4.16.2012

{renovate} adding a natural green

Happy Monday friends!

Last week I talked about adding green to our decor. And this weekend I added green in a major way - but probably not the way you're thinking {or even the way I was thinking!}. I made a trip to a local garden nursery for soil and came home with a bunch of new plants to spruce up our house for spring.






The bathroom has a fun new fern. Aren't those leaves amazing?

Our bedroom got this funky new plant. I couldn't pass up the color or the texture. Both are amazing.

And, our front steps got a little update for spring! I plant out these pots each year, this is just way earlier than normal. I did something a little different this year. Instead of planting all annuals, my normal method, I added in the mini trees I bought for Christmas decor, which then made their way to our spring mantle. I'm super curious to see how they do/how big they get outside.

I have a very basic method for filling my pots:
  • Replace soil. Each year I add new soil to the pots -- soils nutrients get so depleted from feeding plants! So, I make sure to start my new plants off with good nourishing soil.
  • Add in plant of different textures, colors and blooming cycles. As you can see above, there is the evergreen tree in back. At 1:00 is a flowering annual .... it'll flower red in a couple months. At 5:00 - 7:00 are succulents, which will fill in nicely and to round it out is a different red flowering annual.
  • Don't crowd your plants! These seem a little empty now, but they'll fill out nicely in the next month. I've overcrowded before. Plants don't like it :) I'll show you an update when they fill out and look amazing.






I've been loving planting succulents outside. I've tried them a number of times in the house, but we don't have enough natural light :(.


And, because the weather this weekend was actually sunny (hurrah!), I got a great start on my garden. Friends, I am a bbbaaaadd winter gardener. I always let my garden go to weed. Boo. So each spring I clear it out and reinforce it with yummy new soil (see above) and then my new veggies can grow. This weekend I planted greens -- lettuce, kale and chard. Yum! I'll plant more in the next few weekends. Oh and are you wondering why I keep my veggies in a prison? We have crazy squirrels and cats in our yard. So a couple years ago we added a mesh border on all sides and it works like a charm -- no more veggies being dug up in the middle of the night!


Apparently I am not to be trusted at garden stores because I also came home with a bunch of new plants for our front yard! We didn't get them planted this weekend .... and they're currently in our backyard being watered by mother nature. So, you'll see more of these guys in the future :).

Anyone else out there have a tendency to go crazy at nursery's? There are just so many beautiful plants right now, it's hard to pass them by! :)

9 comments:

  1. Yes, I always come home with a trunk full of goodies. I've been thinking about adding a few house plants - one of these days I'll get over to check out what I can find. It's great what live greens can do for the home too. Your plants look great Jenn.

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  2. I love how natural greens bring so much life in to a room! I am on the look out for some great plants to spruce up our outdoor space- something won't die in all our heat!

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  3. Jealous of your veggie prison! :) All the green looks beautiful, and I'm especially loving that amazing one you got in your bedroom. LOVE that guy!

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  4. Ummm, yes! I just can't help myself at the nursery! You picked some lovlies, especially the indoor goodies. Some years back, I too planted some evergreens in my outdoor pots hoping for some year round color and some cost savings. So far so good, hope your little trees treat you well too!

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  5. Going to a nursery is worse than a trip to Target when it comes to impulse buying, haa-haa. So many pretty things and none of them bad for you. Love your garden space and the houseplants too. Hope all bloom beautifully!

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  6. Ahh! So many pretty plants, and I LOVE your garden area! I want to add some to my house, but I'm afraid I would kill them :-\ I'm thinking about starting with something simple and hard to kill like a cactus, ha!

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  7. I've been going to plant nurseries a few times a week, as of late! I love your choices- so pretty. I'd love to have more indoor plants, but they always end up with gnats all over them, even though I try not to over water. Boo!

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  8. Dont you just love succulents!!!

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  9. Such pretty plants. I'm scared to plant anything again after the drought we had last year. Maybe I'll do a couple small potted plants and see how it goes.

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