With the hot sun and the high humidity of our Mississippi summers, having a lot of container gardens sprinkled around my yard usually means I'm going to have to do a lot of watering each week. Watering my garden is a tedious chore. The hose gets tangled on everything, my shoes usually end up getting wet, and it gives the mosquitoes plenty of time to suck my veins dry. It's a Catch-22. If you have container gardens here in Mississippi, … [Read more...]
Don’t Throw Out that Old Bird Bath! Make It a Planter
One of my neighbors recently sold their house and as the new owner was cleaning out some debris from the yard, I walked over to introduce myself. I noticed he had an old, chipped, worn concrete bird bath in the trash pile, so, of course, I asked if I could have it. He even helped me load it into my hatchback! Upcycle An Old Bird Bath: How to Convert Your Bird Bath into a Planter When your bird bath can no longer hold water for the birds to … [Read more...]
How to Grow Succulents from A Leaf
If you have a favorite succulent plant and you want more (I mean, who doesn’t?), you’re in luck! It’s simple to grow a new succulent plant from a leaf and it’s really fun to watch the baby succulent plant grow. How to Pick a Leaf You don’t want to cut the leaf off of the plant - just gently tug at the leaf until it comes unattached from the stem. Ideally, you’d like an entire leaf – one that is not broken or cut in any way. Generally, this is … [Read more...]
Recycle Chipped Teacups into Planters
How to Upcycle Broken or Chipped Teacups Two of my favorite teacups were chipped lately, making them unusable for drinking. They are decorative though and I love the patterns, so I thought I would convert them in to planters. One was chipped on the inside lip and the other has a chipped handle. Make Teacup Planters for Your Windowsill Steps to make these into a planter are very simple. Since there are no holes for drainage, I recommend putting … [Read more...]
How to Create a Rock Garden for Low-Water Gardening
Xeriscaping with Succulents and Cacti Creating rock gardens in places that receive little to no water in your yard can provide nice visual appeal with little maintenance. Many cacti and succulents are perennial and when they bloom, they add bright spots of color in your landscape. There are very large eaves on the house, meaning that there is about three feet of the garden under the eaves that receives little to no rain but still gets lots of … [Read more...]