Front Porch Flowers

Despite all of the rain we've been having, I was able to find a few dry moments to get our front porch pots planted.

You might remember a past post about the three key elements to an eye-catching arrangement.

Here is this year's forumula:

Thriller: Purple Fountain Grass

Filler: Coleus, several colors and varieties

Spiller: Sweet Potato Vine

I love the bold, contrasting colors, especially with the modern lines of the planter. I tend to choose plants with showy foliage, because I don't want to depend on constant blooming for a display of color.

I broke a few of my own rules this year. None of these plants are perennials - they'll all get composted at the end of the season, not transplanted to a new happy, permanent home in the backyard.

I was able to keep the expense minimal because the single Purple Fountain Grass in each planter (6 total) were the only 4" pots I bought. The rest are much smaller plants that came in 4-packs - more plants for less money! In past years, I've been too late to the nursery to score good colors in the smaller sizes. Smaller plants, yes, but watching them grow and taking the credit for it is a lot more fun than the instant gratification of bigger plants!

I was going to skip the other flower boxes for the time being, figuring our impending porch project would either destroy them, or leave them neglected. But the porch project has been put on hold for a little while, and I decided a little color would help us enjoy the porch as it is for now. Plus, I can hope that the flowers attract one's attention away from the peeling paint and warped floorboards... right?



The formula is the same, but with a few other colors of coleus. I especially like the deep red.



Two hanging ferns make it feel cozy.



And during naptime, we made another quick addition to the porch...



Still left to do out here:
powerwash the floor - take off as much paint as possible - before August does and eats it instead
new cushion covers - get rid of the faded ones
an area rug
two more ferns in tall planters

To-Do List Check-In

I haven't checked in for a while, but when I pulled up the blog this morning and re-read our To-Do list, I felt really good.


Babyproof - August is thisclose to crawling and is testing his pulling up abilities

Secured bookshelves to the wall in his room, moved around some toys and books, lowered his crib mattress, and drank the wine on the lower family room shelf! We're keeping a close eye on things and making changes where necessary as we go.

Change over the bed linens for spring and summer

Check! I love putting small task on a To-Do list, just so I can feel accomplished as I knock them off the list!

Wash the windows - HATE this job!

Haven't started, but I bought a pressurized sprayer that I'm hoping will make the job easier, and ::gasp:: more fun?!

Patio maintenance - sunken pavers need repaired

This is big... and it's done! (Writing "done" makes me think of my swim coach, who always said, "Cakes and cookies are done, people are always finished." It took me YEARS (mind you I was little when I first heard that phrase) to figure out what the heck he meant!

Spread all that mulch!

FINISHED!

Touch up the patio furniture with another coat of stain

This weekend... please no rain!

Maybe sew some new outdoor furniture covers?

Time consuming!

Maybe do new porch flooring and ceiling?

Expensive!

Go hiking at a Metro Park or State Park

Two parks in two weekends - Darby and Blacklick!

Get the bikes tuned up

Soon!

Looking back at before and after pictures is always a great reminder of how far we've come, even when there seems like there is so much left to do...

Our Patio...

Before:

After:

Time Flies... An Update

So other than a quick post a couple of weeks ago, I've been MIA... well, in the blog world, at least! I wrote about our bathroom renovation on July 17, 2010 - that was eight months ago, and the day our baby was due to be born.

He decided to wait five days longer...

August Dylan Johnson was born at home on July 22, 2010 at 2:56pm. He was 10 lbs and 21 inches. Labor and birth was fast, and dare I say, painless! Under the amazing care of our CHOICE midwives, Abby and Jill, we couldn't have had a more perfect and beautiful experience!








Eight months later, August is a happy, smiley baby, full of personality. It's been so fun to watch him grow and change. Everyone says it... blah, blah, blah... but's it's true... they grow up so fast!




In the last eight months, we've changed a lot of these...


Our favorites are FuzziBunz One Size, but we also have some BumGenius 3.0, and we started with organic cotton prefolds and Thirsties covers when he was little.


We've done a lot of this...


And we worked HARD for it too - three different lacation consultants, four appointments with the last one, several hundred dollars, many many tears, a push to supplement with formula from the pediatrition, and dozens of obsessive (on my part) weight checks. Alison Hazelbaker helped relieve some minor torticollis and improve his suck with CranioSacral Therapy. I had never heard of such a thing, but I was so stubborn and determined to make breastfeeding work that I was willing to try anything - quitting wasn't an option. We are so grateful for finding Alison - not only did she help us through the physical aspects of breastfeeding, but she validated my instincts as a mother at a time when I could not have been full of so much doubt in myself. I'm proud that August has been 100% breastfed, nursing and taking bottles of pumped milk - not only because I know it's what is best, but also because the nursing relationship is priceless, and it represents perseverance and success and the great lengths that parents go to for their child.


I went back to work, training my loyal clients, about six weeks after August was born. We're so fortunate to have a fabulous work/baby balance, accomodating bosses, and family willing to help out. I go to work early, Ben brings August to Move Your Mind where he hangs in the playroom until I'm done working late morning. Three days a week, Grandma and August get to hang out while I go to F.A.N. Club for Nationwide Children's Hospital.


We took a vacation...




August visited his first National Park, The Great Smoky Mountains, at 2.5 months old.


The holidays came, and quickly went...




August was spoiled rotten - and it wasn't by his parents!


We took swim lessons...


Because this swimmin' mama would love to have a little Speedo-clad fish on a swim team someday! (And it gave us a reason to get out of the house on cold winter Sundays!)


I organized the basement...


Because we had to make room for more boxes - boxes like these...




I've done a lot of cooking...


Much of it for a certain someone. Sweet potatoes are definitely his favorite!



We're eager for spring around here. This weekend, Ben got some maintenance done on the patio, we cleared a few flower beds, the mulch got delivered, and we took the Radio Flyer for its first spin. Now if only it would warm up just a little!

We have many more projects ahead. Yesterday we made list:

- babyproof - August is thisclose to crawling and is testing his pulling up abilities

- change over the bed linens for spring and summer

- wash the windows - HATE this job!

- patio maintenance - sunken pavers need repaired

- spread all that mulch!

- touch up the patio furniture with another coat of stain

- maybe sew some new outdoor furniture covers?

- maybe do new porch flooring and ceiling?

- go hiking at a Metro Park or State Park

- get the bikes tuned up

Ah, so much to do, so much to do! We'll get there - it just won't be as fast as our projects happened pre-Gus!

Quick Change: Front Porch Swing

Nothing epitomizes the good life like a front porch – a place to relax and connect with the neighborhood. For us it is an extension of our home – another room, really.


In college, we rented a house on an ivy-covered hill and watched the world go by (and shared a good number of beers, too)!


When we were house-hunting, we put a front porch high up on our list of must-haves. Almost exactly two years ago, we became the owners of a house on an ivy-covered hill with a front porch. Coincidence? Probably not!


And if you have a porch, you have to have a porch swing! Ours used to be a run-of-the-mill wood porch swing, and it had seen better days.


But after three cans of spray paint and length of shiny new chain, (just $35 worth of materials) it looks better than ever!


I even sewed together three dining chair cushions that were lying around the house to make the cushion. (Free!) The cushions were a thoughtful Christmas gift from Ben a few years back, but we didn’t use them anymore. I knew I kept them (and him) around for something!

We ordered new outdoor lighting earlier this week. You can look forward to another front porch update when they arrive...

A Tale Of Four Flower Boxes

We have four flower boxes that hang on the railings around our front porch. They provide eye-catching color which draws your eye up the ivy-covered hill and welcomes you to our front door!

A stunning planter has three key ingredients – a “thriller” for height and drama, a “filler” to bulk up the planter and create a mass of color, and a “spiller” to soften the edges of the planter and add interest. If you balance the colors and textures just right, it creates an eye-catching arrangement.

For the past few summers, I have added one additional requirement to designing my planters – I want my planters to contain primarily perennials, plants that I can transfer to the ground at the end of the season and enjoy for years to come.

Gardening and landscaping can be such expensive undertakings. I can’t bear to buy plants that live for one season, just to end up tossing them into the compost pile during fall clean-up. At the same time, developing a landscaping plan and filling in flower beds can be extremely expensive if done all at the same time.

Choosing perennials for flower boxes is the answer to both of these problems – I spend my money wisely, choosing plants that look great in my planters for one season and will have a permanent home in the flower beds come fall and winter. I have fewer plants to throw away, and the flower beds around the house continue to evolve through the years, while adding year-round color with very little maintenance.

This spring I found it particularly difficult to choose my plants. I wanted to do something different, and I also had a few problem areas around the yard that I wanted to spruce up.

At the edge of the patio and in front of the air conditioner and rain barrel, I’ve been nursing along an area of grassy groundcover to hide the ugliness…

And then there was a full sun area surrounding a stepping stone that needed some groundcover as well…

My spring and summer flower box formula…
Thriller: Ribbon Grass – to be transferred to the air conditioner/rain barrel flower bed
Filler: Dahlias in a bold deep orange – not a perennial, but I could dig up and save the bulbs if I was ambitious!
Spiller: Fireglow Sedum – good fall color to be transferred to the stepping stone flower bed

With a well-thought-out plan, I went to work and created a very balance and symmetrical arrangement, lining up each specimen in three neat rows.

One tip: Perennials in 4” pots go a long way. My flower boxes aren’t that big, and I like to save money, so I used a utility knife to cut each 4” plant in half for more bang for my buck!

Here’s what they looked like shortly after I planted them…

And after a summer of hot sun…

By the beginning of September, it was time to transfer the plants intended for flower beds in my back yard. They need time establish themselves and space to stretch their legs.

Less ugliness by the air conditioner and rain barrel…

Happy sedum by the stepping stone will spread and survive any mis-steps while adding deep pink fall color…

But there are still a few months of growing season ahead of us, especially for my south-facing flower boxes! I wanted bold fall colors – the kind of arrangement that reminds you of pumpkins, apple cider, and falling leaves. The plants have to have some nighttime cold tolerance and not mind the mid-day temperatures.

My fall flower box formula…
Thriller:
Ogon Grass (1) – a spiky dash of chartreuse for height and contrast to the deeper colors

Fillers:
Peach Melba Coral Bells (1) – unique color with fabulous texture


Ornamental Purple Cabbage (1) – more unique color with different texture and a little more height


Deep Fuchsia Mums (3) – nothing says fall more than a mum, they even smell like Homecoming!


Spiller:
Creeping Jenny (1) – quite possibly my favorite plant, for its bright color and trailing quality that fills in the nooks and crannies anywhere you plant it

I went with a less contrived arrangement this time, anchoring the box with the “thriller” in one back corner and the “spiller” in the opposite front corner. The bigger “fillers” (Coral Bells, Ornamental Cabbage) were placed for maximum contrast in color and texture to neighboring plants, and the smaller “fillers” (Mums) were tucked in between. With the exception of the ornamental cabbage, all of the plants are perennials, which will be transferred to the landscaping beds in late fall.

The result is quite pretty, and they’ll continue to look great all fall…

You Say "Tomatoes"… I Say "MORE TOMATOES?!"

It’s August in Ohio, and that means bountiful summer produce – corn, melons, zucchini, peppers, and TOMATOES!

Yesterday I was helping out my friends Ben & Lisa at their farm, The Sippel Family Farm, and I picked tomatoes for several hours! I can’t take credit for much of it, (they had been picking all week long), but at days end we had hundreds and hundreds of pounds of tomatoes packed up. The best/worst part (it depends on how long you’ve been hunched over picking in the fields) was looking up and seeing rows of tomatoes, still untouched, the vines weighed down with bright red, yellow, and green globes of ripe fruit!

As a CSA member (more on that at another time), I go up to their farm in Mount Gilead and help out every other Friday throughout the spring, summer, and fall. I primarily help pick the produce that they deliver to their CSA members and sell at the Clintonville Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings.

This morning I came home from the market with 4.5 pounds of tomatoes. Our CSA share this week also included a watermelon, 1 pound of edamame, 4 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, 2 cucumbers, 2 eggplants, 1.5 pounds of tomatillos, 2 hot peppers, and 2 huge red onions…

Add those tomatoes to the 4.5 pounds that we got in our share last week (along with a bunch of other yummy things!)…

and the tomatoes we picked from our own garden the past couple of weekends…

and the 10 pounds of tomatoes I bought from the Sippels for a party on Monday…

and we’re up to eyeballs in tomatoes!

But no worries, we have plans for them – tomato and mozzarella salads, salsa, and fresh pasta sauce! I’m using the 10 pounds of Roman Candle heirloom tomatoes to make southern-style tomato tea sandwiches with Duke’s Mayonnaise for an upcoming party.

I might even buy some more from the Sippels and try canning for the first time… we’ll see…