Forcing Bulbs and Winter Gardening

Winter months can be difficult for those of us who love to garden and nurture plants. Lowe's has asked me to tell how I bring the garden indoors to continue my gardening hobby during the winter months.

One way I continue gardening during the winter months is to force bulbs. It is a great way to have cheerful and colorful spring flowers in the dead of winter! Although the last few days have felt like spring! I am happy to have winter delayed!



There are several bulbs that can be easily forced inside. One of the easiest to force is paper white narcissus but you can also force crocus, hyacinths and tulips.

I bought this crocus bulb starting kit for .50¢ at a garage sale a few years ago. You just add water and before long you can see the roots start growing!

A paper white surrounded by hyacinths.

Another container of paper whites. They are growing faster in this one; I'm not sure why.

For the paper whites and hyacinths, you add a layer of rocks and keep just enough water to wet the bottom of the bulb.

 

This ladle attached to a cutting board has just enough room for two small paper white bulbs.

A small remnant of burlap makes a very simple bow to cover the nail.

As you can see, a variety of containers can be used to force bulbs. 
Really, anything can be used as long as it doesn't have drainage holes.

Another way to bring the garden in is to add natural elements. I love to add greenery and pine cones around the house, not just for Christmas, but all winter. I picked up some free greenery at Lowe's Saturday and I'll show you how I use it both indoors and out!

 

Thank you so much for reading! 

Robin

Winter Bird Feeding

I am not particularly fond of winter. I am from Alabama where winter lasts about a month and I didn't even own a winter coat!  Indiana winters have been difficult for this southern gal to adjust to. I am like a bear and hibernate, getting out only if I absolutely have to!

One of the things that I learned early on that has helped me get through the winter months without symptoms of S.A.D, (Seasonal Affective Disorder), is bird watching! Most winter mornings you will find me at the kitchen table, in front of the sliding glass doors, with my coffee, Bible study materials, camera and the cats. I sometimes sit there for hours reading and watching the birds and trying to get a good picture of them. I think since I am at the window so much, the light and the enjoyment of watching the birds lifts the winter blues that I used to experience when I first moved here.

 This picture was taken in 2011. I had so much fun making the wreaths and watching the birds eat from them all winter.

With the cost of groceries, I had made up my mind that that I would not be feeding the birds this year. It was just too expensive. I was really sad about it. Since I had fed the birds for the last several winters they were already gathering, waiting for their winter sustenance.

While I was outside a few days ago cleaning the clay birdbaths and putting them away for the winter, I got a great idea!

The Lowe's Creative Ideas project for this month is about bringing the garden inside. It is all about how we continue our hobby of gardening throughout the winter months. While I love gardening, I also love nature and more specifically I enjoy photographing nature. I garden primarily for that end, to attract the butterflies and birds, (especially hummingbirds), to my yard.With that in mind, part of gardening to me is providing food and water for the birds throughout the winter months and if I can get a few good pictures in the process that is a great bonus!

I have several posts lined up for winter gardening but this is by far my favorite. While it isn't technically inside the house, it's close; it's on the patio! It is bringing the garden in closer, but not inside the house.

For several years I have wanted to do an evergreen tree for the birds during the winter. I can't tell you how many times I have been tempted to grab a used Christmas tree from the curb! By January it is already too cold and usually too snowy to seriously think about that project and I am too much of a penny pincher to buy one myself! I am absolutely thrilled to be able to do this project for my birds this winter! Thank you Lowe's for the tree, bird seed and feeders!

I attached the clay pot to the clothespin with Loctite all purpose indoor/outdoor caulk from Lowe's.
Hot glue would not hold up to the snow and cold weather. They are so cute on the tree!

I always pick up small baskets at Goodwill when I find them! They are perfect for holding seeds, peanuts or suet.

I could have taken the suet out of the cookie cutters, but I like them this way. It will also help the birds eat them by giving a little more stability and support.

I love Christmas trees in galvanized containers!

 

I purchased two new feeders at Lowe's. I have found that there is less waste with the cylinder feeders. That is especially important to me this year.

It didn't take long for the sweet little chickadees to find the tree! I was preparing lunch when I saw it go to the tree! I grabbed the camera and captured a shot before it quickly flew away. I get all giddy when I think of the photo opportunities this cute tree will provide this winter!

The birds will be well fed and this will bring me and my cats so much pleasure during the winter months! 

I don't know if the bird population is an indicator of the winter climate, but last year I had very few birds and no snowbirds, (dark-eyed juncos); it was an extremely mild winter. (Yea for me!) In the last three days the snowbirds have arrived and I have seen a Northern Flicker, (a first), Mockingbird, (second time) and three Eastern Bluebirds, (I haven't seen a bluebird in several years). While that is incredibly exciting, I am just a little concerned that we might be in for a harsh winter. It might mean that fewer people are feeding the birds and providing water for them. As much as I dislike winter, I actually would prefer the former.

As you prepare for Christmas and winter, please don't forget our feathered friends!If you have someone in your family on a tight budget and they enjoy bird watching you may want to consider a gift of a new feeder and seed!

Thank you for reading!

Robin

Nature Shots Coasters

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the Christmas season! I work in retail and I've been seeing Christmas decorations for a few weeks already! I'm not ready for that quite yet! But ready or not, here it comes!

 If you are looking for inexpensive teacher gifts or hostess favors, I have a quick and easy project that you may like!

I enjoy nature photography and I have so many pictures of flowers and birds! I had seen the tile coaster tutorials on blogs and Pinterest and thought I'd make a few with some of my favorite bird pictures.

I bought the 4x4 tiles at Lowe's. You cover the tile with Mod Podge, place your picture on the tile and coat several times with Mod Podge, (drying in between coats)! I used peel and stick cork for the backs but you can also use felt.

I had these in a friend's vendor space last year and they sold pretty well through the holidays.

I've been collecting wool sweaters from Goodwill for a few fun winter projects. (Maybe if I say that out loud I'll actually get to them!)

We are supposed to have unseasonably warm weather this weekend in Indy. I have to work, but I hope to have some time outside to finish up a few things before winter sets in.

Enjoy your weekend!

Mum's the Word!

The final assignment for Lowe's Creative Ideas was all about mums! Here is my project for the month! I still have a lot of bare spaces from my losses during the drought this summer.

I love this old ladder and borrowed it from my bedroom to use for the autumn display. I purchased it at a garage sale for $1.00 and painted it blue.

I know a lot of people don't care for mums, but I always celebrate the entry of autumn with mums in my garden or on my front porch.

I think this color is my favorite!

I took  the pumpkin and mum pictures last year at Stoney Creek Farms here in Noblesville. I used the same colors in my Lowe's mum project.

Here is another shot. I took these pictures quickly with my point and shoot. I had hoped to get better shots before posting about the project but between the cold rainy weather, sickness and work it never happened. These will have to do.

Thank you for stopping by and for following along while I blogged for Lowe's Creative Ideas! It has been fun for me and I hope it inspired you with ideas for your own garden!

 A special thank you to Lowe's for this wonderful opportunity!

Lowe's Gift Card Giveaway!

Summer is officially over and fall has wasted no time making its presence known! We have a frost advisory tonight! After the record breaking hot dry summer, the cooler temperatures are a welcome relief but I am not ready for frost!

Here are a few late summer pictures:

Hummingbird moth in the evening sun.

The verbena bonariensis is always a hit with the butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and hummingbird moths! Thankfully it spreads easily throughout the garden and was one of the few plants that survived our summer drought.

The hummingbirds were here yesterday fighting over the feeders. There were three or four of them still hanging around, diligently keeping guard over their  nectar source! This one was on the front porch all day long sitting on a dragon fly that stays in a planter. I took this picture through the front door side lights. 

The temperatures dropped into the 30's last night and the hummingbirds have not been seen at all today. Their departure is my signal that summer is officially over.

 

The Lowe's Creative Ideas project this month is all about mums! The best part is that I have a gift card for one of you! I've never had a giveaway on my blog before so I am excited to offer this Lowe's $50 gift card to one of my readers, (U.S. residents only)! To enter leave a comment on this post and  I'll use Random.org to pick a winner! 

The giveaway ends at midnight September 30, 2012. Only one entry per person please!

This giveaway is now closed! Thank you for participating!

See this post for winner information!

Potting Bench

 

Here is a more detailed post about my potting bench that I made with a free broken hutch for my Lowe's August project!

 I am a collector of stuff, not a hoarder, (yet), and I love a good bargain, especially if it is nature or garden related! I like to have things on hand when I am ready to be creative or do a project. Other than the Lowe's essentials, (paint, wood, peg board, tools), for the project, I already had everything I needed to decorate.

Here are some close-up shots of the potting bench with a few explanations about my project.

In case you can't read the picture caption it says, "Several years ago I had a large calendar on the refrigerator. Before I threw it away I ripped off the magnets. They were perfect for this project!" I try to reuse and recycle whenever possible!

The decorating items in this project were bought at Goodwill or at garage sales! A few items were purchased on sale a local vendor mall.

My 8x10 butterfly collage was attached to a .25¢ church rummage sale plaque with Modge Podge.

I bought a package of round cork plant coasters at Goodwill for .99¢ and attached one to the side of the hutch. In this picture you can see how long the magnets are! They are heavy duty too!

This sweet little bottle holder and the bottles were purchased at Logan Village Mall, a delightful vendor mall here in Noblesville,

as were the zinc Ball jar lids.

It was very difficult finding enough flowers for my bouquets due to plant damage from the extreme drought this summer.

The window, with the shelf, was purchased for $15.00 from a warehouse sale of a local business last year. I made the wreath from materials I already had on hand. The cute sign was given to be by a dear friend a few years ago!

This cute basket was on sale for $2.50 at the vendor mall and the peat pots were given to me by a sweet neighbor who is also a very dear friend! I am all set to grow a lot of new plants this winter with my indoor growing station.

Here is a little breakdown of cost on some of the items, (that I can remember). Most people probably don't care what I paid for these items, but it thrills me to make something so cute for so little money.

Again, don't forget to stop by  Lowe's Creative Ideas for more project inspiration!

Potting Bench

The Lowe's project for August was, "Address the Mess". We were to pick an area or item that could use a creative approach to organization or storage for gardening tools and accessories. Mess is the correct word to describe my garage! We have a three car garage and no room to park any of our cars! Most of it is my fault too. The garage is where I do most of my projects, and I have plenty of projects waiting to be done before winter sets in.

 This is another project that was labor intensive and the work kept multiplying! Thankfully my sweet husband helped me with some of the cleanup. We had to remove some shelves so all of that garage junk had to find a new home. The wall was a mess so I had to patch the holes from the anchors and then apply a fresh coat of  paint.

In my previous post I mentioned that I had been given a free Drexel hutch which was perfect for this project! I already had all of the items used to decorate so my Lowe's money was spent on paint, wood for the shelves, peg board, buckets, and the peg board tools.

Here is the before and after! This was a project that was exciting and fun to do! I love to take other people's trash and create something useful and beautiful! I also had motivation to be crafty and creative while decorating.

I have hundreds of pictures to condense and edit. Hopefully tomorrow I will have another post of the close-ups of the potting bench, including my craft projects and a cost breakdown of some of my bargains!

Don't forget to stop by Lowe's Creative Ideas for more home and garden inspiration!



Lowe's