Gardening Tips from Southern Gardeners

Last week I, along with a group of other area bloggers, got to attend a wonderful preview tour of the Nashville Symphony Show House.  It's a beautiful home to say the least.

You can take the tour with me here, if you missed it.

As a part of the preview, our group was treated to a session with Carmen Johnston to make our own container gardens.  Yes, that's the Carmen Johnston of Southern Living Plants and Carmen Johnston Gardens.

photo via CarmenJohnstonGardens.com

Repurpose Steel Drum Rings into Garden Orbs

Months ago I was visiting one of my favorite picking places, the metal scrap yard.  They had a whole bin full of metal rings from steel drums.

I grabbed four of the rings with an idea in mind.  At the metal scrap yard, you pay by the pound.   Like $.25 a pound!  I purchased a couple of other small items that same day and I paid about $3 for everything.  

Once I got them home, I didn't have to do a thing to them except assemble them into my vision, a metal garden orb.

Begin by inserting one ring into another ring. You want them to be snug.

Take a third ring and squeeze around the first two.  Once it's on, you can position the rings so that they are symmetric.  

Now, if there's anything hard to this project, it's this step.  Take the four ring and squeeze it down around the sides of the three.  This one will be horizontal to the three vertical ones.  

The rings come with a clasp that's adjustable by a bolt, similar to an embroidery hoop.  You may want to enlarge this ring slightly to be able to maneuver it into place.  Tighten it once you have it in position.  

That's it!!

If you haven't visited a metal scrap yard, you're in for a treat.  Most are used to "artists" that are looking for pieces for projects so don't be afraid to go look around.  You never know what goodies you'll find!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie

I'm linking here:

RAIN ON A TIN ROOF    THE STYLE SISTERS    JENNIFER RIZZO    HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS    COMMON GROUND    HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY    FRIDAYS UNFOLDED   FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

ONE MORE TIME EVENTS    TWIRL AND TAKE A BOW    SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE    STONEGABLE

UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING    A DELIGHTSOME LIFE      DIY SHOWOFF      ART IS BEAUTY
CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP   IT'S OVERFLOWING   THREE MANGO SEEDS    ELIZABETH JOAN DESIGNS

WEEKEND CRAFTS    PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY    THOUGHTS FROM ALICE   HYMNS AND VERSES

MISS MUSTARD SEED   CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE ADDICT

Tool Box Becomes a Flower Box

Are you getting your hands in the dirt and planting flowers this spring?  I picked up a few annuals this week at the nursery and have begun adding them around the yard.

I've had this old metal tool box for many years.  I picked it up at a yard sale for $1.  I'm sure the man wondered what in the world I wanted with that old metal box.  Ha!  Silly man, I thought it would make the perfect planter for some beautiful flowers.  And, it does!

This year I planted two asparagus ferns and a bright pink geranium.  I forgot to mention that the tool box already had two holes in the bottom...perfect for drainage.  Geraniums hate "wet feet."  

Well, one container down...several to go!  What are you planting this spring?

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Angie

I'm linking here:

RAIN ON A TIN ROOF    THE STYLE SISTERS    JENNIFER RIZZO    HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS    COMMON GROUND    HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY    FRIDAYS UNFOLDED   FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

ONE MORE TIME EVENTS    TWIRL AND TAKE A BOW    SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE    STONEGABLE

UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING    A DELIGHTSOME LIFE      DIY SHOWOFF      ART IS BEAUTY
CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP   IT'S OVERFLOWING   THREE MANGO SEEDS    ELIZABETH JOAN DESIGNS

WEEKEND CRAFTS    PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY    THOUGHTS FROM ALICE   HYMNS AND VERSES

MISS MUSTARD SEED   CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE ADDICT

Yes! It's Easy to Grow Your Own Food

Whether your thumb is green or brown, like mine, you can grow some of your own food.  

Growing up, a lot of my summers were spent at my grandparents' 100-acre farm where my mother would help harvest food from the huge garden.  I remember getting to help pick the strawberries, dig potatoes, or pull ears of corn from the stalks.  To me, it was pretty magical.  My grandparents grew everything...beans, berries, potatoes, okra, tomatoes, corn, onions, and even grapes.  

I guess that's where my gardening bug started.  I've never been able to grow as big or as well as my grandparents but I've had several successes along the way.  Enough to know that it's pretty easy to grow your own food, regardless of the amount of area you have available!  In this post, I'm partnering with Hometalk to curate a list of great tips for growing your own food.  My personal tip on this list is for growing figs...talk about easy, they're pretty much maintenance free.  

Check out the many great tips on this Hometalk board.  You can access it HERE or by clicking on the graphic below!

I hope you click over to Hometalk and check out these 12 easy to grow foods.  Let me know if you grow your own foods or if this will be your first try!  I'd love to hear!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie

Nashville Antiques and Garden Show 2015

This past week I was invited to attend the Nashville Antiques and Garden Show.  If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you probably saw my pics and tweets from it.  All I can say is if you've never been...go!  The booths and displays are absolutely gorgeous.  Definite eye candy!  

I'm not going to comment a lot during this post so just stroll along with me as we explore the booths.  

Beautiful floral display in the lobby as you enter.  

This was one huge piece of driftwood that was turned on its side to use as a console table.

Hello old, beautiful books.  Please come to my house and live...bring the shelves with you.

These were seriously cool blueprints of street signs.  They had lots of different ones.

Want this cow head!

Love this silver and moss display under glass.

How about this view of the booths from a room upstairs!  The group was invited upstairs to a champagne reception to meet Kreis Beall of Blackberry Farm, Suzanne Kasler of Suzanne Kasler Interiors (and you probably recognize her name from Ballard Design), Carolyn Englefield, editor of Veranda magazine,  Margot Shaw of Flower magazine, and a few others but I'll tell you more about the interview with them later this week.  They were very gracious in sharing about their design inspirations and more.

Thanks for stopping by.  Don't forget to check back for the interviews with the designs.

God bless!
Angie

I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS
JENNIFER RIZZO
HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS

COMMON GROUND

HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

FRIDAYS UNFOLDED

FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

ONE MORE TIME EVENTS

TWIRL AND TAKE A BOW 
SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE

STONEGABLE
UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING

A DELIGHTSOME LIFE
ART IS BEAUTY

CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP DIY SHOWOFF IT'S OVERFLOWING

THREE MANGO SEEDS

ELIZABETH JOAN DESIGNS

WEEKEND CRAFTS

PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY
THOUGHTS FROM ALICE
HYMNS AND VERSES
MISS MUSTARD SEED
CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE ADDICT

Randomness

The weather was so nice this past weekend that I grabbed the camera one afternoon and just took some random shots.  I love living in the country...even though I complain sometimes about the drive in and out of town.  The complaint is short-lived once I'm home and remember why it is we live here.

Our fire pit area with makeshift benches of pallets and 2x4s and the old one my daughter made from logs and a pine board

The wood pile and old tub with our roasting sticks.

The old tree stump that once grew on the other side of the pond, died, fell, and floated to this side.  I love the way it's weathered.  

Getting close to sunset.

An old, orange cylinder...love the color and graphics.

My frog statue, just hanging out behind the shed until he can sit by the pond again next spring.

Shutters with star cut-outs, jelly jar porch lights, and a corrugated metal flag on the shed.

And, last but not least, with the last of the sunlight, milkweed blooms, ready to fly.

I hope you enjoyed the randomness of this post.  I appreciate your stopping by and God bless!

Angie

I'm linking here:
THE STYLE SISTERS
JENNIFER RIZZO
HOME STORIES A TO Z
FROM MY FRONT PORCH TO YOURS

COMMON GROUND

HAVE A DAILY CUP OF MRS. OLSON
COASTAL CHARM'S NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAY

FRIDAYS UNFOLDED

FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

ONE MORE TIME EVENTS

TWIRL AND TAKE A BOW 
SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE

STONEGABLE
UNDER THE TABLE AND DREAMING

A DELIGHTSOME LIFE
ART IS BEAUTY

CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP DIY SHOWOFF IT'S OVERFLOWING

THREE MANGO SEEDS

ELIZABETH JOAN DESIGNS

WEEKEND CRAFTS

PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY
THOUGHTS FROM ALICE
HYMNS AND VERSES
MISS MUSTARD SEED
CONFESSIONS OF A PLATE ADDICT