How Our Landscaping Survived A Dry Summer
Our neighborhood group chat discusses things like power outages, bear sightings, contractor recommendations, and how our landscaping survived or didn’t survive a long, dry summer. So, the usual. Most people I know would categorize New Jersey summers as hot and humid with plenty of rain. That combination lends itself well to New Jersey being nicknamed the Garden State. Fess up! You were thinking of a not-so-nice nickname for New Jersey, weren’t you? It has plenty of those too. Ha! New Jersey has certainly been hot this summer, but also very, very dry. We started the summer with everything looking lush. Yes, it really was that electric green. Then we ended the…
I Successfully Overwintered Our Porch Plants
I hope I don’t jinx it by saying I successfully overwintered our front porch plants which included the ferns and the Spike plants. But I did! For those of you who enjoy gardening and consider it one of your life passions this will seem like not a big deal. To me, it was a big deal to keep my summer plants alive all winter long because I’d never tried to save my front porch plants. Frankly, I’m usually sick and tired of watering them by the time August rolls around and they die a sad death. Then I feel guilty that my neglect caused this catastrophe. But not last summer!…
How to Fix a Sagging Wood Bench
So you have a sagging wood bench and want to know how to fix it? You’ve come to the right place. If there’s one thing we can help you avoid in life it’s the potential emotional and physical trauma that would come from sitting on a sagging wood bench and having it break. No one wants that to happen to them. But if it was caught on camera and you were okay…Alright, not even then. Now on to the tutorial! First of all, I’m going to assume that the wood that is sagging on your bench is not rotten. You need to double-check that. If it is rotten and you…
Our Not Quite Fall Front Porch
We have a not quite summer, not quite fall front porch right now. Anyone else feeling like they are sitting on the fence between seasons at this very moment with their decor? No? Just me? You couldn’t even give me a shove either way off the seasonal fence because I like it right where I am at the moment. It’s just so pleasant in New Jersey right now. We can hang out outside without wilting under the intense heat and humidity of summer. It’s not yet sweatshirt weather though with the daytime temperatures still in the 70s. In other words, it is perfect. If New Jersey was always like this,…
2021 Outdoor Project Progress
Do you know what’s great about blogging? There are thousands of people to hold you accountable to what you say you are going to do. That’s also the downside of blogging. Ha! Today I’m updating you on our 2021 outdoor project progress! We’re a good chunk of the way through summer, so let’s hope I’ve made a little progress, right? If you’ve been following along on social media, especially stories, you’ll be familiar with some of this work. If you haven’t been, you’re missing out on the rollercoaster of emotions that is every single project we tackle: excitement, anticipation, regret, hope, relief, excitement, pride, vows to never tackle that project…
2021 Outdoor Projects on our To Do List
This winter I spent an obscene amount of time curled up in a cozy chair drafting an epic list of 2021 Outdoor Projects. While some people find satisfaction in checking completed items off a to-do list, I find satisfaction in having a legitimate reason to never start that list in the first place. Three feet of snow covering the ground as far as the eye can see seems like an excellent excuse to procrastinate.  Alas, the snow finally melted and I’m now 99.367% certain it is safe to leave my cozy chair and start working on these outdoor projects. While it might be safe to start outside work, one of the…
Glazed Terra-Cotta Pot Makeover
Have you ever done a glazed terra-cotta pot makeover? I haven’t either…until now. *insert dramatic music here* I found a glazed terra-cotta pot at a thrift store for $10. It is huge, almost 18 inches tall, and it was begging for a makeover. Begging. You can see the potential, right? This is not one of those situations where I’m going to slap mud on a vase to make it look like authentic earthenware. I already had authentic earthenware. It was just hiding under some painted on flowers and swirly things. My plan for this glazed terra-cotta pot makeover was simple. I was just going to paint it. Easy breezy. However,…
Finally, The Deck is Done
Ding dong, our deck with black railing is finally done! I’ve only been waiting months to say that. While house projects sometimes feel like our full time job, they aren’t! That’s why they take a real life amount of time to complete. Although, this deck project took an extraordinarily long time to finish – even for us – due to factors out of our control. As it turns out, there was a pressure-treated lumber shortage in our part of the U.S. due to the work stoppages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. But nobody told us that before we started ripping up the old deck! Oops. We might have put off…
The Year of the Garden and What We Learned
2020 sure has been the year of the garden, hasn’t it? You thought I was going to say the year of bread making, didn’t you? Well, that too. So many people seem to have a renewed interest in growing all manner of fruits, veggies, herbs, and other plants while stuck at home with extra time on their hands during a global pandemic. Or maybe they just like dirt under their fingernails? That’s probably it. It definitely has been the year of the garden for our family. I don’t think we would have dove into gardening so heavily if this had been a normal year. Drastic times called for drastic measures…
Bus Stop Gardening Station
Gardening stations or potting benches come in all shapes and sizes, but the bus stop gardening station I have to show you today is pretty darn clever. I’m throwing “bus stop” in quotation marks for the moment because this bus stop gardening station is not made from an actual bus stop, but it looks like it could have been. Behold! I take zero credit for this clever idea. It’s not even on my property. This is a Junk Whisperer project. If you’re an original reader around here, you’ll know I’ve featured several Junk Whisperer projects over the years. Who is this mysterious Junk Whisperer and how can we learn her…
