A downside is that branches can develop brittle wood when they get larger making them a bit hazardous if not kept pruned.
The flowers are stunning and I love the fuzzy cluster in the middle of the petals. When I pulled one of the branches down to get a better picture of a flower, sticky liquid poured out of the petals and ran down my arm. I felt like a human insect attracter! 
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Delicious Grapes!!! Some of the best things I’ve grown in the my garden this year are grapes. I only got a few clusters but they are red, seedless and very tasty.
I found this plant about 3 years ago. Someone was moving and put it out in the alley. Now that I’ve gotten two years worth of fruit, I have decided that the variety is Red Flame Seedless, a pretty common variety to be found at local nurseries and ‘big box’ stores, too.
I need to read up on proper pruning technique because I think my small yield is due to bad pruning last year. I really chopped away without much regard other than to take an out-of-control plant back to a compact, manageable state.
I can’t bring myself to cut this bunch because it’s in the perfect place to offer people a taste when they walk by on the sidewalk.
TASTE ME!!!
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Okay, I promised some details on yesterday’s post. Let’s start at the beginning.
It’s common knowledge that I love to cruise around town looking for items that other people are throwing away, a constant source of entertainment for me. I’m always amazed at what I find.
In June I scored what I think may be my best find ever. Full length plantation shutters. I had driven past this particular house a number of times and the shutters were in the front yard, leaning against a Porta-Potty. One day I noticed a contractor’s truck parked out in front so I stopped to ask what was going to happen to the shutters. Turns out they were going to be thrown away. Ask and ye shall receive.
Even Mi Esposo was impressed and he’s seen all the stuff I’ve hauled home. We strategized a bit, I bought supplies and we got to work. Here, he’s building up the sides of the box with plywood going on top of these stringers.
Next, secure the shutters so they don’t default to closed. Some strategically placed nails did the trick.
Next, fill in the spaces with planting medium. I chose to go with my favorite citrus, palm, cactus mix because I wanted good drainage rather than moldy soil since I would have to water more often due to the smaller growing area.
Dam up the corners so the dirt doesn’t pour over when I water.
The succulent wall has been my favorite project in quite a while, but I’m experimenting with another concept with other shutters, aka the Salad Wall.
So far, these walls are proving to be a bit labor intensive with watering and feeding, but I’m getting a handle on it. Another problem has been little caterpillars eating some of the greens so I bought a spray bottle of spinosad to keep them under control. This space gets good light but not full sun. There is a nice breeze that blows here, too. If I can grow cool season greens during the warm summer months, I’ll be a happy camper!
I placed these panels outside the kitchen door against a stucco wall that was pretty unattractive. Quite an improvement, don’t you think?!
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