Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Try (as hard as it might be) to forget about Tiny Tim's version of Tiptoe Through the Tulips and check out the original from 1929 HERE- Original Tiptoe.

Next, brace yourself for an amazing display of tulips. These beauties- all 300- are called 'The Royals' and are from Colorblends . Colorblends is my favorite bulb company- I have been using them since 2005- and have not found a better bulb anywhere. Honest.

I planted 'The Royals' in the raised patio garden at WFSB's TV station in Rocky Hill, Connecticut last fall. Clearly, they are happy, happy, happy there. Blooms are as big as the palm of my hand and some bulbs produced three blooms each!

You can see the story I did for them in full bloom for Better Connecticut by clicking HERE- including Scot Haney and Olessa Stepanova.

This is a three season garden at the TV station- so I'm going to pull them out and re-plant them. If you want to keep your bulbs in the same spot and encourage them to bloom again next year, make sure you deadhead but leave the foliage!!! Don't try any tricky stuff like braiding the leaves- just leaves them alone until they turn yellow and dry up. The leaves are working hard to store up food in the bulb for next year's blooms. You mess with the leaves, you mess with the blooms. Got it?

Cherry Blossoms

 

"Gardening is how I relax.

It's another form of creating and playing with colors."

~Oscar de la Renta

This Cherry tree (I can't tell you the specific variety, it was already planted on the property when I moved here) in my back yard is alive with the hum of buzzy bees.

Today the petals began to drop when a breeze comes through creating a delicate rain of petals.  Not only does it look pretty, the aroma is exquisite.

Look who finally decided to come up... Asparagus! This year marks year three for these guys which means harvest, harvest, harvest!

Prevent Weeds, Organically

Weeds got you down?  Crabgrass cramping your lawn's style? Redroot Pigweed grows taller than your tomatoes? Trying not to use chemicals in your garden?

My personal replies: Yes, yes, yes and yes!  Did you say yes too? Well don't give up hope!  This year I'm applying CORN GLUTEN by Preen as a pre-emergent (sort of... keep reading) to prevent weeds from keeping me from enjoying the garden. 

Here is the 4-1-1 on Corn Gluten or CG:

• CG is a natural by-product of processing corn. 
• CG has a nutrient content or N-P-K of 10-0-0.
• CG is not a true pre-emergent, in that weed seeds begin to germinate. But as the seed coat opens, the nitrogen in CG burns the seed and it dies.
• Apply CG to your lawn when you see the bright yellow of Forsythia.  This is the magical time when Crabgrass is beginning to germinate.  Applications beyond Forsythia time actually feed Crabgrass- yikes!
• You can apply CG every 4 weeks or so through the summer to your veggie and flower gardens to keep the weeds at bay.
• CG does NOT kill existing weeds, so get in there and yank them out.

You can watch a quick video about Corn Gluten by clicking HERE- as seen on WFSB's Better Connecticut. 

I mean, have you ever thought, "I love to weed!"?
Doubt it.
Now go get yourself some Corn Gluten!

New Design

With the arrival of Spring (insert Hip-Hip-Hooray!) I decided to give

my blog a fresh look. 

 If you subscribe to Natural Elegance Design blog and are reading this from your email inbox, click HERE to have a look.

What do you think? Like it?

Greener Grass for Easter

The grass is never greener on the other side of the fence.  But, it is greener in my Easter basket!  The Easter Bunny is planning a visit soon. March 31st is Easter this year- feels kind of early, right? So, if you plan one special thing for Easter this year, do this:
Plant real grass in the Easter Basket!!! And plant it today or tomorrow or your basket might not be ready in time.

I like to use Cat Grass.  The seeds sprout quickly, the grass grows fast and the leaves are very thick so it makes for a nice looking basket. 

 

Watch me demonstrate how to plant real grass in a basket HERE.

For a couple of dollars, you can have real grass.  If you have cats they apparently love to chew on this stuff (I don't really know I'm not a cat person).  It's truly GREEN.  It's so much better than that fake plastic grass that gets all over the house and adds to the landfill. 


My living grass next to a 'strand' of plastic. What looks better?

Here is what you need:

• Easter basket with plastic liner
• Potting soil
• Packet of Cat Grass seed
• Sunny window
• About a week

Make sure you watch this quick video from WFSB's Better CT Click HERE (if you haven't already), plant some grass and you will have the best Easter basket ever this year!

Zen Garden

A week ago today, I was driving up to Stockbridge Massachusetts to visit Kripalu.  A week ago today, I had no idea the shifts that would result from my visit.  I believe we are born with an open heart, an open mind and a spirit to soar.  Somewhere along the way, hearts are broken, minds are persuaded they are wrong and spirits become downtrodden.  Kripalu reminded me that with some work our hearts, minds and spirits can be restored. I found a lot of peace at Kripalu and have begun to work on some appropriate restoration.   

A view from Kripalu

Outside the ground feels greasy below my feet.  Step off the sidewalk and you will know what I mean.  This tells me that spring will soon be here, but the frost is still in the ground.  While waiting to work in the garden outside, I hope you find some inner peace by making your own Zen Garden inside. 

You can catch the story I did for WFSB's Better Connecticut and see my Kripalu glow by clicking HERE.   

No need to buy a Zen Garden kit- collect sand and stones from your travels and create your garden in a shallow container.  Easy and Zen.

Namaste.

Amaryllis and Orchids and Topiaries, Oh My!

Not a single day goes by without some sort of gardening- 365 days a year.  Gardeners always need to stay two steps ahead, prepared for the next task, at the ready to plant something new, or address that sneaky pest.  As a Mom, I also try to stay two steps ahead. Preventing the next melt-down, packing enough goldfish and emergency diapers, just in case.  So, if my math is correct, that puts me about 4 proverbial steps ahead in Gardening and Mommying and 4 steps behind in a few other things in my life.  I can hardly catch my breath; forget keep up with my blog!

Enough whining- I really L-O-V-E all of it! Yesterday my almost two year old daughter was standing in the living room trying to look on the bottom of her left food.  I asked, "Is there something on your foot?" "Toes!!!!" was her reply.  She cracks me up!

Good, clean fun with shaving cream!

There is a lot blooming in the gardening department around here- My Amaryllis continues to impress- another bud emerged this week! These three bulbs have been blooming for over three weeks and they are not done yet!

Week 1



Week 3 (Sorry I didn't snap week 2-amaze!)

Remove each flower as they start to fade to maintain bulb strength

3 bulbs= 6 flower stems=30 flowers

*love*

Two of my Phalaenopsis Orchids are blooming (again!) My southern facing windows are proving to be Orchid heaven. 

And, here is a last minute valentine topiary idea. Click on the link below to watch me make it.

 It's also a great way to give an extra Ivy or Philodenron if you have that and an extra coat hanger lying around the house.  Watch this clip from WFSB's Better Connecticut to see how to make it- Click HERE.  I won't tell you waited until the last minute!