It’s cold, right? If you’ve been following along during our Weeds To Wow adventure with Fairview Garden Center these past few months, you may have realized we can’t do much in the yard in late January or early February. Even in North Carolina, the experts at Fairview know this may not be the ideal time for some of the awesome planting we want to do. What to do in the winter? Bring it inside!

Charlotte was so excited when I told her Fairview’s own, Aubrey was coming to play and make a “Fairy Garden.” I didn’t know exactly what a Fairy Garden was, but when I saw photos, I knew the girls would love it. It’s a perfect way for kids to get their hands in the dirt and do some planting on cold days. All Charlotte had to hear was “Fairy” and “Aubrey.” She was game.

The girls couldn’t start until they had on their fairy wings and dresses. Once they had proper fairy attire, the fun could begin. Ten steps! Check out this video to take you through the whole process:

I loved this project so much! Charlotte checks on her fairies everyday. Beware, sometimes overzealous 4-year-olds make a mess in the dirt. I have it on a shelf high enough that Henry can’t reach it, but Charlotte can stand on a stool to see it. That vacuuming you saw? It has continued. It’s okay though. I don’t mind. I love that she has “her plants” in the house. She loves knowing about the roots, stems and leaves of each plant.

Here’s some of the plants we used:

Tell me what plants you’ve used in a Fairy Garden. Have you ever made one with your kiddos? How long did it last? If you’re in Raleigh/Central North Carolina, check out Fairview’s class schedule. They have a Mommy and Me class to make Fairy Gardens coming up in May! Don’t let “fairy” scare off your boys. It’s a fun garden project for all kids. Be creative and put what you want in there. There are so many class offerings this winter and spring. Ya’ll know how much I loved my wreath class. Have fun! Happy planting.

I have never thought about making a Christmas wreath, ever. I have an artificial one. I think I got it at Target at a post-holiday sale a few years ago. It looks pretty awful. When Fairview Garden Center offered me a spot in their very popular wreath making seminar as part of our Weeds to Wow Family Garden Project. I was like, “Yes! But, I might be totally terrible at it. I will have no idea what I’m doing.”

Turns out, I am not totally terrible at it and I LOVED doing it! Seriously! Fairview’s seminars fill up fast so I was psyched to have a spot at the table. Anna led the class in one of Fairview’s beautiful greenhouses. She explained the plethora of plants that work for wreath making. For holiday wreaths we used a Fraser Fir base because, hello! It smells like Christmas. Fraser Firs make Christmas. Am I right?

Fairview offered many different plants to make a holiday wreath including holly, pine cones, sugar cane, juniper etc. Those are the main plants I used.

I learned that you start with a wire wreath base. The ones that Fairview gave us are more pliable than others. Anna said we would be able to wrap plant pieces better.

She explained how you make small bundles and wrap one with each wire, moving around the wreath. She emphasized moving in the same direction all the way around. Don’t skip a wire, or you’ll have a bare spot in your wreath.

I alternated a bundle with holly and a bundle with sugar cane to create a pattern. We used clippers to trim plants. The first bundle I made was too long. I said, “I want a big wreath, though.” Anna mentioned that was fine, but pieces that are too long can fall out. She was right. I trimmed up my bundles. If you want to add something after wrapping a bundle, use some craft wire to add additional decoration.

I LOVE how it turned out. I think with practice I could make all sorts of wreaths. Seriously. My mind was spinning with the idea of magnolia leaf wreaths etc.

If you want to participate in a wreath seminar or any class offered by Fairview, check them out! Can’t make a wreath seminar? Buy one of their beautiful hand-crafted holiday wreaths. They had more types and colors of poinsettias than I have ever seen.

If you want to see expert hands make a gorgeous professional wreath, check out this video of Fairview’s Jo Ann Dewar. She’s been making custom handmade wreaths for 30 years. Amazing!

I’ve discovered a new thing I love doing. I like filling a pitcher and watering my plants. It’s very calming and therapeutic for some reason. For the last month we’ve been keeping plants alive and it’s amazing! I actually want people to come to our door instead of hastily sweeping our dusty stoop before guests arrive. Our planters from last month are thriving and Greyson and I are in awe. Maybe we’re not the plant killers we thought we were. It’s all thanks to Fairview Garden Center.

If you’re catching up with us, we’re excited and honored to be part of the “Weeds To Wow” Family Garden Project. Fairview Garden Center here in Raleigh, NC is helping us take on a project every month to make our yard a nicer place for our family to play.

Fall is planting season. We got to do something I’ve always wanted to do, but never attempted out of fear of floral failure. We planted a bed around our mailbox.

 

I was just thinking of planting a bunch of flowers, but Fairview knows better than me and had some amazing recommendations. We mixed evergreens, perennials and annuals.

Here’s what you need to make a fall bed like this:

1.  Soil- Fairview recommends Daddy Pete’s Planting Mix, a soil conditioner comprised of cow manure and aged pine bark fines that will help improve soil air space and help retain moisture while adding natural nutrition to your soils. Daddy Pete’s is from a historic farm in North Carolina. Awesome, right? They serve both businesses and little gardeners like us. Check them out.

Funny story. We explained to Charlotte what manure is. She was worried it would “smell like poo poo” and kept her distance at first. We were cracking up. She learned after we spread it in the bed that it smelled fine, “fresh and gardeny” even.

Evergreens- We planted 2. Goshiki Osmanthus and 3. Crimson Fire Loropetalum. I’m psyched to have some plants survive through the winter.

Perennials- Or as I like to call these plants, the “Harry Potter spells.” 4. Euphorbia, 5. Heuchera and 6. Rumex. I imagine Hogwarts’ Herbology Professor Sprout uses spells like “Euphorbia Heuchera Rumex!” That spell make flowers  rebloom instantly or something.

Annuals- Here are my pretty flowers! We planted burgundy and yellow 7. Pansies with 8. Ornamental Cabbage.

9. Plant Food- Like last month we used Osmocote Plus Indoor/Outdoor plant food.

10. Mulch- We used Daddy Pete’s Pine Bark Mulch. Pine Bark mulch is better for flower beds because it is lighter than hardwood mulch. This is all stuff I didn’t know until this project.

11. Deer Repellent- It is not unusual for us to have families of deer wander through our yard multiple times a day. They dash in front of our cars and nosh on our plants. This stuff is a necessity for us. Turns out, it’s made of like spices that wouldn’t taste good together like garlic and cinnamon with capcasin to make it spicy. Clever! I guess that’s what you use when you don’t have a deer repellent spell. Antlerous Repellious! (There I go with Harry Potter, again.)

We started by shoveling and hoeing a bed around the mailbox approximately 3′ x 5′. Greyson shoveled the dirt and grass into a wheel barrow. I don’t know about you ladies, but I love seeing my man working outside. I also love seeing my babies outside helping.

We ran into a little snag. A concrete snag. I imagine this is the case in many neighborhoods. Check out our mailbox pole. Yep, that is all cement we couldn’t shovel through. The same applied for the edges near the road. If you have a curb, it may be a different story when you are planting a mailbox bed. We knew the mulch would ultimately help shape our bed.

We planted the evergreens first, then the perennials. After that we put in the ornamental cabbage. Finally, we filled in with the flowers for lovely pops of color. We fertilized and added mulch. Then we watered well! No pitchers here. We brought the hose out to the road. I like to pour a cup of coffee, strap the baby in the stroller and water. It’s a nice little ritual. I talk to the kids about the color of the plants. Charlotte really wants to grab the hose and spray everything. I’ve tried to stop her and remind her to “water the roots!” Which is awesome, because she’s learned a lot more about parts of the plant and how plants grow and survive.

What do you think? What have you done around your mailbox and what worked or didn’t work for you? If you live in the Raleigh, NC area. Check out Fairview! If you live elsewhere, come visit us in Raleigh. Until then, check out their blog for tips and how-to’s.

 

     We’re so excited and honored to start our first project with Fairview Garden Center. They asked us to be part of their inaugural “Weeds To Wow” Family Garden Project. You can follow along with us as Fairview helps make our yard look amazing because seriously, we know nothing about having a big yard and we kill plants with lack of knowledge and neglect. We’ll be doing a project each month starting now and going into next summer. Check back here for updates. Or click “The Yard” on the menu bar. I promise dirt and shenanigans resulting in a fine looking yard.

For our first autumn project, Fairview suggested we plant fall container gardens for our front stoop. I buy mums and pumpkins each year because nothing says “fall ya’ll!” like a pumpkin and a mum. Fairview gave us mums and pumpkins for Charlotte and Henry. Now autumn can happen!

The gorgeous planters add a lot more to your front porch for the season. These were so simple, even our family could plant them. That is saying a lot. I’ll take you step-by-step and show you everything you need for this. It’s perfect for families because kids can help with this type of gardening.

Here’s a list of what you need:

1. A Planter or Pot- Fairview had a huge selection of colors and varieties. This one in neutral tan looks nice with our green house. Make sure there are holes for proper drainage. I have drowned plants making this mistake before.
2. Proper Potting Soil- We used Fafard Ultra Container Mix. It turns out, different soils work better in different types of gardens. Who knew? I didn’t.
3. Plant Food- I have never added proper fertilizer or plant food before. Fairview recommended Osmocote Plus Indoor/Outdoor.
4. Gloves and a Shovel- These are adorable ones for kids. Fairview has a whole section for the kiddos. Charlotte loved her ducky gardening gloves.
5. More Plant Food- Fairview recommended Jack’s Classic Blossom Booster to keep everything nice and pretty through autumn.

In each container we included a variety of plants and flowers. Shamefully, I couldn’t really remember the difference between annuals and perennials. Sorry, 7th grade science teacher! Here’s what Fairview recommended for our fall planter after filling it with soil:

1. Acorus- Acorus is a perennial grass. We planted it first in the back center of the pot.
2. Snapdragons- Snapdragons are evergreen annuals for fall/winter that will rebloom in spring. We planted 3 or 4 of them behind the Acorus because they will grow tall.
3. Cool Wave Pansies- These are annuals that remain evergreen in the winter. I think everyone knows what pansies are. I was not aware of the Cool Wave variety that are great for containers because they grow more vine-like and can cascade down the side of the container. Very cool indeed!
4. Ivy- Ivy is a perennial trailing plant. I wanted mine sort of on the edges of the pot to grow over.

We filled it in with more soil and added the Osmocote. As a child I used to have this irrational fear that fertilizer would make me grow really huge. I think it was the scare tactic my parents used to keep us off the lawn after it had been fertilized. Charlotte rocked her gloves just in case. She’s already growing too fast.

Side note. Gardening gloves are great for opening jars. They give you good grip. See, I’m learning so much from this project already!

Then we watered them thoroughly and allowed them to drain. In a week we will begin fertilizing with Jack’s Blossom Booster when we water and then add it every 2-3 weeks after that.

Here is the before and after. What do you think? What are you doing in your yard this fall? We’ll take your suggestions! If you need help in your yard and you live in the Raleigh, NC area. Check out Fairview! Even if you live elsewhere, check out their blog for tips and how-to’s. They can even recommend nurseries in your area!