Welcome back for this month's round of My Five Favorites! Pam from Simple Details, Lisa from Shine Your Light, Kris from Driven by Decor and I are all so excited to share our favorite garden related plants, tools, and products with you today. 'Tis the season to enjoy the outdoors! I'm not a huge gardener, but we try to keep our yard and flowerbeds looking fresh and presentable. I've definitely found a few things that work best for us, but I'm looking forward to seeing some great tips from my pals today too.
We are so happy to have Kelly Elko as our guest host today. Kelly has quite the green thumb and I'm excited to learn some new things from her post!
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ZINNIAS
I've recently proclaimed my love for a good Kimberly Queen fern, but Zinnias are another favorite that I've discovered do particularly well in my area (zone 7-Oklahoma). Last summer I planted a few packets of seeds, and by the end of the season I had a nice group to cut from. I intended for them to be for a season only and planned to plant some other things in their spot this year, but they totally re-seeded themselves from last year and came back better than ever and super thick! I couldn't bear to pull them up once I saw them sprouting so I've just worked around them this year. They're pretty fool proof, they just need plenty of sun and regular water. I've even planted seeds in a pot in the past and they also did well.
BOXWOOD
My other favorite plant for the yard right now is a good old boxwood. We removed some bushes that weren't doing well and replaced them with boxwood at the beginning of last Summer. I will always love the classic timelessness of a boxwood. I've been letting these grow a bit but it will be time to shape them up soon.
They're also great just to drop in a pot for year round color even through the winter. I'll think I'll experiment with trying to make a topiary out of this one as it grows.
MIRACLE-GRO SPRAYER
I know, this is nothing new, but I love this Miracle-Gro sprayer! I already said I'm not a great gardener so I don't really mess with fertilizers and such, but this I can do. When you're ready to fertilize you just add a pre-measured packet to the container, attach the hose, and feed away.
I enjoy frequenting the clearance plant rack at Lowe's, and often all the troubled plants need is a tiny bit of attention and a squirt of Miracle-Gro to thrive. All of these window box plants were from the clearance rack and after a bit of feeding and time they're doing well!
GARDEN CLOGS
Lately I've appreciated having a dedicated pair of garden clogs by the back door rather than my usual pair of flip flops. They're easy to slip off and on and keep my feet clean while I'm out watering or weeding, and keep painful mulch from poking my feet as I'm working in the beds.
ELECTRIC CHAINSAW
I guess this is for a bit more heavy duty gardening, but my husband bought an electric chainsaw several years ago and it's such a handy tool! It's a smaller size and not as scary as a traditional chainsaw. He just used it this weekend to trim up lots of low hanging branches from the trees just beyond our fence line. It sure did make the job quicker and easier than using a manual cutting tool!
What are your favorite things for the garden? I'm game to try something new! Be sure to head over to to check out these helpful garden ideas, too-
Missed any previous My 5 Favorites posts? Catch up here!
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I love zinnias too and have always wanted a cutting garden! You've motivated me to do it - especially one that is as simple as this. Thanks for letting me join in the favorite 5!
ReplyDeleteHuh....so weird....I left a comment yesterday morning and something funky happened....came back to check and see if it posted and it hadn't. Temporary hiccup I guess! Jennifer I love love love your zinnias! You are totally inspiring me to plant some next year, they look so beautiful en masse and could they not be more perfect for you and your love of color? So pretty. Your new boxwoods look great too! We have to replace a couple of overgrown beds in the front of our house and I'm thinking of doing a row of boxwoods amongst other things. Can't go wrong with boxwoods! xx
ReplyDeleteAH I love zinnias!
ReplyDelete