Great site for DIY flower arranging

As many of you know from attending my programs on DIY flower arranging, I am really big on making your own floral arrangements from plants and organic materials from your yard.  Many people tell me they just lack ideas.  I want to share with you one of my favorite sites on floral arranging.  It is http://www.ubloom.com/.  Although, he is using many imported or grocery store flowers as I call them, you can easily adapt your flowers.  On one of the arrangements by a young lady from Austin called Calla Towers, I used sticks instead of Calla's.  I got some great tips on keeping Hydrangea's from wilting to early. This site has been very helpful in providing ideas for my daugther's upcoming wedding this January (O.K. all BFF's I am giving you notice to help make arrangements-I'm taking names and numbers-We have 40 tables people!).    

I hope you get some inspiration to make something beautiful from your garden.

We know its gettin hot when these little beauties arrive

I was so excited when the Ixora arrived this week.  I guess everyone else was too, because they are all gone.  I'm glad I grabbed one off the racks before they were stocked.  I could not help myself to make up an iron cradle with one.

Ixora is a easy plant to grow.  A native of Sri Lanka, these little beauties love the heat and sun.  For best result in Waco, grow in pots for this plant is acid loving and loves lots of organic matter (it does not like akaline soil-trust me I learned the hard way).  Try to keep the center of the plant pruned open so the new growth can get sun.   If the foilage gets to thick you will not have as many blooms.    

You will have to treat this as a tropical plant here for it is not happy below 50 degrees.  You can take cuttings and start new plants easily.
In florida, the ixora plants grow from 6 to 12 feet tall.  Most homes there use them in their landscapes as we use hollies for shrubs.  There are hundreds of varieties, the most common is Maui.

Fathers Day Gift Idea - The Grill Side Stackable Herb Garden

I had a request this week for a container herb garden to use next to their grill.  The problem very little space.  I took 6 pots and stacked them. By stacking this will eliminate bending over to cut herbs to use and make it more handy.

I placed the largest pot on the bottom and worked the next size up.  I planted trailing rosemary in the largest pot and placed 2 small pots with mint on the sides of the rosemary.  The second level I planted Parsely.  The third level I planted Chives and thyme off to the side to trail over.  The top planter I planted purple and sweet basil.  This stackable planter is easy to move by carefully unstacking the pots and then restack.  Once the plants become rooted in you can remove the pots more easily.  Stacked pots are great when you have limited space or have a ton of little pots that are impossible to keep watered in the heat.  By stacking pots the soil and pots retain moisture longer.  This is a handy way to keep herbs close to the back door or grill for cooking.  If you have a Dad that likes using herbs in grilling, this would make a great Father's Day gift.

Be sure to pinch your herbs back to keep them from over growing the pot if you do not cut regular for cooking.

Cathey's Garden

My sweet friend Cathey called me this week and told me her Blushing Bride Hydrangeas were starting to bud up and to come over for a peak.  Last year her blooms were huge.  Let me say that again H-U-G-E!!! They looked like little mini wedding cakes with tons and tons of white icing.  The good kind with 10 pounds of lard and sugar, not fondant.  You just wanted to take a big bite out of them.

Look at the number of buds!!!

Of course while I was there I had to take a look around.

Check out her day lilies.  These are only 15 months old.  We planted 3 plants.  I just wished I could remember the voo doo mix I brewed up to plant these in.

The Leopard plant froze to the ground this January.  It has come back lush and happy.

planted by Cathey

Her new bog and pond

Toad Lilies ready to set bud and bloom in the fall.

These were 3 little plants less than 15 months ago.  I've got to remember what I brewed.

Cathey reminding me to come over next week to toy around with ideas for her gazebo

How could I forget.   Wedding cake treats await me.

Thanks for the tour Miss Cathey.  

Houston, We Have A Ring!!!!

We are so happy and excited to announce our daughter's engagement.  Kevin asked for Lindsey Leigh's hand in marriage.  We are planning a winter wedding.

I SPY...

When my girls were growing up their favorite book was I Spy.  We would spend hours spotting pictures.  Isn't there an old saying 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree'.  One of their Marmie's favorite thing to do in the spring is to drive around and spot beautiful flowers and lovely yards.  It just happened last week I was working in my customers back yard and I looked up over the shrubs and spotted this yard...

I could not resist I had to get a closer look....

Oh, the sweet smell of Jasmine!!!  I just lost control, it pulled me in.  I was offically tresspassing (I bet the police would have just loved that story).  Can you believe this yard is in Waco, Texas.  I thought for a moment I was in Savannah, Ga.  So very southern and inviting.  Southern Living magazine eat your heart out.  I saw it first.

The most beautiful yard 'E-V-E-R'!!!  I want to live there.  I'll just make believe this is my yard.

As I headed back to Greenlife I spied this beautiful Iceburg rose

and the home owner had another suprise in the back yard.  You will not believe what I spotted next.

'PEONIES' growing in Waco

I was so-so-so excited to spot these

and look her Oak Leaf Hydrangias are starting to bloom

love her roses!!!

If you spot a little legend lime green mustang in front of your house with someone taking pictures, don't call the police.  It is just a middle age 'plant crazy' woman playing I Spy.