What’s Blooming In My Kitchen…

Good Friday Morning Everyone…  First off let me welcome any new visitors today.  I am linking into a party or two today.  So glad you could visit.

I wanted to take a moment and show you what I have been enjoying this week.  Three little 4 inch containers of blooms from my grocery store… I could not resist.

It has been so cold and snowing…  It is so nice to see color!  I wish I could say I grew these myself, but this is an “instant garden!”

So to have these fantastic colors to enjoy has been a real treat.  I think they were $10 total… well worth it in my book!

They are in a basket that just fits this space.  You know I love baskets.

My kitchen is filled with them. 

But to have blooms in late January is a treat.

I especially love the purple crocuses… I can plant them in a few weeks outside.

But the two different shades of pink and white African Violets are beautiful too.  One is slightly darker than the other one.

I have never really grown them, but I have a friend that enjoys them and will teach me a bit about  them.  She has over 100 plants! 

Isn’t this a pretty cross.  It hangs in my kitchen window.  I got it on EBay last week…lol.  I love my EBay deals.  More pics of my kitchen to come.  I have the bunnies out, I know it was early….but as you know…. I cannot wait till Spring!

Many Blessings…..Brooke

Want to talk gardening everyday? Looking for new ideas to inspire you? I host a gardening group on Facebook called WebGarden!  We feature garden tours, posts and information by creative gardeners like you! Please Join Us!

 

Today I am linked in to the following parties…..

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage Inspiration Friday @ Southern in My Heart Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground Fertilizer Friday @ Tootsies

The View From Above

I found out today that my house is on Google Maps now.  It was fun to see what it showed from the images.  I have said many times it is hard to “get it all” in a picture out here, so these will help you see our land better. 

We are surrounded by farmland and pastures.  They are beautiful and untouched, but they have grown up so much since we bought our property 7 years ago.  They are becoming little woods, and that is fine with us.

This area is good for hunting and watching wildlife.  Basically I live in ATV heaven, any kind of off road vehicles can be found in my neighborhood.  We have three four wheelers and use daily when it is warm. But in the summer, it is all about the lake.

Large areas are unmowed and natural.  Making it perfect to explore natures and enjoy the views.

 

This is our backyard.  I never grow tired of this view.

And seeing the wildlife like rabbits, deer, wild turkey and all sorts of birds.

Our home was built in 2006, so this summer we will have been here 5 years.  I cannot believe how fast it has went.

Here you can see all the different beds.  The first two years we did the grass and dirt work, added the walkways, ect.  I cannot believe we lived for so long with no grass and flowers, but I was busy doing the inside of the house. The front walk borders were done in 2008, the butterfly garden, fire pit, driveway and wildflowers in 2009.  The kitchen Garden in 2010.

This bench on the butterfly hill garden shows how natural and pretty the hill is behind our home.  We often see deer up there.  This overlooks the lake and is a favorite view of the gardens.

Here you can see just how far it is from the house to the dock, but we own all the land.  My husband mows all of this too.

Here is some of the wildflowers that grew along the paths last summer.  We keep little pockets of grown up areas.  They are so interesting to see what comes up.

What a great place for my girls to grow up. We swim and fish at our dock all summer.  This year we are planning a raised platform under the trees with a swing under the trees.  I cannot wait to begin.

We even camp in our own backyard.  Lots of good memories and family fun.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of our country home.  I am in Southern Indiana, about 30 miles North of Evansville.  45 miles from the Kentucky line.

Happy Gardening and Many Blessings…..Brooke

Want to talk gardening everyday? Looking for new ideas to inspire you? I host a gardening group on Facebook called WebGarden!  We feature garden tours, posts and information by creative gardeners like you! Please Join Us!

My favorite flowers from SEED!

Oh….HOW I LOVE SEEDS!  I absolutely love everything about growing things from seeds.  And my garden would not look the same without them. 

For pennies a plant you can have a lush, full display year after year. Many of the plants in the bed seen above are from seed.  It gave me the rich, full and lush look I wanted, as well as knowing I almost always will have something in bloom in this area.

Here are a few of my favorites.  I hope you might be inspired to try them as well.  All of the following plants I grew from seed in the last two years.

Annual Cleomes…. I have a few different varieties, and I love them all. This one is a very bright pink.

I have the soft pink and white ones as well.

Annual Pink and White Baby’s Breath

Canterbury Bells (Biennials)

Annual Candytuft ( Reblooms all Season)

Perennial White Yarrow and Annual Feverfew

Foxglove (Biennials)

So many different Perennial Hollyhocks….

Annual Zinnia and Cosmos…

Annual Heirloom Pink Catchfly

Annual Pink Evening Primrose

Perennial Russell Lupines

Annual Moss Seed Verbena

Perennial Mountain Bluet

Perennial Coreopsis

Annual Johnny Jump Ups and Violas

Perennial Sweet Williams

Annual Verbenas

Annual Morning Glory Vine

Coneflowers are very easy from seed …. actually most perennials are reliable from seeds.  I could go on and on, and I am sure I left out a few favorites like larkspurs and poppy.  But this is a good start.

As you can see, I start the majority of my new beds with seeds.

To me it is a beautiful sight to find my little babies popping up.  It makes me want to go out in the snow and look for them today, but I know they are under their blanket waiting for it to warm up again.

Many blessing to all…. and much love…..Brooke

Want to talk gardening everyday? Looking for new ideas to inspire you? I host a gardening group on Facebook called WebGarden!  We feature garden tours, posts and information by creative gardeners like you! Please Join Us!