How to make a birdhouse and decorate with seed catalogs

Botanical Interests Seeds has the most beautiful catalog. Not only do I grow their seeds, I recycle their catalogs. Sitting on my repurposed twin headboard bench, sits the aqua birdhouse embellished with little hearts.

Up there on Flowergardengirl’s porch and just to the left of the front door, sits a little birdhouse made by Anna. With the help of her son, Chris, they hammered, sawed, painted, glued and laughed like crazy to create this cute little chick house.

Sitting on a plant bench made by my husband— is the cutest little tin roofed bird house made from the leftover wood of her little shed, Copper Top Cottage. The twin headboard is one from our early married years. I’m glad I saved it.

The hearts are cutouts from the Botanical Interests Seed catalogs and the scrolls and such are wallpaper stencils leftover from another home project. I applied the hearts with Modge Podge. The stencils are rub-ons.

Painted hearts and such are glass paint.

The aqua paint was leftover from my Copper Top Cottage project. The whole birdhouse was varnished when done.

The Botanical Interests seed catalog offers the perfect sized art for these smaller projects. They are so colorful.

Don’t forget to add a door for clean out.

To add a really worn look, I slightly sanded the hearts after they were applied with Modge Podge.

That’s a two inch opening cause this is for display. I suppose a bluebird would like the home but the opening is too big for smaller birds. Check online for the right size opening if this is specific for certain species.

Some of the flowers at my front door this year are a gift from Ball Horticulture. They are doing very well. The marigold is called ‘Bonanza Deep Orange’. Just to the left is Petunia Shock Wave ‘Coral Crush’. I love that ‘Coral Crush’ immensely. The petunia down and to the left is one I purchased but also a Wave–’Neon Rose’.

I’m pretty sure the coreopsis is: ‘Redshift’ from this article I did some time ago. It will turn a more burgundy as shown in the article. This is a good photo to show you how the ‘Neon Rose’ and ‘Coral Crush’ differ in color. Hopefully you can see the coral color coming through.

The hydrangeas on the left of my porch are just about to bust wide open. Thanks for visiting NC today. It was nice having you at my home. I’m in zone 7a.

Below, are my back gardens last year when I grew ‘Summer Solstice’ by Botanical Interests–love their catalog and their seeds.

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Creating Curb Appeal for June DeLugas Interiors

Creating curb appeal for June Delugas Interiors  is one of the prettiest feathers in my cap. I’m proud to have her in my portfolio of store fronts created by Flowergardengirl. June DeLugas is the premiere  interior decorator for the Parade of Homes, local and regional home builders, and is sought after for her award winning decorating and faux painting, as well as her extraordinary taste in furniture, artwork, lighting, window treatments, plantation shutters, carpeting, and accessories.

( Enlarge this photo by clicking on it. Notice the ‘Diamond Frost’ euphorbia in the yellow bucket–with the yellow tipped ivy)

She respects and appreciates what her customer wishes and I very much enjoy designing outdoor spaces for her home and shop. June is known for reinventing indoor spaces using antiques and new while faux painting and adding textures to create comfortable unique spaces in every room of the home or office. When setting out to fit her personality with her landscaping, I added new cultivars with old favorites. Texture and charm had to marry with antiques, statues, and the wrought iron gates already placed in her store front garden area.

Every one of my clients is different and much appreciated but designing curb appeal for a designer took some extra effort to make sure there was enough wow power without causing competition for the beauty going on inside. Decorating for a decorator means you must play it up and calm it down at the same time. You have to create a smile on the patron’s faces before they even enter the store. June’s store is flavored with old European, shabby chic, antiques, old garden style, and modern working in harmony which is her trademark style. This is how she successfully reinvents the client’s own pieces with an updated look and feel.

I love the way the store front cottage garden came to life as my design and 40 years of plant experience celebrated the personality of June DeLugas Interiors. I am thrilled she likes it and love the comments coming my way. It feels good when you feel you read your customer correctly. Those of you in the flower business will recognize my use of old and new varieties.

Some of the surprises which aren’t so apparent just yet—is the ‘Miss Ruby’ butterfly bush in a planter, the nasturtium blooms, purple ruffled basil, tall cleomes on each side of the door, and old fashioned ageratum. One of June’s favorite colors is blue and I’ve dotted it throughout the plantings—that will truly make those iron gates stand out this summer.

Thank you June for letting me create curb appeal for your store and I look forward to being at your home this week. I’m already working on the views out your windows ;) .

Come out tomorrow to June DeLugas Interiors for her Susan Komen breast cancer benefit. There will be everything from book signings to massages. Wine tasting and goodies to encourage you to linger and make new friends. See you there! May 3rd, 2011 from 10am to 8pm.

gaillardia Commotion Series Frenzy and Tizzy

Cause a frenzy in the garden!

Cause a frenzy in your garden by planting the vibrant and lively gaillardia family.

Gaillardia ‘Arizona Sun’ makes an exciting flower border. Not ever border of your garden needs to be a short plant—Bring one of your tall flowers to front for just a short bit then continue on with smaller ones–it just adds a lot of character. The above photo is from my gardens in 2009.

There are quite a few gaillardia to choose from. I also grow Frenzy and Tizzy.

Gaillardia x grandiflora Commotion® ‘Frenzy’

Blanket Flower

USPP #19943

 

Red buds open to fluted, dark red ray flowers with distinct yellow tips. Red and yellow center. Dark green foliage forms a rounded mound.

 

Benefits

Bloom time: Jun-Oct
Exposure: full sun
Uses: borders, beds, pots, cut flower gardens

Homeowner Growing and Maintenance Tips

 

Prefers well-drained soil. Remove spent flowers for continuous bloom. Feed regularly. Cut back to 3″ in early spring.

Height
18-24 Inches
 
Spread
24 Inches
USDA Hardiness Zone
5(-20º)

 

I know how to kill lamium


I didn’t want to kill it. Confession: I know how to kill lamium and it’s easy. I had a very pretty patch of lamium which usually started blooming about right now. However, it croaked last season when I put pine needles in my beds. Has this happened to anyone else? It’s a mint so I assumed it was indestructible.

I looked back at a post last year and it was blooming on the 15th of January.