Just a friendly PSA on a Saturday morning: if you see a ZZ plant aka Zamioculcas zamiifolia in stores just get it. I've seen them at Walmart, Lowes, Ikea because they are they best indoor plant! I haven't been able to kill one and they actually do best with indirect light (like on the opposite side of the room of the window) or in an office with only flourescent lights! They also grow quickly. You can actually buy them online now but they tend to be less expensive in stores so keep your eyes open. This is what they look like.
At Lowe's:
Walmart! (around $13 I think)
We have two in our bedroom -- one on each nightstand. This one is about a year ahead of the other one.
Hello! Welcome to Day 4 of Every Day September! I wanted to share a favorite perennial that has consistently thrived in the heat, is super low maintenance, and done well year after year. The black eyed susan! (rudbeckia hirta)
You are probably sick of me saying how glorious May is in Utah. It is green and colorful everywhere and smells so wonderful and I can't get enough of it. It is also such a busy month! I feel like I should be in the yard all day working outside in the perfect temps though and wish I could.
Don't you love walking into nurseries when they are bringing all of the plants and flowers out??
As we're getting into landscape season around here, can I share some tips that I wish we would have done or known as we self-installed our landscaping? We've already talked about what we wish we would have done with our house, so let's take it outside:
1. While you are deciding what to do, put down landscape fabric over the areas so just have to cut out holes where you want to plant. Otherwise you'll have massive weed beds (like we did!
2. My neighbor, Lisa shared this with me when we were talking about lessons we'd learned while landscaping: buy bigger trees and smaller bushes. Bushes grow so fast! Buy the less expensive $8-$15 ones and put the money into bigger trees since they take longer to grow.
3. Speaking of trees -- be sure to some protection around the bottom with mulch or rocks or at least some plastic protection at the base. We couldn't figure out why our trees in front weren't growing! My Dad was visiting and showed me:
The boys had been hitting the base of the tree with the lawn mower and so it stunted the growth. Now we put the plastic protection or the concrete tree rings with mulch to protect them.
4. Keep a landscaping folder. Put all of your receipts, tags from trees and bushes with the dates. Most stores have a 1 year plant guarantee so if they don't make it you can return them. It's also helpful to remember the names and see what works and what doesn't.
5. Use drip around trees and in flower beds. It's so much easier to run little lines to individual trees and plants instead of wasting water with sprinklers and adjusting them each year. (We really need to cover our hoses)
6. If you have a slope, don't use small rocks, they will slide right down.
We learned this the hard way and had to replace all of the small rock with larger rock that stays put.
Hello! The weather is warming up here and our landscaping and yard are begging for some attention after the long winter! I was at the garden store and saw some beautiful landscaping topiaries for $80-$120. Not in the budget. But then at Home Depot and Walmart, I saw these dwarf alberta spruces for $20-$30.
I am no Mr. Miyagi, but I thought – what if I just shaped it into 4 balls myself and saved over $60? So I went to work in the garage with a pair of garden shears (these are like the ones I have) and held some of my kids’ play balls up a few times as I clipped and snipped. It took about 45 minutes and it was actually kind of therapeutic.
It’s not perfect and this picture helps me see where I can even things out a bit on the 3rd ball down on the left side, but we planted it in the fall and here it is in the spring:
It was a good reminder to think outside the box to save some money and still get a similar effect.
, I think of it every year as summer is coming to a close and school begins again:
The crickets sang in the grasses. They sang the song of summer’s ending, a sad, monotonous song. “Summer is over and gone,” they sang. “Over and gone, over and gone. Summer is dying, dying.” The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last forever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year — the days when summer is changing into fall the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change.
Everybody heard the song of the crickets. Avery and Fern Arable heard it as the walked the dusty road. They knew that school would soon begin again. The young geese heard it and knew that they would never be little goslings again. Charlotte heard it and knew that she hadn’t much time left. Mrs. Zuckerman, at work in the kitchen, heard the crickets, and a sadness came over her, too. “Another summer gone,” she sighed. Lurvy, at work building a crate for Wilbur, heard the song and knew it was time to dig potatoes.
“Summer is over and gone,” repeated the crickets. “How many nights till frost?” sang the crickets. “Good-bye, summer, good-bye, good-bye!”
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