Spring has arrived! I have been very busy this last week with gardening, weed abatement and getting ready for the cows to return the pastures at our place. As much as I love spring, green grass, and flowers – I abhor my allergy affliction and all of the weeding….. sometimes I wish everything was covered with concrete and we had rock gardens! That being said, here I am planting more things to water and weed…..
I got our seedlings started last weekend and finished the rest of the veggies yesterday.
Peppers and Eggplants
Tomatoes
I’ve planted different varieties of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, along with some basil. I know a lot of people like to buy plants already started at the store, but it’s much cheaper to buy seeds and start them yourself. Also, you can buy many heirloom and hybrid varieties that you will not find in a store. We purchase our seeds from Burpee, Gurneys, Renee’s Garden and Seeds of Change. I keep them outdoors on the side of our shed in this plant rack that has a plastic covering to protect them when it gets chilly. It beats having all of these seedlings inside!
This is my potting area. My husband put this bench together and I put this lattice behind it. The lattice was an idea my mom saw where gardener’s hung things on. I really just hang my trash bag on it and like to look at it as it pretties up my space. As this is outside of our shed and there’s a cabinet I already have for my gardening stuff where I hang tools, I don’t really need to hang them here. But if one did not have such a thing, it would be very useful for that. That chair I have sitting there is one I found in a junk pile and cleaned up. I don’t know why I need a chair in my potting area, but hey, it works well for setting things on!
Potting bench
My potting bench
I like to reuse the plastic containers from plants I buy at the store and use those for starting seeds as well. And yes, I do buy plants! Mostly flowers as I like to have instant gratification when planting….. 🙂
This bench is another project I finished yesterday.
This was a gliding bench that was broken and someone threw it out. My grandpa (whose Depression era thriftiness was apparently passed down to me), picked it up. I sanded it down and spread linseed oil all over it. I don’t think I’m going to stain it much more than that as I like how rustic it is. It sits out in front of our enclosed porch and now, instead of being trash, it’s a lovely bench that I love to sit in. 🙂
Detail on canvas bench cushion
I made the bench cushion out of outdoor canvas I bought at Joann’s. It took only a yard, which was good as this material was $20/yd (thank God for coupons!). This fabric is wide and I just folded it in half and and sewed it with the right sides being in and then turned it. I found the center and put a seam down the centere and then put a square foam pad (also purchased at Joann’s with coupons) on each side. I filled up the extra space with fabric scraps. I’m always looking for a project to make with fabric scraps and stuffing things like this certainly puts them to use! I then sewed up the remaining edge and set it on my bench. It took me less than a half hour to make this, with most of the time spent stuffing it and battling with a cat who wanted to lay on it….
Front porch bench
I think it looks pretty inviting, don’t you? Our newest foster dog, Belle (more on her in another post), sure thinks so! Please ignore those monkeys in the background…… they are my husbands’. 🙂
Belle on our bench
I also found this old bench from a forgotten picnic table and put it behind it as a plant stand. I think our new bench cushion goes well with the mosaic planters we have leftover from our wedding.
Mosaic pots and repurposed bench plant stand
Happy Spring!
