I'm a "Rock Star"

I am merely a girl with a dream. A dream of a rustic rock wall in my backyard. But building a rock wall is not easy. So after waiting and waiting and waiting for a rock wall to just magically appear in my backyard, I decided to make matters into my own hands and create a rock "edge." It is not a wall, but an edge to my yard, marking where the grass (or where grass should be) and the woods meet. It's not beautiful, and it's not finished, but it's something. And I did it -- all by myself!

To me it's a metaphor, actually. It's kind of a "Stop dreaming, start doing" sort of thing. I'm tired of waiting around for my dreams, because I live in reality and reality can be kind of disappointing sometimes.

Eventually my backyard will be -- not perfect -- but better. And if moving a few rocks makes me feel like it's a step in the right direction, then I will move rocks! (My body is not *happy* but I'll count it as a workout :)

Of course, I still have dreams, but instead of dreams -- which might not happen -- I'll call it inspiration. Or "Pinspiration," since I tend to pin my dreamy inspiration on Pinterest.

Here's a link to my "In the Garden" board. Enjoy!

Ladybugs

Ladybugs are great for the garden!

Source: howdididoit.com via Kellie on Pinterest

In the past few weeks, there seems to have been an explosion of ladybugs on my sliding glass door. I know this sometimes happens in the fall, or on Indian summer days in fall. It's like the little eggs hatch and they take over. I don't remember it being so prominent as it seems to have been this year, however.

Ladybugs also make me smile. They remind me of my grandmother. Her house must have had a ladybug infestation, because they always seemed to have swarms of them at certain times of the year. When I see a ladybug, I can't help but think of my Gram and thinking it is a sign from her. I can't kill them. If they are inside, I gently get it outside as fast as possible.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks ladybugs are a sign from above. I was reading a post on SuperTy.org (I can't stop thinking about that poor little boy losing his fight with cancer! I even wrote a Yahoo! Voices article about it.) where his mother says after she returned from the crematorium the day after his death, she found ladybugs all over her sliding glass door and considered it a sign from above. In her post, she said she researched about ladybugs and found so many interesting little facts about them. Like how they are dedicated to the Virgin Mary as the "beetle of our lady" and they hold a special link to mothers.

Reading this was poignant to me as I consider them a link to my grandmother. Her name was Mary, and she was very religious, so the Virgin Mary connection to my grandmother is also important and relevant to me. And the link to mothers is also an interesting little link to something that happened to me.

When I was at the end of my pregnancy with the twins -- 37 weeks, to be exact -- I went to the doctor and they were concerned about my fluid levels and sent me to the hospital for yet another ultrasound and test. I had so many ultrasounds and so many tests during my twin pregnancy and I had been at the hospital many, many times. However, this time I knew, in my head, that all could not be right and it might be time for them to come out! It was an icy December day, and while I was sitting in that waiting room in the hospital to be called to have my ultrasound, I saw a ladybug crawling up the wall right next to me! On a freezing cold December day! It was the oddest thing, and I totally thought it was a sign from my grandmother. I knew right then and there, whatever that ultrasound revealed, that the babies were coming that very day. And they did. And it was fine. And I knew it was my grandmother's little way of telling me that.

I sometimes think people "stretch" the sign thing a bit too far, where every tiny thing is a sign from above. It's nice and comforting to believe that, but perhaps I am too cynical or practical in that regard.  That said, there are certain times when I really believe in signs. Not every ladybug moment is a sign, but always a reminder. That day in the hospital, it was not only a reminder, but a sign.

I don't collect ladybug items, but I love jewelry with meaning. I think I might put this on my holiday wishlist:

Source: alexandani.com via Kellie on Pinterest

It's very sweet, isn't it? And a nice reminder to wear around my wrist. Do you believe in signs or symbols?

A Bloom!

My garden is definitely taking its last breaths of 2012, but I woke up one rainy morning last week to find a beautiful surprise: A moonflower had bloomed on my trellis!

In the spring, I planted my morning glory seeds, as well as some moonflower seeds. The plants' vines are similar, so I didn't even think a moonflower seed had taken, but I guess it did. This garden gets a lot of sun and is drier, so my morning glories seem to take longer to grow and bloom, but I try year after year, anyway, and by the end of summer I usually have beautiful blue flowers greeting me each morning.

And despite trying to grow a moonflower in the past, this was the first year I was successful.

The bloom wasn't even completely open, but I made sure to snap a photo -- and run outside to sniff its heavenly fragrance! It smells so incredibly lovely. The bloom is so much larger than a morning glory, and so angelic looking.

Despite being late in the season, and having some cold nights, this little bloom managed to open and surprise me. But better late than never, right?

This moonflower sighting inspired me to do some research. Here's a link to 10 plants which only bloom at night, including the moonflower. You'll notice many of them are white -- how nice would it be to plant an all-white "moon" garden? The white flowers would glow in the moonlight. One of the popular garden centers near my home has always had a white garden -- this link has information on its garden and plants to buy for your very own white garden. I've always wanted to stroll on that property at dusk and see if the garden does indeed glow.

Apparently moon gardens are growing in popularity, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. (It's interesting what you can find out when you start Googling for a blog post!) Perhaps I need to start my own little moon garden in my backyard. I would definitely add little solar lights, a few white statues and a bench, to sit under the moon and watch the fireflies in the summer. Maybe next year? :)

It's Fall, Y'all!

Fall arrived Saturday and I was more than ready for the seasonal change! The first day of fall is also my wedding anniversary, and Hubby and I celebrated a dozen years of married life on Saturday with a trip to a not-close mall and dinner at P.F. Changs. It was a change of pace for us, as we usually go to a small local Italian restaurant on our anniversary. This year, we decided to switch it up. Life for my husband is crazy right now; he has extra projects at work and has been/will be very busy. It was nice to at least get a moment together and a break.

Now back to fall, y'all! (Yes, I can't help myself from saying that. I so-very-much wish I was Southern at times...) During the day on Saturday, I felt the urge to get some mums and a new scarecrow for the garden. Last week, with major help from my mom, I was able to clean out my front gardens, cut back bushes and trees, and make my house look neater than it has been. I am very happy now that this chore is accomplished. It is so hard to work in the yard with the little ones; it's hard to keep on eye on them while wielding giant, sharp landscaping tools! But with my mom, we were able to keep them in check and both work and clean up, clean up!

My Saturday mum/scarecrow shopping trip brought me to Walmart, since I knew they would have both items -- mums and scarecrows. I didn't want to spend a ton on a scarecrow since the weather destroys it -- my hope is that I can get two years from a scarecrow. Big Girl picked out the scarecrow, and funny thing -- it looks like her! We decided on purplish-colored mums this year, and picked up one for each urn by our front door.

And speaking of the front door, I needed a little something to hang on it. We have a storm door on the front, so we can't have anything puffy, and it gets rather hot between the doors, so things often fall apart. I found the little wooden pumpkin wreath shown at the top of this post while browsing in the Walmart seasonal aisle, so I decided to splurge and get it. It's thing, it's not floral (which means if won't fall apart) and it's plain pumpkin-ness will last until Thanksgiving without looking like a leftover Halloween decoration.

I do have a window box that is currently empty, and I am unsure if I will put anything in it. It costs a lot of money to just put flowers in for a month or so. I wish there was something fake that wouldn't look fake to jazz it up.

Now that the gardens are cleaned out and the bushes and trees are trimmed, I'm happy pulling in my driveway again. It's amazing how snips of the garden shears and a few passes of the rake can just clean up the place!

Green Acres

My husband bought a tractor.

Well, not exactly a tractor, but I'm calling it a tractor. It's a ride-on lawn mower. It's a John Deere, which is why I jokingly call it a tractor.

Here's the back story. We have a two push mowers. One is better than the other. The not-so-good one has lived under our deck in all the elements. The week of Big Girl's birthday party, hubby was mowing the lawn to prep the yard. (Now, he HATES mowing. He has back problems, and we have a big nasty hill to push that mower up in addition to the rest of the regular yard.) So, he's mowing, and suddenly the mower just jerks and dies.

Eeek!

We do need a new and better mower to make this job easier. Mowing is the bane of all of our existences in this house. Why? Because hubby mows on a weekend morning and then is shot for the rest of the day. Kaput. And then nothing else ever gets done and we don't do much and the day is wasted.

We had talked about looking into a new mower for next summer. One of our cars should be paid off in January, which will free up some funds that can finance a new and improved mower.

When our push mower broke, hubby had no choice but to try and repair it. Over the course of several days, he researched and took it apart and bought parts and fixed it. And what do you know, it worked! Meanwhile he was browsing on Craigslist and saw this ride-on mower. It was $50. It didn't even start.

"I know it's crazy, but I'm thinking of buying it," he said. "Do you mind?"

He said he thought he could figure out how to fix it. From what was described, and with the amount of reading he had done on lawn mowers for our push mower, he thought he might know what the problem was.

I told him to go for it. It was a gamble, but I'd rather see him throw $50 away on a lawn mower that would possibly work than in our local casino. It was a worth a shot. And he said he could sell it for parts if it didn't work out.

Now, I'm no dummy. I know this mower is going to cost us far more than $50. But have you priced ride-on mowers lately? Outrageous. And this thing is a John Deere. A John Deere, people! At least it's a quality brand, right?

So now I have a disemboweled lawn tractor in my garage, grease and oil everywhere, and a husband stooped over an iPad reading a service manual nightly as he deconstructs and reconstructs a lawn mower engine.

He's a smart boy. I have faith he'll figure it out. And my husband will be happier mowing the lawn and the rest of us will be happy because of it.

Garden Harvest

The veggie garden season is in full swing now, with veggies ready to pick. Peapod Farm has hit a few road bumps this year -- my poor zucchini is not happy nor thriving, and neither are my peppers. My pickling cukes are almost done, but I have and continue to have a batch of green beans.

My tomatoes always seem to pull through and flourish, which is a blessing since we are a major tomato-eating family. I often laugh at the stories of canning tomatoes because ours would never make it to that stage. They disappear pretty quick because my husband and kids snack on them, or I make tomato/cucumber salad to have with dinner.

Next year, I think Peapod Farm is in for an overhaul. I need to buy some weed barrier to put down before I plant, and I might even move the entire thing because watering it is a pain in the neck. We'll see... Next spring is a long time away, and we still have the winter months to dream about gardens and plants and plans.

Vermont Garden

When I was in Vermont, I came across the prettiest garden! It was a kitchen garden outside the Timbers restaurant at Sugarbush ski area's Lincoln Peak. I feel in love with its organized neatness, mountain prettiness, the birch trellises and the planting patterns. I wish my garden was this beautiful! Enjoy the photos and I hope you are as inspired as I was by its beauty.

Hummingbirds

This my new hummingbird feeder, a gift from my husband and the kids for my birthday. He had gotten me a different one at Christmas, which we have in the backyard, but we recently saw this one at Walmart and I fell in love with its vintage cuteness, and he surprised me on my birthday. It's part of the Better Homes & Garden collection and is called the "Antique Glass" feeder.

We hung this one in the front of the house, right in front of the living room window. It's great to be able to see it so clearly, and quite often I have been doing something in the living when I notice a little hummingbird drinking out of it. I never seem to be able to catch one on camera -- those little sweet things are so very quick!

The little tag which came with this feeder lists perennials to attract hummingbirds. This list includes bee balm, butterfly bush, phlox, salvia, lupine, Rose of Sharon, hollyhocks, honeysuckle, columbine, trumpet vine and coralbells. We have quite a few of these in our yard, and I had seen a random hummingbird here and there in past years. It's nice to finally have a little spot to see them more clearly, and I'm hoping the kids will enjoy their view into nature.

With my Christmas hummingbird feeder, my husband bought a bag of dissolvable solution, which he put in this feeder. They are attracted to bright colored flowers, such as the color red, which is why hummingbird feeding solution is often dyed red. I have seen some controversy about the red dye online, but this is what we have in it for now. Apparently you can make your own clear-colored solution with one part clear cane sugar to four parts water. I have not tried that yet.

If you have a hummingbird feeder, clean it out before refilling it. Use very hot water to rinse out the feeder and do not use soap! A bottle brush will apparently help you reach any dirty spots inside the glass or plastic.

In the past, I had a feeder that attracted tiny ants, but I haven't had that problem yet this year. Apparently the ants add some protein to the hummingbird diet, so don't worry if you see some critters marching into your feeder!

Peapod Farm

The primitive-yet-functional veggie garden.
It's set way down in our backyard where we have room for it.

We planted the vegetable garden, a.k.a. Peapod Farm, a few weeks ago, on a very hot weekend. I hadn't touched the garden since the fall, and it required some attention.  A lot of raking and cleaning out was in order. After suffering tiny ant attacks, sweating gallons of sweat and raking my arms off, it was ready to plant. It took several hours to get it back to a reasonable shape, but so far, it's functional.

We planted our usual vegetable suspects in our four square plots. I follow, somewhat loosely, the "Square Foot Gardening" concept, with the goal to cut down on weeding and keeping everything compact. This year, we planted four types of tomatoes (can you tell we like tomatoes?): Better Boy and Celebrity varieties for larger tomatoes, and Sweet Olive and yellow grape tomatoes. (Big Girl is a tomato addict and loves little tomatoes.) We also planted Bush Pickle Cucumbers, Italian Large Leaf Basil, Zucchini Elite Summer Squash, Classic Eggplant, Red Night Sweet Pepper and Bush Green Beans. Yes, all that in those four boxes. I would plant more, but alas, I only have room for so much, right?

Off to the right side of the photo, you'll see big leaves -- that's rhubarb. It's actually rhubarb from my late grandparents' house, which actually originated at my grandfather's Pennsylvania farm where he grew up. I thought my husband killed it a few years ago, when it was planted where my former veggie garden was and he ran it down with his mower. But it sprung up again -- hubby, who loves rhubarb calls it a weed! -- and I moved it and here it is, surviving, a little piece of my family history. I love it for that.

Our little garden serves us well, and I jokingly now call it Peapod Farm, since in my dreamland I live on a farm. We get a suitable amount of produce from it, cutting down our vegetable costs each summer and allowing us to indulge in more produce than usual. I would love a larger garden, but that will come in time. Despite our prolific planting of tomatoes, we don't have any to can -- we eat every single one in this house.

I would like a "cute" garden, but right now we don't have much cuteness. We have a small net fence around it to keep out the deer, who like to visit for a midnight snack. And that white fence is front is actually an old thing my husband made for around our Christmas tree when Big Girl was little. It serves as a way to gate off the front. It's starting to get a little rotted, but it still works. Ideally, I would like a lovely little white fence around the whole thing with a charming gate and arch, but fences are an unnecessary expense in our grand scheme of things right now. Instead, I'm opting for function vs. fashion.

(But I do have a pig. Not a real one. A fake one. See the little statue in the middle of my garden? That's my pig. Petunia Pig of Peapod Farm. She's the guardian of the whole operation. I'd really like a sheep too. And another sheepdog -- a real one. And possible a chicken or two. Possibly fake or real. But I digress.)

As far as upgrading my garden "cute" factor? As I always say, a girl can dream, can't she? When it's time to afford some fashion to add to my function, I will. Here are some photos of veggie gardens in which I find inspiration, courtesy of my Pinterest board "In the Garden"....

Susan Branch's picket fence garden.
I love Susan Branch! Everything she does is cute.

Source: susanbranch.com via Kellie on Pinterest

Favorite move garden ever!
From "It's Complicated" with Meryl Streep....
I read somewhere that most of it was fake.
I still love it though, particularly it's pretty style and the teepee tomato cages.

Source: lamaisonfou.blogspot.com via Kellie on Pinterest

I would love to work in this space. It's inviting!

Source: homesteadrevival.blogspot.com via Kellie on Pinterest

A proper fence to keep out deer!

Source: sunset.com via Kellie on Pinterest





This is so cute but not practical for my yard or to keep critters out!



Source: thischickcooks.net via Kellie on Pinterest

The Posie Gets Cozy garden. Everything she does is adorable, including her first veggie garden.
I love following her adventures with this. She planted a lot from seed.
There are even better photos of the garden growing on her blog right now.

Source: rosylittlethings.typepad.com via Kellie on Pinterest

I hope your veggie gardens are coming along.

Thanks for visiting Peapod Farm!

Finally!



Not fancy, but functional.


For years, I have been wishing for some boundary to our front yard. Our grass just runs right into both next door neighbors' yards, and not like I want to seem un-neighborly, but I would like a little privacy every now and then.

And the need for a boundary is greater now that I have two active twin toddlers who need a visual reminder of where they can and can not go.

So, after years of talking about it, and dreaming about it, we went out and purchased plants to put on our property line. I would love a little white picket fence, but our neighborhood isn't a fence neighborhood, and the fences are much more expensive than some greenery. And even though I would have liked some very high-brow boxwood hedge, we went with a quick solution that we could afford:

The very common aborvitae.

We bought a bunch of small ones -- very small -- but because they are small they will likely establish their roots faster and I know they will grow like weeds, since aborvitae seem to do. Someone remarked that it will be years before they provide true privacy, but it's OK, since I know I will blink my eyes and they will be 6 feet tall.

We managed to get one side of the yard planted this weekend, and it feels like a major accomplishment after years of talking about this. Hopefully the other side will be tackled by next weekend, although it's going to be a very rainy week for us in the Northeast. But we are halfway there, and after a few bags of mulch, the sides of our yard will be definitely defined for the little ones.

In other garden talk, I was so happy to see that "My Yard Goes Disney" returned to HGTV on Friday night! We love watching this show as a family, and Friday's premiere episode was definitely a very cute design that our whole family loved. They made a mini-golf course in the backyard! It was adorable and someone our family would love. The course even had an outdoor train track and a castle doll house. Love, love, love!

You can see more photos of this "My Yard Goes Disney" makeover at
 http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/magical-backyard-makeovers/pictures/index.html

The show is on Friday nights at 8 p.m. We set our DVR and watch it as a family and always enjoy talking about whether this would be a makeover we would want or not. This one was definitely one we would want! (You can see some past episodes' video here.)

Rocks in the Garden

One of my currently mostly-green gardens.
Hopefully morning glories and moonflowers will be spreading up that trellis soon.

I adore garden decor... Little statues, birdbaths, stepping stones, etc. are so fun to add to a garden and add some personality. (I say that with caution, as one doesn't want a circus of garden statues in one's yard... but a few cute touches here and there are nice to break up the greenery while waiting for perennials to bloom, right? :)

Garden decor can put a dent in one's wallet, so sometimes you need to be a little creative. The little space in front of my beat-up bird bath needed "something" but I didn't want to put another plant in this garden.

The solution:

Rocks. That's right -- rocks! Rocks totally rock, right? Little stones add interest and texture and are -- wait for it -- FREE! Anyone with a child knows kids love to collect stones and rocks and all things nature, so why not put those buckets filled with rocks to good use. Most of these are from trips and travels and beaches and rivers and dirt roads. They fill in a space. They add some interest, with varying colors and shapes. (See the heart-shaped ones?) They stand-out on the mulch. And they look like a path to the ol' bird bath and give it a little more pizazz than being lost in the sea of green.

I always loved how Diane Keaton's character in Something's Gotta Give collected white beach rocks. Such a simple thing, but easy as well. So if you have a bucket or jar or bunch of rocks somewhere, give them a home in your garden. In the fall, put them back in your bucket so they don't get lost under snow and leaves, and in the spring, plant a new patch of rocks back in the garden.

My Garden: Tree Peonies

The tree peonies are blooming in my garden!

When we moved into our little house a dozen years ago, there were many existing flower gardens. One of them had this odd looking, scraggly bushes with old branches. Thankfully I just let them be, because these ugly stick bushes turned out to be tree peonies.

The tree peonies are often one of the first things to bloom each spring, usually around this time of year which just happens to be my birthday month. (I always think I am lucky to have a birthday that happens around the time of peonies, lilacs and lilies of the valley bloom in the garden.) After heavy snows during winter a few years ago, my poor tree peonies suffered some damage. Luckily, they have recovered nicely and rewarded me with many blooms again.

These flowers are so very, very fragrant! You don't have to stick your nose down into the flower to get their intoxicating scent -- just stand a few feet away and it's heaven. It's such a treat to wait for the school bus with my daughter each morning and be rewarded with the perfume in the air.

The blooms are really, really large -- pancake size -- and full of these delicate petals. Tree peonies are different than herbaceous peonies. Herbaceous peonies are plants that grow and die back each year on green stems, while tree peonies are just exactly what their name states -- trees, albeit more like a small shrub. You can think of it like a hydrangea.

Another tree peony from my garden -- a sweet shade of light pink.

In Connecticut, we are lucky enough to have a nursery that specializes in this wondrous plants. Cricket Hill Garden is also known as "peony heaven" and celebrates the blooming season by encouraging visitors to come see its many varieties in bloom. The tree peonies are planted on a small hillside and their blooms are protected from the sun by charming Chinese umbrellas. The plants have their roots in China, and the nursery is very knowledgeable about the history of tree peonies as well as its care. Tree peonies should be planted in your garden in the fall, so if you would like to add these gorgeous blooms to your yard, make note of the fall planting.

Many years ago, Martha Stewart visited Cricket Hill Garden and shot a magazine cover there. I can't find the image on the Web, but her website has many links to information on tree peonies as well.

Beautification Day Update

An old apple tree gets a facelift around its base.

Beautification Day at Big Girl's school was last week and was a huge success. (You might remember me mentioning it in this post.) The event was a result of a child writing an opinion piece in our school newspaper about litter near the playground; I figured a "beautification day" could make the children proud of their school. When I started to scope out the project, and was given a date, I realized the scale of the project needed to be manageable. The school had this old perennial garden planted years ago by a teacher, the local garden club, and a school garden club. But it was buried under leaves and overgrown and neglected for years.

My goal became centered around this "secret" garden, and this one area of the school. I figured keeping it small, focusing on the one area and making this one spot really nice would be a good starting point. I had to keep in mind "maintenance" -- who would take care of this in the immediate future and years to come? I also had to prep the area, and one day during school spring break I packed up the kids and my parents joined me at the school and we raked out the whole area, pruned bushes and weeded a little to get it ready.

Old and new plants combined for a new, pretty garden.

There was not a lot of time to get ready for this last-minute project on our school calendar. I was a little worried that I would be able to handle it all on short notice, but everything seemed to work itself out: The district allowed us to work on it with the kids during recess times. This was a worry of mine, as the recess times are 20 minutes long, 10 minutes apart, three in a row, and we had around 100 kids sign up (there are a little more than 300 in the school). It would definitely be a rush to get everything done during that time.

I called and contacted several local businesses regarding donations of plants and mulch, and I also asked our school families to bring plants. I had a "wish list" to give guidance, and the list included mostly spring- and fall-blooming perennials to allow our students to enjoy the beauty of the garden when school is in session. Perennials also require less water than annuals during the warmer months and return each year.

A few donated plants

Three businesses offered to donate, and on the day of the event, many families brought many, many plants. We had about a dozen parents show up to help, many of whom I had never seen volunteering at PTO events or at our meeting. Each one really just jumped right in to help. A women from our local garden club, which I had also contacted, came early and dropped off dozens and dozens of garden tools and garden gloves she had been storing at her house from a now-defunct garden club at our school. She was glad to hand them back over to us! And two members of the garden club came to help as well. They were such an asset!

My parents even contributed to the project, donating several bags of mulch. I need to buy more mulch, but it won't cost more than $30 or so to finish out the project. And our PTO spent NOTHING on this project -- donations took care of everything! I had up to $100 of PTO money to spend if I needed it, but the extra mulch is all that is left to purchase. Eventually, I would love to add a bench or too, or a bird bath.

Stone edging which was buried under weeds was dug out and reset.

The kids absolutely loved and enjoyed the event as well! Many of them asked if they could work on it again the next day, or asked when they would be able to do it again. It was definitely a success in their eyes, and they were so proud of their plantings. We may not have the "reading garden" of my dreams yet, but it's a start. We hope to use this beautiful area during our "Read with a Parent" event later this month, and I think it would be a great place to set up a refreshment table for parent orientation this spring.

School beautification projects are great events for schools and students and communities. We hope to repeat this day in the fall and spring, and keep our school community pretty.



Pet Memorial Garden

Big Girl making a stepping stone last year.
Perhaps we should make another one this year to include in our pet memorial garden?

When our beloved dog died last year, I can't even explain how difficult it was for all of us. She was 10 1/2 years old, and was sick, and I felt that we had been robbed of a few more years of her presence in our lives. I wanted to honor her memory and her legacy in some way, and I started dreaming of creating a small memorial garden in her honor. I thought it would be healing not only for myself, but for Big Girl, who has struggled with this loss and still does.

Unlike when a human dies, we really don't have real closure to a pet death -- there is no wake, no funeral, no cemetery to visit. Yet pets are clearly important members of our families, and their loss is felt daily, as suddenly we don't have pet dishes to fill or dogs to take outside and walk or to brush or to sit on our feet at night while we watch TV or sleep next to our bed. A small garden in their memory can give families a chance to work on something together, honor their pet, and give a place to grieve or remember them.

I searched the internet to see if there were any ideas on pet memorial gardens, and found very little information. Not long after, I joined Pinterest and started "pinning" or bookmarking things that would be special in my very own pet memorial garden, so I thought I'd share a few of them here for those who find them selves wanted to honor a deceased pet.

One of the things that comforted me after our dog died was the "Rainbow Bridge" story. It would be lovely to recreate a rainbow in a pet memorial garden, in honor of this idea. I was able to find this gorgeous photo for inspiration:

Of course, I don't have the space or the budget to create such a large rainbow, but it is very pretty, isn't it?

Source: klehm.org via Kellie on Pinterest

Clearly a large rainbow will not fit in my yard or the abundance of those flowers in my budget. However, I was able to find a great blog post about planting a rainbow. The post is actually tied to the Lois Ehlert children's book Planting a Rainbow, but it gives ideas for rainbow plant selection and shows that you don't need a great deal of money to execute the idea.

Many plants have different meanings as well. Dogwood trees are often planted in memory of our canine friends and can be a beautiful centerpiece to a garden area. Lavender plants signify love and devotion; rosemary is for remembrance. An all-white garden is also beautiful. (For other ideas, here is a decent page on creating a memorial garden.)

Whatever plants you choose, be sure to consider the amount of sun in the area. A mix of perennials and annuals is also lovely, and give thought to plant sizes at maturity, as well as different textures of plants. Also, consider how much time and care you can give to your garden when planning the size and choosing plants.

Garden ornaments are will personalize your pet memorial garden. When searching online, I found several gardens that were actually where pets' ashes were buried and had little tombstones or name stones. Ours will not be like that, but rather a place to honor our dog's memory. I would still like to include a stone with her name, and PersonalCreations.com offers a very affordable personalized garden stone that one can personalize with the dog breed. (They also offer stones for cats as well.) Many web sites, including Amazon.com, offer garden stones with quotes or images relating to the death of a pet. Some companies even offer pricy options with pet photos on them.

I would actually like to add either one or both of these garden ornaments to my pet garden:

This one is pricey, but it looks exactly like my Bailey!

Source: accentfurnishings.com via Kellie on Pinterest

Looks like my Bailey as well, of course, and I love the heart and wings on it.

Source: mountain-iron.com via Kellie on Pinterest

I've had both these garden ornaments bookmarked for a while, but have not broken down and ordered either yet. I'm sure I'll have to get one of them for our garden. I just can't decide which one!

Including the little ones in creating the garden can be a healing experience for them. In addition to planting flowers, have children make stepping stones or other garden ornaments to place in the garden. (The garden could also end up being a place where future pets go to rest, such as goldfish, etc., so keep that in mind regarding the garden location as well as the thoughts of what "creatures" reside in your house.) Creating a safe, peaceful place will help kids with the grieving process.

Other nice touches for a pet memorial garden could include:

• St. Francis of Assisi statue, since he is the patron saint of animals
• a bird feeder or bird bath, to attract wildlife
• angel statues
• solar lights
• a fountain or solar fountain
• windchimes
• garden flag, with pet breed, angel, quote, rainbow, etc.
• a bench or stone seat

Right now I am still deciding exactly where our memorial garden will be. I will be sure to share it with you when we make some progress.

Do you have a pet memorial garden?

What did you include in it? 

Reading Gardens

Every year when my family travels to Vermont, we eat at one of my favorite places ever: American Flatbread in Waitsfield. There are many things I love about American Flatbread, but this post will just focus on one little thing that has inspired me.

The flatbread place is actually at a farm, and outside the restaurant are campfires. One campfire has a circular wall around it where people can sit while they are waiting for a table. Just beyond that wall is this:

A simple podium, with a weather-proofed copy of Dr. Suess' The Lorax. Now, in Vermont, environmentalism reigns supreme, so the choice of including this book here, on this farm, is completely understandable. But it's also another inspiration for me: A garden that includes reading.

I am currently working on planning a Beautification Day project for Big Girl's school. I'm in a time crunch, and trying to not to spend money on the project, so I have an idea of what I can accomplish in my head. It's not grand, or large, but an improvement. And that said -- a girl can still dream... And my long term dream for the school is to have what is called a "Reading Garden."

A reading garden is really a place where a teacher can take a class outside, with places for students to sit, surrounded by the beauty of nature and the warm sunshine and fresh air, to read or learn a lesson. I've been busy pinning ideas of other schools' reading gardens. Here is one of my favorites:

Source: greenribbonschools.org via Kellie on Pinterest

I love the benches, the pergola, the patio (no mowing and trimming!) and the flowers around it. This one is located outside a school's library, which is perfect location.

Here is a simple idea of a reading garden on another school property:

Source: ecsd.k12.ca.us via Kellie on Pinterest

This one may not have the pretty red benches, but it's got room for a whole class to sit for a lesson or a meeting. Here's one with stone seats:

Source: google.com via Kellie on Pinterest

The current beautification plans at Big Girl's school are to clean up an existing, but neglected garden and expand it it, as well as pick up some litter. I'm thinking the oldest grade at the school will do some kind of "leave behind" project, like stepping stones; the younger ones will help with planting seeds and perennials which will bloom in the fall. I'm basically working with no budget, so I need to get everything going with donations.

Hopefully this will turn into an annual project, and we can landscape other areas and eventually get a reading garden established.

Do you have a reading garden at your child's school, or local library? 

Garden Dreams

One of my gardens, June 2011

It seems that spring has officially sprung, as they say. For a little while, I was not sure if we really were here yet; our winter in the Northeast was so mild that I kept thinking that we were going to get an Easter snow or something. But we didn't. And it seems that the good weather will be staying now.

Every year, at that first glimpse of spring, my thoughts turn to the yard and gardens and outdoors. I always have grand plans, most of which are not executed due to two obstacles: Time and money. But nevertheless, a girl can dream. Pinterest has been a great source of dreaming about gardening, among other things, so I've been pinning and pinning and dreaming and dreaming. I know some plant purchases will be in my future, particularly for the edges of my front yard, for some much needed privacy for the neighbors. And I will like do some "house cleaning" of the garden, moving a few things, tidying things up, etc.

I've started the tidying while doing the dreaming, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite things for the Peapod Garden Plan 2012, as I will call it.

Of course, decorating is leading my plans. First, I need to make this:

My Flower Pot Person will be much cuter than this one. I swear.

Source: the-artistic-garden.com via Kellie on Pinterest

I have been coveting a Flower Pot Person in my yard ever since I spotted one at the Cherry Hill Cottage. Her flower pot lady is so adorable! (You MUST click on the link to see Toots. I will be making her twin, apron and all.) I have yet to get out and buy all the pots needed to make it, but this year might be the year. I just have to figure out where they will be sitting in my yard permanently, since once you make one, it's pretty difficult to move it.

And how fun is this:

Sittin' pretty!

Source: re-nest.com via Kellie on Pinterest

I used to have a similar thing in my front yard garden. The chair was painted red, but it rotted from being rained on so much. I love the colors in this, and I think I need to find another old chair to put in my garden again. And I need to figure out how to keep it from falling apart.

I need to spruce up some shady areas of my backyard, so I've been pinning shade ideas a lot. I need low maintenance, because I don't want to be trimming and clipping and weeding any more than I already have to do. Hostas clearly fit that bill, and I'm thinking planting different varieties in an area for interest might be nice. And don't they cover up a wide area pretty sufficiently?

Hostas, hostas, everywhere: Get a few, keep dividing for many!

Source: americanhostasociety.org via Kellie on Pinterest

Here's another pretty shade shot. I love the little accent wall. Did I mention I love stone walls? I do.

Source: flickr.com via Kellie on Pinterest

I also have this disgusting ugly hill in my backyard that is not landscaped. When we moved here when we were married, the woods came practically right up to our house, right where this hill now starts. My husband cleared back the woods considerably, mostly so we could have room to do stuff in our backyard, like put in a swing set for the kids, have a garden, etc. The result is we are left with an ugly hill with weeds growing on it. I want to landscape it, somehow, but the budget is too tight to spend thousands on the retaining walls and bushes of my dreams, not to mention that it would be a huge job that I cannot undertake with two toddlers. I'm forever thinking of ways to create a low-maintenance and attractive solution to this problem. I recently pinned this photo:

A pretty landscape for a hill

Source: houzz.com via Kellie on Pinterest

I love the rocks at the very bottom -- we have a lot of large rocks at the bottom of our hill, and this might be a way to incorporate them into a plan without moving them too much! I love the different colored shrubs on the hill too. I'd like to get started on our hill re-do sometime in the near future because, honestly, when I am in my backyard with the kids looking at that hill, I want to cringe. I hate looking at it. There are a lot of things I would like to change about my house/yard, but most I can live with and "prettify" on my own. This? Ugh. Despise! Disgusted! I need to fix it somehow without breaking the bank so I can be proud of my backyard.

And speaking of rocks and stones:

Rocks and curves and textures add interest!

Source: tradgardsflow.blogspot.com via Kellie on Pinterest

Rocks rock! This pic made me realize I need more stone, more rocks, in my garden. Little stones, big rocks, rows of edging rocks... It just makes it all look so interesting. I'm planning on digging in my rock pile this spring and putting them to good use. Plus rocks, when found in the yard, are very friendly to my garden budget. They are free! But that said, I'll probably purchase a few bags of rocks too to put in little spots here and there. (Mental note: I must pin more pics of rocks!)

Of course, since I am in the dreaming mode, I have to include MY DREAM SHED. A photo of this shed has been on the front of my fridge for years. Years. When the Family Handyman issue arrived with this on it several years ago, this became my dream shed and I never looked back. Nothing has ever topped it for me. Someday my wonderful husband will find it in his heart to build this for our backyard. I've saved the plans. I guess I just need to save the money.

The Schoolhouse Shed, which fulfills all my Laura Ingalls Wilder Dreams.

Source: familyhandyman.com via Kellie on Pinterest

I have a million other pins to tell you all about, but I think I'll save them for many other posts as I get ready for my garden season. I can cover veggie gardening, fairy gardens, a pet memorial garden. I'll get to them all. And I'll likely report on all my garden experiments throughout the year. Stay tuned, and look for another garden post later this week.

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 You can find it here.