SIGNS OF THE BIG COMEBACK!

Link | February 23, 2020 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

I love green!

GARDEN CENTERS

Garden Centers are starting to fill their shelves and bins with SPRING. This week it was seeds, seed starting supplies, garden decor and containers!

I’m finding Better Home and Gardens has so many new garden products I love!

Look at these pot saucers… They even have little feet on them! Three came home with me today.

And their Citronella game is strong! Candles and tabletop torches. I think I’m going with the white one on the top right.

So many fun things to see this time of year while we wait on plants!

POTTING SHED PUTTERINGS

I still have an over crowding problem in here, but I did manage to tidy the potting bench and make enough room for my computer so I could write this post! It inspires me to be with all the plants and the smell of dirt especially on a sunny day.

And, I bought more seeds from Renee’sGarden . . . 🌸🌸🌸

NEW PROJECT…

A section of our living privacy fence of mixed shrubs became overrun with Japanese Honeysuckle. The upside is that we now have the “opportunity” to redo a section. The removal project started last fall when I “borrowed” Mr. G’s recip saw and got busy. I love this kind of work. Mr. G saw where my excitement over the recip saw was going so he gifted me my own. This year I will no longer have to borrow. Watch out garden — I love power tools. Seriously, I think every gardener need one!

“Honeysuckle alters or destroys the native vegetation beneath it, diminishing the populations of birds and other animals that rely on the native plants.”

“Invasive honeysuckle vines grow rapidly and cover large areas. They shade out plants growing underneath them and can girdle or pull down trees.”

“Some bush honeysucklespecies also release chemicals into the soil to inhibit other plant growth, effectively poisoning the soil.”

Invasive Honeysuckle Information HERE.

Indiana Invasive plant guide HERE.

NOW ONTO THE GOOD STUFF!

This area has always included a potting table (made by Mr. G) but now will include a cold frame. Mr. G will make that too – my previous cold frame was taken down to make room for his grill and prep table.

This project is exciting and daunting at the same time as I am working around other existing plantings. Large shrubs and an ancient and huge unidentified locust tree – known better by my kids as the “thorn tree” as it has thorns that will change your life! 😬 The sole of a boot is no match! Of course it would be easy to fill it up with roses … and I just might! I am finding so many I can’t live without.

This week I ordered two more roses from Matt Douglas at High Country Roses. Nymphenburg and Banshee. Our most recent Rose Chat is with Matt as he shared all about Damask roses. As you listen to the podcast be prepared to be charmed and be prepared to add roses to your wish list. GOOD NEWS! If you order, you will get a Rose Chat 15% discount. Website HERE.

LISTEN ….

Be sure to subscribe to the Rose Chat Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode!

RoseChatPodcast.com will take you to our Podbean home page. There you will find additional info and links to specific information on each episode.

🌹🌹🌹

What big project(s) are you taking on this spring?

End of An Era

Link | April 2, 2017January 20, 2018 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

Well, I have come to the end of a 20-year-long era–my Smith and Hawkins boots. Remember Smith and Hawkins? Hope you were able to visit one. We had a beautiful Smith and Hawkins store in Indianapolis. I can’t tell you how many dates Mr. G and I had there. He always knows the way to my heart. Even in the dead of a dark, cold Indiana winter, it was spring at Smith and Hawkins. I bought my first REAL garden boots there, actually Mr. G bought them for me. (TRUE LOVE!)

The first pair lasted 10 years and the 2nd pair is coming up on 10 years. The second pair was bought at Target who carried a few things from the Smith and Hawkins line for a while. Seriously, these boots really should have been replaced last year, but I held on hoping that whoever decided to close all the Smith and Hawkins stores, would come to their senses and open again!

Here are my beloved boots in better days. Standing by the door ready to go at a moments notice.

The first issue in the replacement process is giving them up.

The second issue is their replacement. So many options.

I have made a decision to buy these beauties. Are they over the top ???

Time will tell if I have made the right decision—I ordered online. But, I do like the look of them. What do you think? I probably should have sent out an APB to all of you to ask for recommendations, but I am hopeful. Just in case, if you have a suggestion please leave a comment!

Today was the last day for the boots and we made it a doozy!

My plan was a bit “ambitious” for a day with time constraints and “old” boots. But we did it … all I had planned and more!

3A458CBC-786A-448E-82AA-4113779C9172 I guess you could say that these boots (and I quote my good friend and Rose Chat partner in crime, the Redneck Rosarian) are “worn slap out”!

Here’s picture of me and my boots a few years ago… TIRED. DIRTY. HAPPY.

Do you get attached to things?

Special Guests = Special Day

Link | May 28, 2016May 27, 2016 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

What a fun day! Sietse de Wit and Derk-Klaas de Wit of DeWit Garden Tools came for a visit on Thursday!

You know I love a good story and the DeWit Tool Company is full of stories. A multi-generation family-owned business with a personal commitment to every customer.

On April 1, 1898, Willem de Wit started his blacksmith company in Kornhorn, a small village in northern Holland. Today, the 4th generation of the forging family is running the company. Old-fashioned quality combined with innovative designs make DeWit tools the ultimate gardener’s choice. It’s more than an tool, it’s an heirloom.

Their commitment is evident in everything they do! From the high quality tools they create to the warm friendships they offer all those they work with.

There is a hand-crafted tool for every possible job in the garden. Their motto is A TOOL FOR EVERY GARDEN TASK. These tools are sturdy, handcrafted works of art. Even though they are gorgeous, I cannot wait to get them all dirty in the garden!

Mr. G got in on the action too and came away with an awesome looking axe. It is already proudly displayed in the Wood Shoppe and will get a workout soon when he splits wood for our firepit!

It was our pleasure to have DeWit friends Sietse and Derk come to visit and it is my pleasure to have such wonderful tools to use in the garden and to pass on to our next generation of gardeners.

Speaking of the next generation … DeWit also has a kid’s line of tools. You can be sure that my little gardener in Cali and his baby brother will have them when the time is right! Take a look at the classy junior garden tools here.