GARDEN Art DIY

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Harvesting English Lavender & How To Use It

Lavender is by far my very favorite scent. I love it fresh when the plants are in bloom, as it dries around the garden, in sachets tucked into my pillow at night, or as bath salts when I soak away the aches of the gardening day. This magical herb is said to promote relaxation, relieve stress, and even soothe an achy head. Oh and the bees and butterflies love it. We can’t forget the pollinators.

Drying English Lavender on an old ladder in the garden

Harvesting lavender is a great way to tidy up unruly plants and will give you a whole bunch of inspiration for projects throughout the year. There is a proper way and ideal time to harvest lavender that is best for both the dried flowers and the plants.

Lavender is commonly grouped into English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) with its delicate flowers and long stems that soar above the woody evergreen plant, and Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) with its showy hat of bracts on a perennial shrub. I grow a few ornamental Spanish lavender plants but for year-round crafting and culinary use, it’s English all the way.

bunches of freshly harvested English lavender

The best time to harvest English lavender is when the buds have formed on the plant but the flowers have not yet opened. Lavender harvested at this time of year will fall off the stems more easily when dry, making it easier to collect. closed buds will also retain fragrance and color longer. The cultivar of your lavender will also determine fragrance, color, and longevity of the dried stems as well. Hidcote and Munstead English lavender varieties are noted by many to be the best for drying (L. angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ and L. angustifolia ‘Munstead’).

To harvest, use sharp bypass pruners and gather a small handful of long flower stems. Be sure that you are leaving behind at least two sets of leaves on the green part of the stem. If you cut all the way back to the woody part of the stem, that stem will not regrow. I like to be generous and leave at least 3-4 sets of leaves on the plant, then go back and prune it to two sets of leaves on the green stem. This ensures that I’m not damaging the plant that gives me all these beautiful flowers! Continue collecting stems in your hand until you have a nice sized bundle. Secure the bundle with twine and continue until the plant is fully harvested.

Pruning the plants like this will keep the shrub tidy and evergreen through some colder climates. If your plants are leggy and you see lots of dead wood, it’s a good idea to summer prune them each year until they regain a tidier shape. You can safely prune back your lavender plants twice in the growing season to help define and maintain their shape.

Dry the bunches by hanging them in a warm, dry spot, out of direct sunlight. Under eaves, in the garage, or somewhere in the garden that is protected is ideal. My herb dryer is an old painting ladder outfitted with some hooks for the twine. But I have also dried lavender along a shady fence and made it into a dried lavender wreath. Adding some drying lavender around your home will make it smell heavenly. I highly recommend it.

After 2-4 weeks when the lavender has fully dried, you can shake or gently rub the flower buds into a tray or bowl. Store lavender in a lidded jar in a cool dark place and repeat next year.

In case you are wondering what to do with your bounty of fresh herbs, check out these DIY projects and recipes featuring this star of the garden.

More than 20 creative ways to use lavender

Original article and pictures take gardentherapy.ca site

Friday, April 15, 2016

Hand-painted Garden Sign

You are in for a treat! 25 bloggers have teamed up to bring you amazing DIY projects. Below you will find all of the project thumbnails for you to pick and chose what you'd like to visit….I hope it is all of them! Let's get started!

I found a large sign at the thrift store for $6. Great shape!

I decided to turn it into a Hand-Painted Garden Sign for the detached garage and potting shed.

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I'm sure you recognize all of these pretty faces! Lots of talent smiling back at you.

hand painted garden sign by our southern home 1

Here's the before of my $6 sign from the thrift store.

hand painted garden sign by our southern home 2

The letters are vinyl on top of paint. I used my putty knife to take off the letters.

hand painted garden sign by our southern home 3

I then sanded to get as smooth a finish as I could. This in not really wood, but pressed particle board stuff. It's a heavy sign since so large. I then used white indoor/outdoor spray paint with a built-in primer in Satin to paint the base of the board.

hand painted garden sign by our southern home 4

Pick out your font and play around with the size to get it to fit your project.
Print it.
Tape it together.
Tape to the board
With a ball-point pen, trace the top of the letters to leave an imprint. Press down!
Remove paper and you are left with a tracing of the letters to paint.

hand painted garden sign by our southern home 5

I painted 3 coats of Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in Enchanted. I used various sizes of artist brushes.

hand painted garden sign by our southern home 6

Then I used Miss Mustard Seed's tutorial for adding shadows to letters. I did this with Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in Relic. Then I lightly distressed the letters. Then I applied one coat of glaze. Using light pressure with a rag, you remove it. This leaves a look of texture. I sealed it with 2 coats of outdoor poly in satin.

hand painted garden sign by our southern home 7

It fills in this space nicely.

hand painted garden sign by our southern home 8

I'm one of those where one project leads to another. Adding this sign here has made me want to redo this little side porch. There is a concrete floor. I think I'm going to paint a diamond pattern on it. Stay tuned for that project and before photos!

hand painted garden sign by our southern home 20

Here are all of the fabulous projects contributed. You can find the links below.

I’d love for you to follow along on social media!

Home Stories A to Z Not Just a Housewife Kammy’s Korner The Happy Housie Design Dining and Diapers Liz Marie Blog Funky Junk Interiors Savvy Southern Style Tatertotsand Jello DIY Show Off Redoux Interiors Between Naps on the Porch The DIY Dreamer Oh My Creative Little Miss Celebration Just a Girl and Her Blog Sand and Sisal InteriorFrugalista House on the Way Addicted 2 DIY I should be Mopping the Floor Miss Mustard Seed Stone Gable- The Scoop

Original article and pictures take i2.wp.com site

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Hammered Flower-Print Cards

I love to send a little bit of my garden when sending a thank-you note. It’s not always practical for flowers or preserves to be sent across the country or even to a different country, but a flower print will do! Printing cards using garden leaves and flowers is a simple and personal way to send a sentiment to someone special.

Materials

Hammer or mallet
Pansy or other flower head
Parchment paper or craft paper
Hard surface

Hammered flowers and leaves for printing on cards

Make it!

Start with some plain card stock. I like to use plain white to see the all of the color detail in the flower print, but you can experiment with different colors as backgrounds for the print.

Pick a flower from the garden. I like pansies or violas for this project, because the size works well for cards and the colors transfer really nicely. You can certainly play with the various shapes, sizes, and colors of your garden flowers, keeping in mind that larger petals, such as those from roses or poppies, will need a lot of even hammering to transfer the whole petal. Leaves will work as well. Red maple leaves and fern leaves are very easy to print and transfer the pigment well and hold their shape. Test a few different leaves from your garden and see what you like best.

Use a hard surface like a piece of plywood as your work table. You don’t want to dent up a counter or nice table with this project, so choose a surface that you won’t mind a few hammer marks on.

Position the flower on the card where you want the print, top facing down. Each pansy has five petals. I separate them and place three on the card. The leftover petals can be printed on a separate card, or added to this design. I like the look of just three petals for a large pansy, though.

Place the parchment or craft paper over the petals and hold it in place under the paper.

Hammer the flower, covering the entire surface area. Be careful not to slide the petals around, but also be mindful of your fingers! I used a mallet for this project because it is heavy and has a smooth head to print the flower evenly. I didn’t use my hammer because it has a stippled head, but you can see the effect that gives here.

Pretty hammered flower print cards using pansies

Carefully remove the paper and peel off the petals. Brush away any leftover plant materials. Cut the card stock to size and attach it to a blank card. These would make fitting cards for your home stash or thank-you cards for weddings and showers. A set of these cards (six maybe?) would also make a great gift.

Read more on Flower Pounding and see how to do it on fabric here:

Save

Original article and pictures take gardentherapy.ca site

Monday, April 11, 2016

Hairstyles Medium Length Hair

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Original article and pictures take www.beautyfashionidea.com site

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Hair Braiding

I never had the patience to learn French braiding as a teenager but of course I can braid my hair into a simple back or side braid or pigtails.

Problem being now I'm an adult and I'm very interested now, not so much in French braids which seem passe, but in Germanic or other fancy braids like this:

Does anyone have any tips for making more complex braids easier? Is the key making sure the hair is somewhat damp so therefore more controllable?

This is a discussion on Hair Braiding within the ISFP Forum - The Artists forums, part of the SP's Temperament Forum- The Creators category; I'm also curious about this fishtail braid:...

Original article and pictures take personalitycafe.com site

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Growing Tomatoes at Ballanelson Nurseries

A small family-owned nursery on the Isle of Man

I’ve been tidying up the greenhouse and thoughts of tomatoes have been on my mind. Mainly I’ve been thinking about where to buy plants and which varieties to choose. Last year I grew Red and Yellow Currant tomatoes which are tiny and unusual but this year I want to grow something more traditional.

I’ve been envisioning growing a sweet salad tomato and ‘Gardeners Delight‘, a cherry tomato that I know I love. With this in mind, my interest was piqued at a post that Ballanelson Nurseries shared last week. It was a photo of their tomato plants and their saying that the variety ‘Shirley‘ does well in unheated greenhouses. I had to get up for a visit.

Ballanelson Nurseries is in Jurby

The owners of the nursery are Gill and Robert Kneale and I’ve known them for years. Their farm is in Jurby, in the north of the Island, and it’s where they grow their produce for Robinsons. If you’re on the Isle of Man and have bought local strawberries or tomatoes, there’s a good chance that they came from Ballanelson Nurseries. They also supply plants to the public including annual and perennial flowers and edible crops. Having a mooch around is a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Though you won’t see many photos of Gill and Rob on Facebook they do share a lot of Toby, their Westie. He’s practically a local celebrity and Gill says that if she shares a photo without him on their Facebook page then people start messaging. Where’s Toby?

Shirley Tomatoes

Back to tomatoes. Gill & Rob’s ‘Shirleys‘ sound perfect for growing in my small greenhouse and are practically made for it. With five stars on one major seed company’s website, it’s said that this variety has been a long-time favourite for growing in cold or slightly-heated greenhouses. They’re also disease resistant, half-hardy, and the fruit is early to mature. Often sold in the supermarket still on the vine, ‘Shirley’ tomatoes are of medium size and are a good multi-purpose salad tomato.

Growing Cordon Tomatoes

Since Ballanelson Nurseries grow ‘Shirleys’ commercially, I also wanted to have a look at how they do it. ‘Shirley‘ is a cordon tomato, meaning that it’s grown as one tall stem with any side shoots that form being taken off. In their tomato glasshouse, Gill & Rob plant the tomatoes direct into the ground and then run a string from the ground up to a support. As the plants grow, they wind them around the string and pinch off any side shoots.

Manx Strawberries

Gill gave Josh and I the full tour while we visited and not only did we see the tomatoes but also the strawberries. For the past couple of years, Ballanelson has been supplying strawberries to Robinsons, who distribute them to their own shops and at Shoprites around the Island.

To keep themselves in berries all summer, they grow several different varieties both in greenhouses and outdoors. Of all the types they grow, Gill says that it’s ‘Elegance‘ (UK link) that has the longest fruiting period. Under glass, they’ll fruit from May into October.

Strawberries grown from elevated bags

Through the years Gill & Rob have experimented with different ways to grow strawberries. The aim is to produce high yields of berries over a long fruiting season while reducing wastage. After trial-and-error, their preferred method is to grow the plants in elevated bags. The grow bags they commission themselves and the plants are spaced out in two rows about 18″ apart.

When the berries are ripe, they hang down against the bag or in the air. This keeps them safer from rot and slugs and makes them easier to pick. Any berries that are graded lower than supermarket shelf quality are made into jam but they’re also in talks with a local food producer about selling them on. Second grade berries are great for jams, jellies, and compotes and once they’re cooked you’d never know that they were ‘ugly veg’.

Home with my Shirleys

After a lovely hour of chatting with Gill and Rob we made our way home with a couple of ‘Shirley‘ tomato plants. Now that my greenhouse is scrubbed out and super clean, I’ll be filling my trench planter with compost and planting them up. Ballanelson Nurseries is also growing ‘Gardeners Delight‘ tomatoes so I’ll be back next month to pick those up when they’re ready.

If you’d like to visit the nursery, you can find it on Google maps here. They’re open everyday from 9am to 4pm and offer 10% discounts for anyone showing their allotment association membership card. Ballanelson have also been very generous and for the third year running they’ve also donated a gift voucher to our Seed and Plant Share event — it’s on April 9th this year if you’d like to keep that in your diary.

Original article and pictures take lovelygreens.com site