Style Lush

Currently Coveting: A Succulent Wall

by Natalie

I live in the hot land of Austin, Texas, so even though I adore flowers, I just can't grow most of them. They wilt, they die, there isn't enough water in the WORLD to keep my flowers alive through our dry, hot 100+ degree heat in August. You know what plants DO grow well here? Succulents.

Our front yard is xeriscaped, which means it's mostly rock and crushed granite ground cover and has plants like agave and cactus, as well as some decorative grasses and herbs like flowering rosemary. Our backyard is fenced in, and I am dying to decorate with some of the amazing succulent walls from San Francisco gardener Flora Grubb's store. (Also, I love that Flora Grubb is her given name. How could she NOT become a gardener with a name like that?)

I love this! Isn't it beautiful? Here's a little more detail of what's actually on the wall:

And one more just because I love it:

Fantastic! San Franciscans, have you ever been to her store?

{all photos via Flora Grubb's blog}

 

 

Summer Project: Tabletop Fire Bowl

By Sara

Now that the weather has finally warmed up in Chicago I've turned my sights to our backyard. It's been a lovely space for the almost four years we've owned our home...we have a nice deck with space for a table and chairs and a small yard with decent landscaping. The one thing that I have always thought would complete the space was a fire pit. I adore the idea of sitting around a small fire pit in the late summer evenings gathering neighbors and friends for one last glass of wine before bed. However, and sadly, I don't think any of my neighbors would appreciate me burning down their homes since they are a mere 20 feet from my backyard. I also believe that fire pits are rather illegal for homeowners in the city limits (but I could be wrong).

In lieu of a permanent large fire pit, I came across this adorable little tabletop fire bowl in Better Homes and Gardens:

This looks a) super easy to make and b) just the right amount of ambience for our small patch of land. All it takes is a terracotta bowl, a can of gel-alcohol fuel (available online at Amazon) and pretty recycled glass. I even feel pretty confident that I wouldn't burn down my house or my neighbors' with this small fire bowl. I bet they would feel confident coming over for that glass of wine knowing I won't be burning down their house. 

Do you have any back yard (or front yard) projects that are on deck (heh) for this summer?

Herb Gardens for Small Spaces?

By Laurie

I've been house- and dog-sitting this summer in two spaces that have very little in common except for the fact that they are single family homes with canine occupants located in the same state. 

The greatest thing they have in common though is that at each I could go outside and pick tomatoes and basil off the vine for my meals. Given that I could pretty much eat a Mediterranean-style diet of Caprese salad, olive oil, olives and bread every day for the rest of my life (with a steak thrown in here and there) this has been heavenly for me. 

Alas, in August I will go back to my smallish, garden-less residence, with the resolve, nonetheless, to start my own little herb garden. I want something simple, just basil, rosemary, thyme and cilantro. 

I know very little about gardening or keeping anything non-human or pet alive, but I am willing to try. I've been cruising around looking for the best containers to keep herbs alive and quite frankly, friends, I'm overwhelmed. About.com's herb gardening site has some great ideas to get started, but I think I need to do some more research and come back with some best bets. 

I am also open to suggestions so if anyone has any on the best way to care for herbs, indoors or out, I am all ears -- and hopefully just the slightest bit of a green thumb. 

Meanwhile, here is the Perfect Caprese (according to me)

Several Roma or homegrown tomatoes, sliced

Basil, several leaves, torn

Your favorite olive oil

Balsamic vinaigrette

Mozzarella, preferably fresh, sliced. 

Assemble, drizzle oil and vinegar to taste, sprinkle sea salt and cracked pepper on top. 

Pair with some crusty bread and an Italian or South American red of your choosing, and done. 

This is why I love summer, and tomato season. I'll be back with my herb garden finds. 

Photos by Laurie White.

DVR Alert

by Elizabeth

Just thought I'd give everyone out there a heads up - my cable television debut will occur on Monday July 19th - the episode of Turf War featuring my very own backyard airs at 7 and 10 PST.  I really do love my yard, so I thought it might be fun for all you guys to see how it turned out. 

Anyway, check it out, and prepare yourself for 1. a very pregnant woman acting like a moron and 2. to hear the words "water feature" more times than you could ever imagine.

And just a quick added note to make things clear, although I am pretty sure you know the drill by now (we don't accept free stuff at Style Lush unless it's for a reader give away) - I simply lucked into this by being at the right place at the right time - it had nothing to do with this blog, reviews, etc.  I did get a pretty sweet new yard for free (if you don't count taxes we'll have to pay) but my various blogging endeavors never entered into the picture. 

Stuff I Love: Bauer Garden Orbs

by Elizabeth

I first spotted these Bauer Garden Orbs in an issue of Sunset magazine and I've had a longing for one (or three) ever since.  I'm happy to admit they're not all that necessary and at $75 to $150 dollars, they're a major splurge, but sometimes that's just how the best things in life are -- totally useless, gorgeous, and a bit overpriced.  I have no idea where I'd put it or what color I want, but someday a garden orb will be mine! (Unless I can figure out how to DIY one in the meantime -- anyone have any ideas?)

{photo credits: bauerpottery.com}

Composting 101

By Sarah

I've been wanting to start a compost bin for quite some time -- I absolutely hate wasting items I know can be used for another purpose -- but I was unsure how to build my own and too cheap to drop $100+ on one of these numbers.

Luckily for me, Style Lush's Manda recently posted a DIY compost bin tutorial on her personal blog. She made hers using nothing but a $30 metal trash can and a power drill, can you believe it? She's a smart cookie, that one!

Now that I finally have my coveted compost bin (thanks to my husband who "built" mine this weekend), the real fun begins. To start out, I went in search of the Dos and Don'ts of composting and believe it or not, I found the EPA's composting website to be the best out there. Their site gives you the basics of composting, including detailed lists of what you should and shouldn't compost.

For example, did you know you can compost hair, fur, and vacuum cleaner lint? I KNOW, RIGHT? In addition to the obvious fruits and vegetables, you can also compost coffee grounds and filters, shredded newspapers and dryer lint. Amazing!

I know there is a lot more I need to learn, but I've found this site to be a great jumping-off point. As usual, though, our Style Lush readers always seem to be in-the-know, so I have to ask: Any great composting or gardening tips you must share? Leave them in the comments!

Reader Help: Outdoor Storage

by Elizabeth

I don't think I've mentioned this yet here on Style Lush but my backyard of sadness recently underwent a TOTAL! EXTREME! MAKEOVER! thanks to the tv show Turf War and now it is a thing of amazingness.  (No pictures allowed yet but the episode will air sometime in July). Contrary to what you might think, having a gorgeous backyard instead of a sad patch of weedy grass just makes you want to spend MORE money to put MORE lovely stuff in your backyard because all of a sudden that collection of Rubbermaid bins you've been using as guest seating since 1998 doesn't quite cut the mustard. 

We did get new patio furniture - we chose the Applaro set from IKEA - the long table and four chairs. 

We also have some lovely red Adirondack chairs from Cost Plus.  

I'm hoping to buy the very reasonably priced Cost Plus Wood Outdoor Storage Box as a place to keep rogue plastic toys and dog food and firewood. 

And because I hope to spend every waking minute of this summer in my new yard, I was planning on buying some inexpensive plates and cups to keep outside so we could have lots of meals on the patio - but I can't find anything that seems like it would work to hold things like plates, napkins, candles, etc.

This Chesapeake Buffet from Pottery Barn is perfect, actually, but $899 dollars?  Uh, no thank you.

Cost Plus shows their Potting Bench styled to hold dining items, and it's only $99 dollars! But there's no way to store anything covered and I don't want to eat off dusty dishes.  

I was also considering just buying this Cost Plus Outdoor Wooden Storage Bench and keeping items inside the base, but something about the proportions feels unattractive to me, and I would much rather have a cabinet if I can find one.  

IKEA has the Hemnes Linen Cabinet which I've always liked, but it's not outdoor furniture, and the price seems high to me for IKEA furniture.  I'm worried it would look out of place. 

Target has an Outdoor Patio Bar which I like, but the back isn't covered, so that doesn't really solve my problem, and $300 is still more than I want to spend on this.  

Maggie suggested a DIY version like the one at The Pleasures of Homemaking, but then I have to find a suitable buffet, figure out how to get it home in a Jetta, and then repaint it, and the thought of all that just makes me tired.  And I'd be worried about how it would hold up outdoors year after year. 

Walmart sells this Country Club Storage Cabinet which is probably closest to what I'm looking for, and the price is right, but there's something almost bathroomy about it to me.  I'm  not in love with the color either. 

So, dear readers, what do you think?  Am I missing an obvious solution? (I don't have room in my kitchen for more dishes and cups.)  Do you have the perfect cabinet for me?  Do you think one of my rejected choices is the way to go?  All suggestions would be much appreciated!  

I am leaning towards just buying two of the Cost Plus storage boxes, or the storage bench and a storage box, and using one for extra seating and to hold dishes, and putting the other one in my driveway to use as dog food/toy/firewood storage, but I am open to any and all ideas!  

{photo credits:  costplus.com, walmart.com, target.com, ikea.com, potterybarn.com}

Pretty Paper Lanterns

by Christina

I don't know what your weather has been like this week but we have been eating dinner on our deck for most of it. It won't be long until the pesky mosquitos will be joining us, and my annual hunt for citronella will be on. This year I hope to do a cute cover up of a necessity and make it ambient lighting rather than a bug zapper. In this months issue of Country Living I saw these awesome and really affordable paper lanterns. I think they fit the bill perfectly.

They would also make perfect path lighting if you were having an evening get together. Aside from being really cute they are just $16.95 for a set of 7. 

{photo credit: ferrol studio dot com} 

How To: Start Your Garden - Phase Two

by Elizabeth

So has everyone figured out what they're going to grow in their garden this year?  Last I left you, I promised I'd be back with the next step in the middle of February, but February has a way of just up and disappearing and here we are in the middle of March - whoops!

That's ok though, you still have time - my goal is to have my plants in the ground on April 2nd, but this the Central Valley, and that's a bit early for most other places - and it might even be a bit early for here - but gardening always involves a bit of a gamble.  I'm hoping to win the much coveted "First Tomato by Bastille Day Award" this year, so I have to get an early start.

Anyway - my tomatoes and peppers were started in Jiffy greenhouses in mid February.  You can pick these bad boys up at any home improvement or hardware store - all the instructions come on the back of the package.  People also use newspaper pots, egg cartons, milk cartons, all that fun stuff, but I tried a multitude of containers last year, and I liked the Jiffy greenhouse the best.  Here's me and my assistant doing the planting:

Because my tomatoes are almost ready to go in the ground, this week I started "hardening them off" - this means taking them outside during the day so they can acclimate to the temperature slowly.  Just make sure you don't forget them and leave them outside overnight.  This is what they looked like this morning:

Finally, I also spent last weekend turning over the soil and getting it ready for new plants - you can rent a rototiller for this if you want.  I handed my husband a shovel (See: 28 weeks pregnant).  You really just want to break up the soil and get rid of weeds and sticks, stuff like that.  I also added some soil amendments - compost and tomato fertilizer, because I'm lazy - but there's also more natural ways to do this.  Finny Knits has some great soil testing and amending methods if you want to check that series out.  

Also check up on your gardening supplies and see if you need to replace anything. I need to buy a few more tomato cages this year.  I have also seen systems that use stakes, wire, string, concrete mesh, bamboo tripods, etc, but what can I say? I'm old school - I like the cages. 

And then you're ready to plant!  If you're not up for starting plants from seed, there is still LOTS of time to buy plants that are ready to pop right into the ground - and tons of other things (beans, peas, cucumbers, melon, dill, basil) are direct sow and can be planted right from the packet.  Just remember to find out your zone and to verify when your last frost date usually is (i.e. when it's safe to plant all this stuff.)

When you're ready to plant, follow the instructions on the seed packet or carton.  That will tell you how deep to set the plant, how far apart, etc.

There's also some really good vegetable gardening information in The Sunset Western Garden Book, which I'm a big fan of.

So - what are you planting this year? I'd love to hear all about it. 

Also, let me know if there's something I'm missing - any magical ingredients I should be adding to my soil?  Incantations I should be chanting by the light of the full moon?  Scary new pestilence I should be on the look out for?

And now I've got to go put a big "Planting Day" star on the calendar - April 2nd! I can't wait.   

{photo credits:  Amazon.com and me, Elizabeth}

PSA: Don't Mow or Cut Down Your Daffodils

by Elizabeth

So guess who didn't have any daffodil or tulip blooms this year?  Unbeknownst to me, it turns out that fall planted bulbs like daffodils store all the energy for NEXT year's blooms in their leaves and stems.  Last year I noticed that my neighbor braided all the spent flower stems together, bent them in half, and rubber banded them low to the ground, but of course it never occurred to me to wonder WHY. I just laughed at the mess and mowed those puppies down. And so this year, there were no spring flowers for me!

The good news is that the leaves came up, so as long as I leave them alone I should have blooms next year, especially after adding some extra bulb fertilizer to the base of my plants. 

Anyway. It's highly likely that everyone except me knows this information already, but just in case, I'm here to tell you - don't mow down those spring flowers!