Girlfriends and Girdles

August 2, 2013August 2, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

I know it isn’t polite to talk about girdles in mixed company (I’m originally from the south and am aware that this could cause swooning) but, before you swoon, let’s take a look at the burlap girdles that my friends, Carol and Kerrie, designed.

The Friends

Chris (The Redneck Rosarian, Carol, Me, Kerrie and Mimi! — Chris (The Redneck Rosarian), Carol, Me, Kerrie and Mimi!

I have been cyber friends with Carol and Kerrie for about 3 years and have learned so much from them about seeds. You can learn from them too just follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

This spring I had the great pleasure of spending some time with them at Garden 2 Blog at P Allen Smith Garden Retreat. We had a blast!

This fun loving duo have come up with all kind of things to make gardening a whole lot easier and more fun! Please don’t miss the seed keeper boots in the pic above. Gotta love those!

The Girdles

Back to the girdles … I am so in love with these girdles (grow bags). They are light weight, come in 3 sizes, are easy to store, easy on the budget and look fabulous in my natural setting.

Most of you know how crazy I am about burlap and twine, so you are not surprised that I love these. Here’s how they look on one of my potting benches…

For more about the burlap girdles, read on.

The Seed Keeper Project

I am also very impressed with their Seed Keeper Project where they recognize school gardens across the country and award a Seed Keeper Home Farmer and a Certificate to a school in every state highlighting their dedication to gardening. Read more.

The Seed Keepers

“Never hunt for your seeds again.” If you collect seeds and want to keep them organized, you need one of Carol and Kerrie’s Seed Keepers. They come in 3 sizes and they also come with all kinds of stuff that makes seeding keeping so much easier like dividers, plant markers, seed saving envelopes and more.

I actually have two of the deluxe models and fill them to the brim! Take a look…

All my seeds can be alphabetical and organized. I just love it!

The Boots

Okay I have to share just one more picture of THE boots …

Adorable!

Beating the Heat: Coleus

July 8, 2012 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

This year I fell in love with just about every coleus I saw. I didn’t buy one of each like I wanted to, but I did buy several of them! And, I am so glad I did. They are beating the heat like no other. Having such hot dry conditions this year has made me more than appreciate the plants that can take the heat and still look amazing!

Some are bushy and some trail. We have one on our front porch that is 3′ x 3′! Some I have in containers, some in the ground and some are in a window box. All of them are doing great! If you follow my blog you know that we have been without rain for 7 weeks now. Even though I water, many plants are showing great signs of stress.

But not the coleus! Here they are…

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Container Gardening: From Ordinary to Extraordinary

June 23, 2012April 27, 2013 | Teresa / TheGardenDiary.com

I love growing in containers. I grow everything from tomatoes and herbs to exotic flowers and shrubs. Each year it is fun to decide what containers to use and what plants to try.

Through the years I have turned just about everything into a container for plants. Sometimes I find something unusual and the container is more important than the plant. But, most of the time my containers are ordinary and it’s the plants that make them special.

However, there is one container that I use every year that is very special to me, this little metal water pitcher that is filled with lemon mint…

This pitcher belonged to my grandmother … the same grandmother who went to see her doctor when she was in her 80s and asked the doctor to give her a pill that would make her feel strong enough to hoe in the garden. This little pitcher was a part of her everyday, ordinary life. To me it is completely extraordinary in the memories that it holds!

I am told she had the greenest of thumbs and could grow anything. And, you can be sure that I love it when other family members say, “You remind me of your grandmother, Mammy!”

Here are some containers in my garden and even a picture of me taken a few years ago dressed in one of Mammy’s dresses, holding her water pitcher…

My favorite plants to use in containers…

Tomatoes (Because I am obsessed)
Chile Peppers
Roses
Mint (…Because I love it and use a lot of it BUT it will take over if you plant in ground!)
Most used cooking herbs
Nasturtiums (Planted around my tomatoes)
Dorotheanthus Mezoo (Big name but excellent trailing plant)
Lantana (Hummingbirds & butterflies love)
Wave Petunias (’cause they can take the heat)
Geraniums
Coleus
Ferns
Gardenias
Succulents