Walk around the Blue Lagoon

Shallow salt water area, mostly hidden, sunny and peaceful - our Blue Lagoon

To the left from the main porch, the deck leads to our hidden Cabana. This cozy area is under a pergola overgrown by a large Petrea vine. It's a shady spot to enjoy an afternoon cocktail while reading a book.

pool pump cover

The pool is set up, but of course, the project is not finished.

The pump and filter have to sit close by the pool and this does not look pretty.

DH built a cover that allows airflow and still hides the pump and filter. He fastened lattice panels to a wood frame in a way so he can flip open the sides and lift off the top panel to get to the pump if needed.

Shells and Succulents

This past Saturday we spent a day in Tarpon Springs, a lovely Greek town, with lots to do and see. Besides eating delicious Greek food we booked a boat tour to a small island for shelling.

What to do with the sand and the shells? display them of course!

Planting a succulent cage

This is a quick little project that's fun and easy to do.
I bought the cage at an Arts & Craft store and stopped on the way home at the nearest box store to get a six-pack of small succulents

the finished project

Create a Mini Terrarium for the office

Hubby wanted a plant for his desk at the office, low light, dry air… seems perfect for a mini terrarium.

Thoughts about chopsticks

This post is not garden related, but is meant for all sushi lovers - go and get yourself a nice pair of chopsticks and a travel case and start saving trees!

a tufa-cairn

what to do with leftover hypertufa mix?

make a tufa-cairn :D

Edible Bird House

The edible bird house is much-loved by the birds in Myrtle Glen.

Twilight Tea Fundraiser

This Fundraiser party turned out great!

A nesting material basket for the birds

Encourage birds to not just visit but live in your garden by offering food (bird feeder), fresh water (bird bath) a nest box or two, and nesting material.

I'm getting ready for springtime, the nest-building time for the birds in Myrtle Glen, by offering combed-out soft fur from Sam, our German Shepherd Dog.

I like this seed cake feeder box I got at the pet store

Rainwater Barrels in Myrtle Glen

Rainwater barrels do not need to be ugly, we turned ours into garden art:

simply painted

Growing Lotus from seed

Starting the native American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea) from seed is easy.

Start them now in Fall, keep them protected from frost and they will flower next summer.

native American Lotus

The big seeds need to be nicked, so I held them in a vice and filed carefully until I could see the cream-colored inside of the seeds at one spot.

The lazy flowerbed

Lasagna Style :-)

I am sure everyone knows about the lasagna style bed, but since this is one of my most favorite projects (yes, I have many lasagna beds in my yard) I decided to add the 'How To' as a page to this blog.

finished flowerbed

To see pictures and read how we do it, go to the page in the left menu or just click HERE :-)

Just a branch

I got the idea from a nursery, of course their branch was the size if a TREE loaded with huge ferns, orchids and bromeliads. And of course they had the space for it. Here is mine, a downsized version:

To see more pictures and how we did it,  go to the page 'Just a branch'

plant shelf

A discarded CD rack I found is the perfect size for holding small pots.
DH used 4 screws to secure the shelf to the wall: