Thursday, June 5, 2014

DIY Thursday: River Stone Herb Markers... and a little about Forgotten Projects and Gardening

Top o’ the morning to you, this beautiful Thursday or shall I say afternoon?

This post will (hopefully) be the first of many.   I want definitely want this blog to expand and be more than an “update on Susan’s health” blog.  I want it to help other people, point them to Jesus, be a voice of my ideas, but also have some more useful stuff for you guys that I also LOVE such as yummy recipes, gardening, and some pretty awesome crafting/DIY projects on a budget. 


I love to start things… I get all of these awesome ideas off Pinterest.  Instead of just pinning them into the file and forgetting however (you know you've done it), I have this nasty habit of actually gathering the things I need, with good intentions of course.  But then…. Wait for it… They set there.  Forgotten and lonely… It’s a pretty bleak picture of hope for my DIY projects. 

And then came this idea…

In order to keep myself accountable and actually get things done along with expanding my blog, I am now starting a blog entry for every Thursday just for these forgotten lonely orphaned projects.  That’s one project a week.  We can do this! Yes we can!

And now without further ado… this week’s Do It Yourself Thursday...

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing:—"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade...
~Rudyard Kipling, "The Glory of the Garden"

How many of you guys love to garden and grow things? Any green thumbs out there?  OH come on…

I must confess I grew up with my hands in the dirt.  Ha upon occasion at least. I guess this love for growing things was passed down from my mom who most likely got the fever from her grandmother Nanny George.  I hear all kinds of stories about this lady’s awesome green thumb- the sage bush that made the most awesome Turkey and Dressing ever each fall, the lady that could take literally any cutting and with some special love and magic turn it into a big beautiful plant.  I’m sad I didn't get to know this lady as she died when I was a few years old, but I love the legacy she passed on.  I learned what I know from my mom, as well as the lady I affectionately refer to as Granny- my dad’s mom.  

I’m not sure what my childhood would have been like without getting my bare feet stuck in the mud in a garden, picking beautiful “floweries” (my 4 year old name for them),  as well as those grueling days spent hoeing weeds and shucking corn in the dead heat of summer.  That my friend was the part I didn't like of growing things. But hey, it's character building right? Or at least that's what the older folks say...

Since reaching adulthood, moving out, and starting to grow my own things I'll confess that I haven’t had a ton of luck with veggies.  My tomatoes always seem to get eaten by worms.  My peppers never grow big and tall like they should.   And let’s face it… I love to go to the farmer’s market and shop Saturday mornings.  I love supporting the actual local farmers, and they can grow so much more of a variety. We also are a member of a CSA, so we pay before the season and then get fresh produce each week at its peak of ripeness.    

So let me get this straight Susan… ahum I thought you was going to tell me all about your green thumb… but you don’t grow any veggies? So what do you grow? 

I grow herbs.  And flowers of course… because let’s face it life without pretty things is dull.   But today I’ll focus on my showing you my herb garden.   

SO why herbs?  I love to cook!  When you buy the fresh bought at the store.. they are entirely way too expensive for a small amount that lasts only a few days.   Growing your own is so much more frugal.  I love making a trip out to my little garden, conveniently located right outside my house, to get herbs to cook with.  These things make food taste so much better.  Options are endless…sensational marinades, the best ranch dressing you've ever had, pasta sauce, herb butter, soups etc. etc, and the best  turkey and dressing like my Nanny always cooked (Bonus tip, fresh sage doesn't taste like “dirt” like so many dressings served in restaurants do that use the dry stuff "bleh!".) 

Once you grow your own fresh herbs you won’t go back.  It’s only a little work, because once planted they actually take care of themselves pretty well.  I keep them watered, keep the damaged leaves trimmed off, and fertilize every once in a while.


I grow: Mint, Sage, Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Parsley, Thyme, Chives, Dill, Fennel (because I accidentally picked it up, the stuff looks just like dill for real), Lavender, and Lemongrass.  The Lavender, Mint, and Lemongrass are grown in separate pots.  (Mint if not limited will take over, Lavender can be persnickety, and we keep lemongrass on the deck to also keep away mosquitoes)

I have a raised bed, that we constructed out of concrete blocks last year.  No mortar involved.  We simply dug the dirt out to even it out, and placed the bricks.  We filled it with a soil mix that would drain well which included some sand.  Herbs love being well drained.   This type of garden is beneficial.  It keeps the weeds and random animals out.  (minus apparently a few armadillos I had earlier in the season)  It also makes things easier to reach when harvesting.  With the bricks I love that there are pretty much built in benches on the side as well, this totally saves your back.

This year I even added some pretty flowers to the sides of my garden a gift from mom.  Thanks mom.  Those are Petunias and Dahlias if anyone wondered.  

I also found these pretty little purple flowers for the back I added bricks for that reminded me of a flower from Seusville.  I forgot the name already- knew I should have kept that sticker!


Couldn't do anything without my little helper. Sweet Sweet Kaia



And that is the garden.  Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Now for the DIY project you ask?

River Stone Herb Markers















For this project you need:
River Stones (I got mine at a local nursery that has stones for landscaping)
Small paint brush with a thin sharp end for drawing lines and details
White Paint (I used some flat latex paint I already had from a furniture project a while back in white)
Clear Sealer (you can find this at most craft stores or in the spray paint section


I found this idea on Pinterest, to give credit where it's due: here’s the link for the original http://augustwren.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/herb-markers.html.  Hers are also very very cute and gave me my original idea.   

The directions if you need any, are very simple.  I washed the stones and let them dry completely.  I painted whatever design I liked and let that dry completely.  Then I sealed them twice with the spray sealer.   I'm not sure how these will hold up just yet in the weather.  I'm hoping the latex paint helps, along with the sealer.  I'll update you later on!  Pretty sure they might also need to be brought into the garage in the winter, just so they last a little longer.   Also if you aren't great at wielding a paint brush, I'm sure a paint pin might do just fine as well, but not sure how well it will hold up.  Seal it good! 

I think they add quite a bit to my little garden and I also love these, because my dad used to collect some from different creeks we visited in my childhood to place in the flower bed back home. They also make me think of him and some fun memories of pushing my brothers down in those creeks (OK, so they always won, but it was still fun!). What do you think? 




 Anybody going to try these? Anyone else growing things this summer? What does your garden look like? Anyone else have a different labeling system? 

1 comment:

  1. I am! This is my first year growing herbs AND veggies. So far, so good. I will send photos to your Facebook page!

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