Hello! How is everyone this week? Have you started your gardens yet? Are you seeing weeds popping up yet? Or are you lucky and only seeing seedlings???

Here at Ladybug HQ we are seeing lots of new growth on our plants…and lots and lots of blooms. I went into the backyard this morning and cut some viburnum branches to make a giant bouquet….I needed to prune those plants back and am so happy I waited (procrastinated) until they were in full bloom!

This week I wanted to share a few of my favorite things with you…

Tracey DiSabato-Aust Her book The Well Tended Perennial Garden is a must have for anyone who gardens with perennials . I have learned more from this book than from any other source about cutting back, pinching, planting and generally caring for perennials. Lots of landscape designers shy away from too many perennials in a garden, fearing the maintenance issues that arise with their use. This book makes that maintenance a simple process and I refer to it all of the time.  She also designs remarkably gorgeous gardens and I look to her as one of my primary sources of inspiration.  I have bought at least 6 copies of this book, and I am very glad it is now out in paperback because my car kit just became that much lighter.

Bonsai scissors I use them to prune the houseplants.

All images in collage copyright Cabbages & Roses

A Guide to Natural Housekeeping – Cabbages & Roses…what can I say except that I love this book and I love this company. Their clothing speaks to my inner British lady…and their housewares are gorgeously inspirational. This book is beautifully packed with ideas for a green home and garden.  I am ordering their sew your own skirt kit as a gift for myself…I think it will be perfect for flea marketing….

Nettle Tea – This past Monday I took a nap after a particularly early start to what turned out to be a grueling morning. During this nap I dreamed I was drinking gallons upon gallons of nettle tea. I woke up and listened to my dream and have since drunk at least two gallons of the stuff. I love the flavor, the way I feel when I drink it and I choose to believe in its medicinal properties. Some say it tastes like pond scum…I say I must have been a frog in past life I love the stuff so. To make it, I simply throw a bunch of dried nettle leaves into a large pot of water…set it to boil and let it steep for as long as I can wait.  Then I drink away.  After I am done, I use the tea leaves to enrich the water I use for the houseplants…simply throw the leaves in a large mason jar, cover with spring water and let them sit for a few days.  Dilute by half and watch your houseplants perk up.

The cleaning and gardening trio….

Vinegar – The vinegar I use is plain ole straight up white vinegar. I buy it in jugs and use it up quickly. For cleaning, that and its BFF baking soda cannot be beat. But I love it most for getting rid of weeds in rock gardens or in between cracks of the pavement. Oh how quickly and how easily it works. Just pick a hot sunny day, grab your spray bottle of undiluted vinegar and spray away. It is a non-selective killer, so be careful not to get it on the plants you want to keep…

Baking Soda - Clean away and absorb odors…but also use in your  garden.   Mix one tablespoon baking soda, one teaspoon soap (I use castile soap) and a gallon of water and spray your phlox and roses and hydrangeas and any other plant you find is susceptible to powdery mildew. This works best as a preventative, and I’ve known gardeners to keep a spray bottle permanently hidden in the garden so they remember to spray

Epsom salts – My dear friend Epsom Salt.  I use it to soak away aches and pains, but I also use it in gardens to strengthen roses.  Epsom salts have been used as a fertilizer for generations, but I tend to use it rather sparingly outdoors.  If a soil test tells me the soil is lacking magnesium I am liable to find other ways to supply that nutrient to the soil microbes. But, I will use it selectively on roses as a foliar spray – I mix 1 Tablespoon to a gallon of water and spray every couple of weeks or so. I have personally found this to be beneficial for the roses.  I also use it as pick me up for my houseplants a couple times a year.

What are a few of your favorite things?  Do you have the Sound of Music stuck in your head now?  I do…and I’ve been listening to this version of one of my favorite songs!

Caroline Finnegan owns Ladybug Landscaping, a full service organic landscaping company. based in CT. She is a NOFA accredited landcare professional and when not designing gardens can be found rearranging her furniture or out at a flea market finding new goodies. She almost always has dirt under her nails.

wrap up: {eco friendly} {flowers} {garden} {gardening} {gladening} {home} {organic gardening}

it all started with

as i snapped some pictures of all the spring growth.

my pink and orange tulips are so vibrant, they cheer up the whole yard!

then comes my favorite part, my wisteria.

isn’t it dreamy?  last year it didn’t bloom hardly any, so i was pleasantly surprised this year!

i’m not even sure what this purple sweetie is, it’s the only one out there though, peeking out from underneath the steps.  she makes me smile.

so here’s where the problem came.  i got all plant happy (and a little bored) and decided to take a trip to lowe’s! (uh oh).

i started with a new tree and some pretty green plants.  boy, do they cheer up this used-to-be drab corner!

then i added some flowers to spruce the place up a bit.

next came some fun plants- one orange, red and yellow..

and the other one, purple!

i quickly moved on to this darling basket, she hangs right over my sewing machine.

then came time for this resilient plant, that dolls up the bathroom sink.

this duo cheers up our windowsill,

and this one makes our bookshelf all the more cozy.

(along with this one).

and while i was at it, i did a little redecorating (see the before here)!

and that’s how i went a little plant crazy.  what did you do this weekend?

wrap up: {cozy} {decorating} {flowers} {gardening} {house} {plants}

please welcome, guest poster: modish

I’ve always really loved the rain, which I suppose is a good thing since I live in notoriously rainyland Portland, OR. Living here, it’s easy to see all the wonderful effects that the wet weather brings- crazy amounts of green, varieties of foliage the likes of which I’ve never seen before and flowers- so many flowers. From March all the way through the last breath of autumn there’s something in bloom. So I gathered up some rain inspired creations for you hoping that they’ll help bring you lots of April showers so you can enjoy all those beautiful May flowers :)

Rain print, Sandra Juto
brooch & necklace set
rain drop earrings
turquoise rain mobile
rainy day letterpress card
umbrellas in the rain print

guest post by: modish

wrap up: {flowers} {guest post} {jena} {modish} {rain} {spring}

even though it was pouring snow on monday, the high today is 72 and i’m simply sprung about spring!  yes, enough to where i even made some hand squeezed lemonade, yum.

recipe:

1 cup of lemon juice

1 cup of sugar (i put a dash more, i like mine sweet!)

the squeeze of one lime

6 cups of cool water

stir until the sugar has dissolved, kick back, and relax!

today was also the first day that i was able to pick flowers from my yard, a splash of homegrown yellow goes a long way!

{photos: bonnie forkner}

wrap up: {flowers} {gladening} {lemon} {lemonade} {spring} {sugar}

hello lovelies!  though i had a wonderful weekend, things are a bit slow this monday morning.  isn’t it tough to get back in the groove of things sometimes?

to brighten things up a bit, here are some beautiful images by sheena lu photography.  aren’t they fresh and uplifting?  i love her ‘shoes’ photos, they seem to make me feel like i’m ready to go somewhere!  you’ll also enjoy her life & photography blog, the little red house.

speaking of houses and homes, i had the honor to do an interview with lana from joey and lana make a house a home, it’s up this morning if you would like to take a looksie!

i’ll be back later with some fun stuff, so stay tuned! ;)

update:  ah yes, did i forget to mention?  it’s snowing here.  pouring snow.  the high on wednesday? 68.  crazy march!

wrap up: {flowers} {interview} {photography} {sheena} {shoes}

{the flower field – ant view – carlsblad, california}

clockwise :: kitty tote bag, vintage map necklace, ribble de bibble mugs, lily pad felt bowl, mating ritual – james’s flamingo, burp cloth and wash set

i believe i’ve sprung for spring.

wrap up: {flowers} {garden} {green} {pink} {spring}

arent’t these arrangements beautiful? christina moreno is a professional floral designer and stay-at-home mom.  by combining her love for flowers, vintage pieces and photography, flores del sol is a vision to browse through.  i love all the pops of colors, nature and different textures, and can’t stop looking at those moss clusters!

elsewhere :: {floral shop} {vintage shop} {blog}

wrap up: {design} {floral} {flowers} {handmade} {moss}

alive

slow time #2

untitled

nico and haku #2

i could look at *mayxxx*’s photostream for days and days.  so many feelings get evoked as i go from page to page, and by the time i’m done, i fell a little lighter, brighter and much much happier!

wrap up: {flickr} {floral} {flowers} {foliage} {inspiration} {photography}