Three Girls and a Guy

Meet the newest members of our family. Sunday was "Make way for the Chickens" Day. We are now the official owners of Rhode Island Reds: 3 hens and one cockerel.

Rhode Island Reds are a hardy breed; happy to adapt to almost any healthy surrounding. They come highly recommended. They are also excellent layers of light brown eggs. We wanted our birds exclusively for eggs - no meat birds in our future. Did you know that the color of a chicken's ear lobe determines the egg color?

We were a little rushed to prepare the run and coop for them. The run is a old chain link dog pen that, for the last ten years, has been used as a storage area for bags of garden soil and peat moss. It was a bear to clean out. The run is located in the back corner of our lot, where grape vines and sassafrass saplings had completely "swallowed" the dog pen. It was unrecognizable. We've still got some work to do, but it looks a thousand times better!

Since they were raised together in a smaller pen, the  chickens are very happy with their new surroundings. They have lots of room to run around and scratch, peck for bugs and take a dirt bath!

 We are using an old dog house as the coop. The girls won't be ready to lay eggs until the end of the summer. My oldest son wants to paint the coop a funky color; he says it will "be fun for the chickens." Right now it's just boring beige. Did you know that chickens see in full color? I wonder if they respond to color in the way that humans do. Silly thought, I know. I just don't want to freak them out or get them "riled up" by introducing a color that they don't like. Hmm, maybe I do have too much time on my hands...

Anyways, they are here, and I am ecstatic. Thanks to our wonderful friends for raising them for us. We're probably not finished bugging you with our chicken questions, but at least you know we are finished begging you for fresh eggs!

Are any of you considering adding chickens to your family?

Asian Kitchen Planter Freebie

If you noticed on my last post, I love to come up with planter "recipes." Since edible gardens are such a hot topic these days, I came up with a new planter that I'd like to share with you:

This recipe uses specific cultivars that are very popular in Asian, mostly Thai, cuisine. If you have trouble finding all the cultivars in your garden center, feel free to switch to one that is available and appeals to you. If you would like a pdf version of this recipe, please post in the comments below. As always, let me know if you create this planter -I would love to post your completed planter photos. Check back often, I have many more planters in the works!
Happy planting and eating!

Asian Kitchen Planter Diagram is property of Artful I Design Studio.
Please do not reproduce this graphic without permission.

Recipe for a Planter

I love to come up with "recipes" for container plantings. The inspiration for the example that I am sharing with you today comes from Garden Design Magazine. One day, years ago, I received a subscription packet in the mail from the magazine. The packet contained gorgeous imagery, including the one below. I have carried this image with me to garden centers, posted it on my wall, kept it at my desk. It's quite worn out, but for whatever reason, this is my "it" planter. I absolutely love it. To some it may be a bit schizophrenic, but I love everything about it! The combination of textures, colors and heights really speak to me.

Photo from Garden Design Magazine

Since this was an ad to sell the magazine, and not an article on container plantings, there was no guide that listed the plantings. Sooooooo, I've taken it upon myself to dissect this planter, even down to the cultivars, to give you a guide on how to create this gorgeous look!

First, the tallest plant, is Canna 'Tropicanna Black'

Canna 'Tropicanna Black'
Photo credit: Garden.org

 The second tallest plant is Gaillardia. This is the only plant that I was unable to find the specific cultivar - photo below is a placeholder. I would make sure to use one of the taller Gaillardias, something in the 18" - 24" height range.

Gaillardia
Photo credit: Proven Winners

 The third tier of plantings is Crocosmia 'Lucifer'

Crocosmia 'Lucifer'
Photo credit: Better Homes and Gardens

 Right smack dab in the middle is a dark succulent called Aeonium 'Atropurpureum'
(Note: In the original photo this plant is flanked with more of the Crocosmia 'Lucifer')

Aeonium 'Atropurpureum'
Photo credit: findmeplants.com.uk

 In the lowest tier, arching up from the left and right is Lantana 'Dallas Red'

Lantana 'Dallas Red'
Photo credit: Central Coast Growers

 Located in the center of the lower tier is an ornamental pepper plant, Capsicum annuum.

Capsicum annuum
Photo credit: Proven Winners

 And finally, spilling out of the planter on the right side is black sweet potato vine,
Ipomoea batatas 'Blackie'

Ipomoea batatas  'Blackie'
Photo credit: Proven Winners

I hope this planter recipe has inspired you to go out and explore different plant combinations! If you feel like it's too much for you to tackle, scale it back to your three favorite selections and just go with it! All of the plants listed above have wonderful characteristics, so scaling the variety back a little will not compromise the integrity of the planter. As always, let me know your questions, especially if you are stumped in your planter selections. I would love to help you!

So, what's your "it" planter? Do you have a favorite planter "recipe?" Email me your photos and I will compile them in a follow up post.

There's a Dragon Tongue in the garden!

Photo credit: Seed Savers Exchange

Made you look! Actually, Dragon Tongue is a variety of pole bean that I planted in the garden yesterday, along with a ga-zillion other things. It was a great day for planting - cool and cloudy. Hopefully we will keep having these spring showers so all my seeds and transplants can get off to a good start.

So, what did I plant?

clockwise from top left

Fennel

Mustard Tendergreen

Swiss Chard Neon Lights Mix

Sweet Basil

Cucumber Sumter

Summer Lettuce Glory Blend

Bush Garden Bean, Tenderpick

Arugula, harvested seed from last year's crop

Pole Garden Bean, Dragon Tongue

Bush Garden Bean, Contender

White Russet potatoes, not pictured

I'm also experimenting with efficient garden layout techniques to best utilize the "dead zones" between plants. For example, in the areas between my tomato cages I have inserted my fiberglass poles for the runner beans. In between rows of tomatoes, and underneath where my poles are crossing, I've planted bush beans. Hopefully, everything will receive adequate sunlight as it matures.

Other news - keeping chickens may be in our future!

I can't wait to be able to get eggs from our own birds. Plus, they are excellent composters and will thank us with plenty of manure for... our garden. It's all about closing the loop, right? We have plans to convert an old dog pen into a chicken run. Hopefully, we can build a coop to look something like this one:

Not sure how it's gonna go down, but I'll be sure to keep you posted. Has anyone out there raised chickens or have any advice or stories they'd like to share? Post it in the comments below.

Are you up for the challenge?

Meet Little Baby Lovey Dovey!

Our dove family has a new member! I've noticed that mama dove has been sitting rather high on her nest these days. To my surprise, this morning I passed under her nest, looked up, and saw this:

That's mama dove on the left and little baby dove on the right. I swear, baby birds must double in size overnight! Aren't they cute? I'll try to get some pics from another angle soon - not that this angle is unflattering. I think it's adorable to look up into a tree and see two birdy bee-hinds staring back at you. As long as they don't, well, you know... Mama dove is very strategic in where she keeps her baby in the nest. In this view, baby is to the inside of the canopy. Such smart creatures!

Have you had any close encounters with wildlife in your backyard?

We just scored a home makeover!

Digital home makeover, that is. A landscape contractor recently asked me if I could create before and after digital images of home landscapes because that is the type of service some of his customers are interested in. I thought I'd use my own home as a test sample. How did I do? Is it convincing enough?

I used the exact plant materials that we planted a few weeks ago. The exception is the climbing rose on a trellis (left side) and planted urns. These will be added in the near future. Other upgraded items are the blue shutters, blue door and bronze light fixtures. This image is a close representation of what our home could look like in about three to five years.

Here's what our home currently looks like:

Digital home makeovers is a service that I offer to customers who are questioning the full potential of their home and landscape. Artful I understands that everyone sees things differently; some people may respond well to a two-dimensional landscape plan, while others may find a three-dimensional digital makeover more comprehensive and eye-opening. I want to give my customers tools they can use to help them create a beautiful landscape. My digital home makeovers are reasonably priced - all I need is a high resolution photo of your home or landscape to get started. I can even come to your home and take the photo (SC Central Midlands area only). Call or email me for more information.

So, what's on your wish list for a home landscape makeover?

Let the Gardening Begin

I am participating in the 2012 Urban Farm Handbook Challenge. It's a twelve month long, online gardening challege where some of the best gardening and homesteading bloggers lead discussion and provide tips and advice to creating your own little urban farmlette. Anyone can participate - it's free and you can go at your own pace. Since it started in February, I am actually behind in the challenge. But that's okay - better late than never.

As a part of our home and landscape renovation, we have decided to help breathe new life into my grandmother's vegetable garden. It's right next door to our house and it hasn't been used over multiple growing seasons. It's the perfect size for us - not too big, not too small. It has deer fencing around it - believe it or not, even though we are in town, they occasionally wander through.

To prepare the soil, we roto-tilled the existing leaf litter into the soil. I have plans to create a compost bin in the future. Again, I am a little behind on some things. I also don't have a watering system installed either, so it's handwatering for now.

What I planted:

Kaleidoscope Mix Carrots, Clemson Spineless Okra (which ironically enough, isn't without spines - I learned that last summer).

Carrot and Okra rows

'Bonnie Green Bell' Bellpepper

'Crimson Sweet' Watermelon

'Burpless Bush' Cucumber

I've also planted 'Big Boy' tomatoes, 'Husky Red' Cherry tomatoes, 'Black Beauty' Zucchini squash, and Crookneck Yellow Squash.

I have two gardening companions across the fence. Don't know their names yet, but they are the sweetest girls. Maybe the aforementioned deer won't be so much of a problem with these ladies around! I've got to add extra large milk bones to my grocery list...

So, that's it for this week's planting. Next week I'll go through my seed packets and come up with a strategy. It will most likely be beans, herbs, swiss chard and mustard greens. We'll see...

What's growing in your garden? Are you trying something new or different this year?

Happy Gardening!

Join me and take the Urban Farm Handbook Challenge!

Just Pickin'

Most everyone that knows me knows that I come from a family of, ahem, “collectors.” But I could write volumes on that and maybe one day I will, but not today. So, part of this adventure that I’ve chosen to undertake in renovating this house and landscape, is that I have the wonderful, or cursed, ability to walk right out into my back yard and go “pickin’.” No, not as in mandolin or banjo or flat pickin’, but Pickin’, like the show, American Pickers. There are no deals to be offered, no haggling or back and forth, just plain and simple easy pickin’.  I know, it’s a little bit redneck to go pickin’ in your own back yard, but it can be cool too. Today’s pick looks like this:

A nice little quint of “glassy” ladies. So, what are they? Three are canning jars and the two smaller ones look to be old pharmaceutical or household vessels. From left to right:

Ball Ideal with glass lid, quart size

Unknown with cap

Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing, minus the cap (what the heck is bluing anyway?)

Atlas E-Z Seal with glass lid, pint size

Atlas E-Z Seal with glass lid (slightly aqua tinted glass), quart size

I just looked up bluing, and apparently bluing is a solution that is added to laundry to enhance your “whites.” It’s the old school method for whiter whites. Thanks Mrs. Stewart! Check her out – hotter than firecrackers on the fourth of July!

I love the typeface on the Atlas and Ball jars – always have. It’s a shame these were left outside to get all rusty crusty (although I am a huge fan of the oxidation process of weathered steel), these fetch a decent price on ebay, when in pristine condition.

Oh well, for now they’ll just be cleaned up and left sitting on my kitchen window sill- a good daily reminder to get gardening, so I can, in turn, get to canning! There are many other picks that I have yet to discover, like an old parking meter!?! I know, I know, look back at my first sentence. But really, it will make an awesome wall hanging one day. Presently, it is an industrial model of housing for a huge family of fire ants! One that did not want to be disturbed, and violently let me know it! I’ll “pick” it another day, after I’ve put out the fire ant killer.

Have you "picked" anything lately? Did you repurpose it as home decor or garden art?

I'd love to hear your stories; email me pictures if  you have any and I'll post them.

Happy Pickin' ya'll!