Fresh Air

What a difference fresh air makes! Today it's 52F, which felt like a heat wave after the single-digit mornings we had at the beginning of last week. Although it was still rather gray and gloomy outside, the unusually warm temperature gave me a chance to open some windows and doors and air out the house.

It was also a great day to get outside and quench my garden withdraw. I accomplished quite a bit in a less than two hours:

• I planted some cat grass seed for our greens-lovin' kitties
  
• I winter sowed my first two containers, penstemon and Echinacea purpurea
• I cleaned up the garage bed and finally pulled the mostly dead annuals
• I raked bunch of leaves, putting most of them into my beds for added nutrition and winter-protection

I found some surprises too. Some of the lettuce I had planted last spring was still alive growing. I thought the summer heat had pretty much taken care of it and if not, you'd think the snow and frost would definitely have. I also found a few live leaves of lemon balm, which I potted up and brought inside (along with their roots of course), I don't have a lot of hope for it, but it'll be interesting to see what happens.

It really is amazing how much better I feel after getting to work outside for a bit and how much better the house smells after being aired out. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 57!!! It's beginning to feel like spring is right around the corner. Soon it'll be daffodil time.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Planting Time

I realized yesterday that I really miss gardening. I miss getting my hands in the dirt. I miss checking on the beds daily to see what has grown or bloomed. I definitely miss bringing in fresh tomatoes for dinner or flowers to spruce up the house. This is surprising because I'm a newbie who up until two seasons ago never gardened a day in my life. And by the end of last September I was so done, especially with the constant watering. But now, after a short break, I'm ready to get back out there.

Last night while we were out shopping, I happened to spot some seeds at the Andersons. "Seeds!" I cried happily, as if spotting a long-lost friend, while the boyfriend groaned loudly. Apparently he has had his fill of spending time with me in garden centers and aisles. Can't understand why.

I was especially happy to see these seeds because it's almost planting time, and I prefer to shop in person than online. Yes, you read that right, it's planting time , if you winter sow. I've never done it before so I have absolutely no advice to give, but I've been dying to try it since I read about it last season. Cheap plants without lights, mats, or other fancy indoor equipment? Count me in! Actually you can start winter sowing anytime after the winter solstice, but since central Ohio weather is so unpredictable, February seems like a good time to start. I might plant a jug or two today along with some cat grass just to scratch my gardening itch.

Now it's time for me to get serious. Time to whittle down my plant wishlist (which includes almost everything) to a realistic list of items for winter sowing. The Andersons had some tempting seeds to add to the list. I definitely, definitely will have to buy lemon cucumbers. Not for winter sowing, but to plant in the spring. I mention them because you must try them, they're delish. Of course I'll have to winter sow lots of cosmos after being sooo happy with them last season. I am also tempted to try cosmos bright lights, even though they don't fit in my typical gardening color scheme, their bright, cheerful colors are so tempting.

I fell asleep last night thinking about all the great possibilities for my garden next season. Maybe this is the year my sparse beds will begin to look like full, lush cottage garden beds. Maybe this is the year I'll have enough blooms outside to be able to bring more inside. Maybe I'll finally have too many blooms to list on Green Thumb Sunday! ;) Ah the possibilities of planting time...




Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

Making Min Hus Even Better in 2008!

While I'm happy with all the projects we completed around the house in 2007, I have even bigger ambitions for 2008. Namely:

Inside:

• Purchase and hang new window treatments for living room (the hardest part of this one is picking window treatments)
  
• Fix living room walls and repaint
  
• Drywall and paint finished room in basement (I feel good about this one since the boyfriend already started drywalling!)
  
• Install ceiling in finished room in basement
  
• Seal and paint remaining basement walls
• Add insulation around outer wall in basement
• Re-caulk bathroom tub and shower
  
• Paint bathroom trim and touch up walls near trim
• Paint bi-fold door in kitchen
  
• Install new tile floor in bathroom
• Replace fake tile in bathroom with beadboard
• Paint hallway trim and storage cabinet
• Clean up and paint fireplace

Outside

• Finish planting front bed
  
• Finish creating and plant side bed
  
• Stain deck
• Create work area in and reorganize garage so we can get a car in there again!
  
• Paint 10 remaining windows and storms
  
• Paint front door and shutters
• Paint awnings
• Patch and paint foundation where needed
• Paint garage doors and trim
• Remove hideous bushes by driveway

Whew, I'm getting a little tired just typing this list. I think I'll be happy if we finish half of it!

Looking Back: Projects Completed in 2007

Sometimes I walk around my house and only seem to notice all the little (and big) projects that haven't been done yet. When I'm feeling overwhelmed, it helps to remember all the projects that are done. While I didn't get everything on my to-do list for this year done (ok, I wasn't even close), there was a lot accomplished around here this year. It helped tremendously to have a handy boyfriend with lots of tools and know-how who also finishes projects when I'm not around.

Inside projects completed in 2007:

• Installed new bathroom storage cabinets (j)
• Installed cable in the kitchen (j)
  
• Finally ended the great sofa hunt after more than a year and bought new living room furniture (me with lots of input)
  
• Painted fake tile in bathroom (me!)
• Installed roman blinds in the kitchen (j)
  
• Fixed dripping plumbing in basement (j)

Outside projects completed in 2007:

• Refinished and painted three windows, including storms (me!)
  
• Painted front porch (me!)
• Hung new house numbers (me!)
• Installed new storm door (j, although I helped a bit)
• Planted a bunch of flowers, two lilacs, tomatoes, etc. (me! with some help from j)
  

Garden Showdown: Online vs. Locally Purchased Plants

It's been awhile since I've had anything to post on Green Thumb Sunday since it's winter and I live in Ohio. But this is a perfect time to take stock of how my new plants did in 2007 and to see how plants purchased from local nurseries compare to those purchased online.

Purchased online from Michigan Bulb Co.:

• Canterbury Bells (Campanula) - $7.99 for three bareroot plants. One bloomed, then died.
• Bellflower (Campanula glomerata) - $7.99 for three potted plants. Saw good growth on two plants, but no blooms.
  
• Double Anemones (Anemone coronaria St. Brigid Group) - $5.99 for 40 bulbs. Planted in summer so too late to see anything this year. I just read that I should have pulled these bulbs up this fall for winter storage, so I don't have a lot of hope of seeing these next season.
• Liatris (Liatris spicata 'Alba') - $5.99 for 20 white bulbs. Saw growth on 10-12 bulbs, but no blooms.
• Mixed Lupines (Lupinus polyphyllus (Russell Hybrid)) -$7.99 for three bareroot plants. Two started to show growth then dried up and died. I never saw anything from the third.
• Mini Hollyhocks (Sidalcea malviflora) - $7.99 for six potted plants. Saw growth on several; one tiny hollyhock bloomed.
• Scabiosa (Scabiosa columbaria 'Butterfly Blue') - $5.99 for three potted plants. Some growth and profuse blooms.
  

Purchased from local nurseries:

• Lavender - $0.99 for three cell-pack size plants. All three showed great growth, and two plants bloomed.
• Coneflower - $0.99 for three cell-pack size plants. All three showed good growth and one bloomed just before killing frosts arrived.
• Cosmos - approx. $3.18 for eight plants. Good growth and bloomed profusely.
• Miss Kim Lilac, Dwarf - $10 for two plants. Little growth and few blooms. May not have watered enough.
  
• Shasta Daisies - $0.99 for three cell-size plants. Good growth, but no blooms.
• Strawberry Dianthus - $0.99 for three cell-size plants. Not a lot of growth, but blooms.
  
• Veronica Speedwell - $0.99 for three cell-size plants. Great growth and bloomed profusely.
  

Now to be fair to Michigan Bulb Co., they have a policy of replacing plants. I haven't tried to contact them about replacing my plants because I think I may have had a hand in their deaths. We also had a very, very dry summer and I didn't always water as much as I should have.

After these results I plan to stock up at the local nurseries when they have great sales and save online plant ordering for rare plants I can't find anywhere else. Of course perhaps my winter sowing efforts will be so fantastic I won't need to buy any plants this Spring. Yeah, I'm not holding my breath on that one either.



Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

On the 837th Day There Was Bathroom Storage

Once upon a time this was the only bit of storage in my tiny, tiny bathroom besides the medicine cabinet. This rickety little over-the-throne number was left by the previous owner. It served its purpose for two years, but was never ideal and always seemed about to collapse on your head.

But this week my very kind boyfriend surprised me and assembled and installed the new IKEA storage cabinets I bought. I put my foot in my big, giant mouth bigtime on this one though, because the first thing I thought, and unfortunately said was, "oh my god those things are TOO BIG." Which apparently isn't the thing one wants to hear after spending four hours working on a project. Then I promptly proceeded to freak out over buying more oversized crap for my tiny 1940s house.


But I'm getting used to them, even starting to like them. I definitely love having all that storage space and being able to keep more than two rolls of TP and one extra towel in the bathroom. I've almost got things smoothed over with the boy too.

The bathroom continues to look 100% better than it did when I moved in.

Three Green Cleaning Tips

Is this a pic of:

A) The makings of a really wacky drink
B) Oompa Loompa bath supplies
C) Green cleaners

If you guessed C, you win...the self-satisfaction of knowing you're right. ;)

I'm a bit of a clean freak, so I've slowly been trying to switch from toxic to non-toxic cleaners, but only if they work. Here are three new-to-me green cleaning tips that work for me:

1. Besides the million other uses for white vinegar, did you know it makes a great stainless steel cleaner? Yup, it's true.

2. Orange, lemonade and other powdered drink mixes with citric acid make great rust removers. Even Tang will do! I doubted it too when I read this tip in Apartment Therapy, but it works. While Apartment Therapy mentioned putting Tang in the toilet bowl to clean rust stains, I tried it on the stubborn rust stain in my tub (even the Magic Eraser didn't touch this rust stain) and it worked great! I just wet the tub, put the powder on the stain, and let it work its magic for 45 minutes. When I rinsed the orange Kool-Aid off, the rust stain was gone and it has stayed gone for a week. Plus the Kool-Aid left a nice orange scent, much better than the typical chemical cleaner smell.

3. Adding white vinegar to your laundry helps remove soap residue and can eliminate the need for fabric softener.

What are your favorite green cleaners?