sunday in the garden

This past Sunday, I spent the whole day in the garden. I got two front pots planted, cleared a bed and planted 10 black raspberry starters, weeded part of one flower bed, located, filled and planted my veggie planter and put down mulch. Needless to say, by 6pm I was in need of a shower, a beer and a burger. 

On the front of the house, I went with two of these 16" pots from Home Depot. 

Southern Patio Cabana 16" Resin Planter

I didn't realize just how expensive pots can be so I was happy to find these for just $17.98 each. I would have preferred to do something clay or concrete like these below but it just wasn't in the budget.

Tall Egg Pot by Terrain

If you recall from this post, I wanted to find an airy, white flowering plant just to keep it simple and soft. After consulting with a knowledgable gardener at a local nursery, she recommended Ageratum 'Mediano White'. I filled the pots with a combination of local Bluebird compost, soil saved from last year planting and leaf mulch. I decided to plant four Ageratums per pot which I am hoping will be enough to really fill out the pot. Right now, I am having my doubts. The four look rather small and I think they will grow more up than out. This is why I am considering adding a few Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' to each as well.  

The front pots were the easy part of the day as the majority of my efforts were spent in the back. This is where the veggie planter is located as well as the bed I cleared for the black raspberry starts. I filled the veggie planter with the same combination of soils as the front pots as well as a bottom layer of smashed up terra cotta pots to help with drainage. In it, I planted 3 kale, 6 spinach and 6 lettuces. More than I was planning on but its so hard not to plant what comes in the whole flat! We positioned the planter in a spot that is a little risky for sun exposure so we will have to see how things go. I love all the big trees in our yard but it makes for limited usable growing space. 

The black raspberry patch is across the yard in what I hope will be a nice sunny spot. It took me 3+ hours to clear a 2.5' wide by 10' long area so fingers crossed they take. A few look a little iffy...

There is still so much to do but I had a great time working outside and am excited to keep at it. Any readers have experience with black raspberry bushes? I would love to learn some tips!

our stairs + spring planting

spring garden kitchen poster by Lucile's Kitchen

Its a very exciting day as our stair runner is being installed this morning! It will be a two day install so it won't be completely done but the majority of it will go in today and I can't wait! I also am excited because I really pushed the deadline with this one and got my painting done just in time. More on that along with the big reveal but lets just say I was painting till 8pm last night.

With the stairs (mostly) done, I am looking forward to getting outside and working in the garden. This evening is our local farmer's market and I plan on picking up some spring plantings. I will be using our planter (see this post and this post about last year's spring plantings) as our garden isn't ready for a vegetable plot.  I am late in getting my planting in but we should still have a month or so before its starts to get too hot. Last spring, we planted: 5 red leaf lettuces, 6 bibb lettuces, 2 spinach and 3 kale. The planter ended up overcrowded so this year I am going to scale back. I am thinking 4 lettuces, 4 spinach and 4 kale. Drainage was also an issue so I plan on putting cracked pots and stones in the bottom to help with this. I still need to decide on where to put the planter as we have a lot of shade in our yard and very little full sun spots. The planter gets very heavy once its full so I need to make sure I am set on location before filling it.  

I am so looking forward to lots of fresh greens so fingers crossed this planting goes as well as last year's!

things i would have added to our wedding registry

A couple of weeks back, I did a post about some of my favorite items from our wedding registry. As promised, I am following up that post with this one - calling out a few more items that, in hindsight, I would have added to the list. 

1. Master Bedroom Bedding x2

Like I have mentioned, I really like our vintage washed Belgian linen duvet cover from Restoration Hardware. However, it gets unbearable warm here in St.Louis and I wish I would have registered for a coverlet/blanket to trade out with our down comforter May-September. My pick would be for this pick stitch one from Pottery Barn or this very similar one from Serena & Lily.

2. Guest Room Bedding

Keeping with bedding, I also would have registered for linens for our guest bedroom. Even if your "guest bedroom"is a blow up mattress, its nice to provide your visitors with something newer/nicer than your college sheets...sorry guests.. I don't necessarily have a go to brand for bed linens and considering I am all about the white bedding I probably would just keep it basic with white sheets and a nice coverlet. I like this vintage-washed diamond matelasse from Restoration Hardware as it seems like it would be a good medium weight and would work well layered. 

3. Pillows

To round out my home bedding collection, I also would have registered for bed pillows. And maybe those protective zip covers too...

4. Serving Utensils

We had somewhat of a flatware debacle, in that, the ones we registered for ended up being crazy backordered. We tried waiting it out but 6 months is more than a tad bit ridiculous. So we ended up just purchasing this Fortessa bistro set from Sur La Table. In the shuffle, we forgot/never got around to getting serving utensils. I would had added some matching ones with our set but I also like the idea of doing a more fun, non matching set. Maybe something like this casual enamel set from West Elm.  

5. Steak Knives

We sort of also just forgot about steak knives. If I was doing it all over again, I would definitely register for these classic Laguiole ones. Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, Anthropologie and I am sure lots of other retailers all sell them with different colors available.

6. Bathroom Hand Towels

Another item I just sort of forgot about. Right now, I am really like the Turkish style so I would go with these Fouta towels from Serena & Lily. 

7. Outdoor Dinnerware

We love to sit outside and eat so I would add a cute set of outdoor plates. In lieu of plastic, I would go for enamel. Like this set from West Elm or this one by Williams-Sonoma. A vintage set would also make for a great gift. 

8. Trays

Trays are one of those items that are great because they are both super functional and decorative. Put them on a coffee table or bar or use more functionally, I know I could use a couple in my collection :). For a registry, I would add one that would be good for carrying things inside and out like this woven one with handles from Sur La Table. 

9. Hampers

Laundry hampers are not exciting which makes them the perfect thing to put on a registry. I would choose something utilitarian but still stylish. I really like this canvas line by West Elm. 

10. Tupperware + Carry Case

Because all married people should have lots of tupperware (glass for us) and a carrying case to go along with it - to prove you are all grown up of course!!