Succulents

I'm in love with succulents! Having said that, I must admit that I'm just learning about these funky plants that are so perfect for this hot, dry climate. I found an old wooden toolbox at an antique store that I just knew would be cute with plants in it. That was back in April, right about the time I last posted anything on this blog...

Since then I've been busy. Two wonderful weeks in Ireland followed by two fun weeks of babysitting my grandson and lots of little stuff in between. But I'm back! I've got lots of ideas brewing in my head, beginning with the toolbox and some succulents.

Today I was in a local big box store and saw some succulents that were reasonably priced. That's one thing i've noticed about my new favorite plants--they're not cheap! I bought a couple of flats and headed home.

Here's where I can tell I'm out of it. I didn't take any before & during pictures of this project. I know, right? The good news is you don't need them. All you need to do is find a cute container and some plants and start planting. 

Since I found these plants on sale, I only spent $32. The toolbox (with some old tools in it that I gave to my daughter) was only $35. So for about $60 I ended up with a gorgeous planter that I will be able to enjoy for ages.

Here are the few pictures I took.

Don't you love it?

I'll keep you posted...

Lynn

A Pair of Pears

I was shopping today for a rug for our living room. I went into a discount store that always has great buys, but alas, no rug. This store is one of those stores that always has something that I think I need, so to remove any temptation, I didn't even get a shopping cart. Who was I kidding? After I looked at the rugs, I decided to take a quick walk through the rest of the store, I was in the clearance aisle when I spotted a big glass pear. It was about 18" tall, handmade and beautiful. I suspected that it was going to be considerably more than I wanted to spend, but I was wrong. $8.00. I couldn't believe it! Needless to say, I scooped it right up. I continued down the aisle and couldn't believe my luck. Another pear just like the first one! Now I wasn't sure at this point what I was going to do with one pear, much less two, but at that price I couldn't resist. At the very least, I could give the extra one to someone as a gift. Now that my hands were full, I headed to the register to pay then head home with my new treasures.

I have developed a new fascination with succulents. I love the variety, and the low maintenance, and in Texas in the summer, I appreciate their tolerance for heat. I decided that the pears would look great planted with succulents, so on the way home I stopped at the nursery and bought some. 

Since there is no drainage hole in these pears, I added about an inch of gravel to the bottom to compensate. 

Next came placing the plants. I'm not a very symmetrical person. By that I mean that even though I had two identical glass pears, I didn't want them to look exactly the same, so I mixed the plants. 

Since the pears aren't very deep, I knocked some of the soil off of each plant before I put it into the pear.

The I placed all the plants where I wanted them and added soil. 

Sorry I didn't take more pictures here, but I was really making a mess. My man-sized hands made adding the soil through the smallish hole a challenge, but I finally got all the plants in, then the soil, then I watered them.

By now you night have guessed that I decided to keep them both. They look great on my outdoor dining room table with a candle between them. So for less than $40, I have a unique and beautiful living center piece. Now I know that the plants I put in them will eventually outgrow their space, but I'm not worried about that. When the time comes, I can transplant them or even change my mind entirely and use the pears for something different. For now though, I think they're perfect!

I'll keep you posted...

Lynn