Time to Plant!
The last two houses I moved into came with empty flower beds. Having never gardened before, I was overwhelmed, but quickly learned that I loved it. It was daunting to plan a flower bed from scratch, but I looked up ideas online and even got some from walks around the neighborhood. Plants are pretty forgiving if you follow their care instructions (shade/sun) and give them water. Throughout the year, I evaluate my garden to figure out if it needs more color in a certain season, if the plants are getting too much sun, or if something should be moved to a different spot.
The picture below is of my empty flower bed in my current house. There was only a magnolia tree and 2 boxwoods. I picked flowers I liked and moved them around in the space until I liked what I saw before planting them.
The Fall is my favorite time to plant! When you plant in the spring and summer, the plants require lots of water and fertilizer. Planting in the Fall lets the roots start to establish themselves before it’s too cold and they are dormant. The winter snow and spring showers provide the water they need to have a thriving summer! I’ve planted as late as mid November and my plants bloomed the next year. The best part is that most local garden centers have sales on plants at the end of the summer, so you save money and get the same great look!
This space had a large tree that fell over in a storm. I planted these the previous fall and was so happy to see the flowers in bloom this summer!
My favorite garden centers are Platts in Clarksboro (a hike, but they also have animals on site that my kids love to see), McNaughton’s in Cherry Hill, Magnolia’s in Somerdale, and Flagg’s in Moorestown. I even like to check out the sale plants at Lowe’s. Some of my best plants have been found online when people are changing out their plants, or dividing them (like hostas or Lilly’s).
My current project is to make a butterfly garden in this space. It’s a shared space with my neighbor, who designed the walkway and rock beds decades ago. After talking over my plan with her, she is ok with me removing the rocks and putting in plants. The rocks will be a project that I am not looking forward to, but I’m looking forward to sitting on the bench and seeing the colors of the flowers and hopefully lots of pollinators flying around!
Eco Friendly Lunch Containers
The environment is important to me and this year I decided that I could make better, eco friendly choices with my kids school lunch containers. My goal is to use items that aren’t single use, but also practical and durable for my kids – and my dishwasher.
We use stainless steel water bottles, reusable lunch boxes, and snack bags instead of ziplock bags. I also use Tupperware containers, but until recently, I never thought about how that would be recycled after I was done with it. Tupperware is plastic and can only be recycled if there is a 1 or 2 on the bottom, which most of mine does not. As my old Tupperware becomes unusable, I plan to replace it with stainless steel containers that are 100% recyclable. The Refill Market in Haddon Township recently started carrying these containers and I need to grab some.
I have tried many kinds of snack bags in an attempt to stop using ziplock bags, but haven’t had a lot of luck with many of them. I love to use my dishwasher, but the snack bags don’t love to get washed in there. They end up changing shape enough that I can’t close them anymore. Even some of them that have been hand washed only, stop being able to close. It’s taken me a long time to figure out, but my favorite snack bags have Velcro closures and are washing machine compatible.
For sandwiches, I love love love these sandwich wraps I get from The Refill Market. You open your sandwich and automatically get a placemat as well. Best of all, they are machine washable!
