Flower Boxes

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Did you know that flower boxes are one of the quickest, easiest ways to clean up the look of your house?

Replace cluttered potted plants on your doorstep or patio areas with flower boxes filled with fresh, beautiful plants or flowers. The look will make your house feel homier to family and friends, add the illusion of added value to your home and just clean up the area in general!

While window boxes are the first thing people think of when considering flower boxes, remember there are more options on the market. Flower boxes can can line the perimeter of your house or yard, they can rest on the beams of some covered patios, they can even hang from the fence that separates you from your neighbor.

Flower Box 1

Source: www.hooksandlattice.com

Flower boxes don’t have to be built out of wood and have that country feel to them. The aluminum box above looks elegant and very stylish, making it a great option for most any style house. If you are looking to make this style even cleaner or simpler, use one long flower box liner pot in black or white. Growing things like succulents or herbs can also minimize the traditional flower box look and look classy in more architectural or modern style homes.

Flower Box 2

Photo: HomeDepot.com

Don’t have a window to use for a flower box? Or maybe you are just looking to update your deck? Check out this box which holds on to your deck railing. This great idea adds instant color and style to your yard.

Wood Stamped Concrete

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Wood stamped concrete is a way to give concrete floors and walls the look of wood without the cost, maintenance, and vulnerability to water that comes with actual wood floors or paneling.

Wood Stamped Concrete

Wood Stamped Concrete is an image transfer technique used mostly for decorative purposes in residential and commercial construction. It requires an imprint that looks like wood planks, then a sealer coat on top to enhance the look of the wood.

It is a way to give concrete floors and walls the look of wood without the cost, maintenance, and vulnerability to water that comes with actual wood floors or paneling.

Someone who uses wood stamped concrete may do so for several reasons:

1) They really want the look of wood in their home but don’t want the drawbacks.

2) They have an area where they want to install wood flooring, but can’t due to moisture/water issues.

3) They want the natural beauty of wood, but don’t want to put up with all that comes with it (e.g., high cost, maintenance, potential for damage from water, etc.).

Outdoor “Rugs” Made from Pebbles and Stones

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This is one of the neatest ideas I have ever seen!

Pebble and Stone Rug

Source: finegardening.com

While this may look like an amazing outdoor rug, it is really a great pattern made with a selection of colored stones! How amazing is this idea?!

Use rocks from your travels or trips to the beach… or if you want it done quicker, hop on over to your local craft store and purchase bags full of colored pebbles. They also sell bags of those round, pebble like pieces of glass to use for mosaics or floral arrangements, which I think would add a nice touch to this fun idea if done in small quantities.

Head over to my image source, Fine Gardening for more details on this and other garden “rug” and mosaic ideas!

Printable Seed Packets

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Packets of seeds are a great gift for new home owners, garden lovers or even at weddings.

But like anything in life, a little extra personalized effort is always a great way to go when gift-giving. That is why I am loving the idea of personalized seed packets. This idea opens up so many creative possibilities, such as initials or monograms, quotes, birth dates, images, etc. Not to mention the type of seeds given – a birth or funeral could give tree seeds, a new home owner could be given fruit or vegetable seeds, a birthday could be given a favorite flower and the list goes on!

Below you will find a couple options to get you started in designing your very own printable seed packets. Click on the source links to get further information on each. Think about using colored paper (you could print in color on newspaper or even used printer sized scrapbook paper) or adding embellishments post printing for a little extra style.

Seed Package

Source: www.erinvaledesign.com

Seed Packages

Image Source: justsomethingimade.com

Seeds

Image: weedsandwildflowersdesign.com

Make your own? I would love to see what you all come up with for your own seed packet designs!

Home Exterior Design

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Landscape Fun, Here is a landscape design I executed on the home I sold last year. Home Exterior Design

Home Exterior Design

This is a very basic design but it really brings out the best in this home and its location.

The front yard landscaping was designed with Green plants and bushes only. I wanted to keep the natural look of the home and not take away from its surroundings. The bushes were trimmed to create a nice border around the property. I also added some light colored bricks to create a border that would help bring out the green in the plants.

I was able to create a landscape that is both beautiful and easy to maintain. This is an ideal design for those who want a low-maintenance yard that still looks great.

Nice Big Deck With Pergola

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A pergola is an architectural structure that can be supported by columns, trees, or other structures to provide shade, and shelter from the elements for outdoor seating. Pergolas may be constructed in a variety of materials including: wood, vinyl, metal and WPC (wood-plastic composite).

I love the way this one is built on the deck, but not the entire deck. So if you want some degree of shade, you can sit under the pergola, but if you want full sun, you can move to an open space. I have a friend that has a pergola over their patio, and they have a weather-proof ceiling fan installed in it. Provides a nice breeze on warm or hot summer days.

Deck with Pergola

 

This pergola is ideal for summer barbecues because it offers the perfect setting under a shady spot (notice the trees above it). It also has space enough to seat many people together under it. Plus this is a beautiful deck!

Places to Sit

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When it comes to seating in the garden, I feel like there is a chance to express yourself.

Sure, people need to have a comfortable place to sit – that is what a patio set is for. But what about a fun bench to place outside just because you wanted to? That funky, awesome piece of furniture that wouldn’t quite work in the house, but you really want it anyway.

A garden is a place to add those special little touches.

Garden Bench 1

Image Wayfair.com

This wood and iron bench is from Cyan Design. I think it would look great in an entry way or a mudroom, but it also has a special garden space feel to it. Elegant and even Victorian style, this would be a nice place to rest next to a great little stream or fountain.

Bench

Image: UncommonGoods.com

If you are in to skateboarding, sports or just being awesome, this is the perfect bench for your yard. Made out of broken skateboards for an up-cycled style, I know I would have loved this back in my skating days.

Ford Bench

Source: Etsy Shop UrbanTwiggs (no longer available)

I am still trying to get my wife to approve a bench like this in our yard. My father had an old red Ford pickup and this bench seems like a great idea to remind me of the good old days. Love the perfectly matched paint from wood to tailgate. I think every yard needs one of these.

 

World’s Largest Flower

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If you are headed to southeast Asia anytime soon, you may want to consider visiting the World’s Largest Flower! This flower, the Rafflesia, reminds me of the old movie Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

Apparently, there is no season to see this beautiful flower as it appears to bloom whenever it feels like it. Blooms usually only last for less than a week, so it is not a flower that is easily planned for by tourists. These extremely rare blooms, crazy enough, have no roots or leaves of any sort – the Rafflesia is actually a parasite. In order to grow, the parasite will have to infect a Tetrastigma vine, shown below, which is part of the grape family. This vine appears to be the sole host for the Rafflesia flower, making a blossom hard to come by!

World's Largest Flower

Image Source Wikipedia.org

The bloom is said to be the stinkiest of all flowers. It has a scent of bad meat, and its petals also appear to look like meat as well, to attract flies and other insects in order to transfer pollen to flowers and possible seed dispersal.

The average weight of these giant blooms is said to be about fifteen pounds, with the largest on record being twenty-two pounds! Now that is a flower!

Rafflesia

If you would like to plan your next vacation around a possible sighting of this incredible flower, you will want to contact the Rafflesia Information Center.

Hummingbirds

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I have a real love of hummingbirds, but am not a fan of feeding them sugar water. Just like us humans, I believe that natural is the better way to go… none of those processed sugary foods!

Hummingbird Eating Nectar

The Hummingbird’s natural diet is made up of nectar and tiny flying bugs. Hummingbirds are not interested in eating dead insects or pests on plants – they prefer their meals alive. Hummingbirds like to eat ants, aphids, fruit flies, gnats, weevils, beetles, mites and mosquitoes, and can eat up to 100 or more mosquitoes per day!! Imagine how many mosquito bites you could avoid if a Hummingbird was visiting your yard or patio. So if we don’t feed them our sugar to attract them, what will they eat?

The answer is actually quite a long list! So below I have listed a few of my favorites that are both favorites of hummingbirds as well as easy to grow and attractive for your garden.

Echinacea

Image Source: BeHealthyandRelax.com

Echinacea plants are one of my favorite plants for hummingbirds. Also, they are quite beautiful in the yard and have many medicinal purposes as discussed on BeHealthyandRelax.com. Both butterflies and hummingbirds find them irresistible, and you’ll love them as cut flowers, too.

Fuschia

Image Source: LehighValleyLive.com

Another extremely intricate and beautiful flower that attracts hummingbirds is the Fuschia. While it can be grown otherwise, you may recognize the Fuschia as a hanging potted plant. It is a great flower to have around if you are a nature photographer, amateur or otherwise as you will find the little hummers really love this plant!

Gladiolus

Image Source: UFSeeds.com

Lastly are the beautiful gladiolus plant. If you are looking for a tall flower that promotes lots of color in your yard to attract butterflies, this is the way to go! Gladiolus are a late summer bulb flower and can be purchased through our image source UFSeeds.com.

Have you ever noticed how most hummingbird feeders are red? There’s a reason for this – it’s the color they can see best. If you have a feeder and it’s not red, I would suggest adding some red tape to it.

Some other flowers that can attract and feed hummingbirds naturally include:

HoneySuckle
Sunflowers
Delphinium
Foxglove
Pride of Madeira
Cardinal Flower
Salvia
Red Hot Poker
Trumpet Flower
Petunias
Bleeding Heart
Yarrow
Zinnia
Butterfly Bush

Personally, I would go for the red flowers, since hummingbirds see that color best. For more details on these flowers, visit the source: CountryLiving

Garbage Can Chicken Tractor

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A chicken tractor is essentially a chicken coop on wheels. It consists of the traditional wooden frame with wire mesh for walls and roof, but unlike other stationary coops, can be dragged across your yard with an attached rope or chain. This allows you to control where your chickens roam and fertilize by dragging their shelter from one location to another throughout the day.

Chicken Tractor

Image Source: blossomsnblunders.blogspot.com

A chicken tractor is a mobile hen house that can be moved around a garden or plot of land in order to allow the hens easy access fresh grass which they will eat and also fertilize the crops or the lawn with their droppings.