8 Things You’ll Want to Add To Your Garden This Season

HERE ARE 8 THINGS YOU’LL WANT TO ADD TO YOUR GARDEN THIS SEASON TO GIVE IT THAT RUSTIC, DEVELOPED OVER TIME FEEL.

Today is the day I get together with the gals from the Cozy Living Series hosted by Jennifer. When you get to the bottom of this post you’ll find more ideas for May to make your home, garden, or living feel cozy. Just click on the thumbnails to see what the rest of those ideas are!

ADD HERBS TO KEEP THE DEER AND RABBITS OUT

I’ve been gardening for many years, I learned my style, and I’ve also learned how to incorporate rustic art, functional garden pieces, space management, boarder definition, companion planting, and happy pops of the unexpected. Today I’m going to share with you the 8 things that make my garden work.

I live in the country with plenty of wildlife running free. All those animals are beautiful to see on a daily basis but once they enter they garden they can devastate a food plot in no time. 

I’ve learned to add herbs that have a powerful smell and that keeps the critters from coming into the garden to feast. There’s a list of my favorites that work for me here.

MIX FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES

To make a garden eye appealing I’ve started adding a few flowers in with the vegetables. I add just enough to make the space pretty but not take away the area I need for food production. It always makes me happy to harvest vegetables surrounded by a few fragrant blooms.

ADD DECORATIVE PLANT LABLES

I like the detail and organization of adding plant markers to the garden. Yes I do know what each plant is but the labels add a fun touch. I’ve had these one for years; purchased from IKEA. When they get ratting looking or I need to change a plants name I give them a good coat of black spray paint and re-label them with a white paint pen.

ADD VERTICAL GROWING AREAS

Vertical structures not only add more growing space to my garden they also add visual architecture. Not to mention the perfect spot to add a garden bunting. I grow cucumbers and peas on the trellised structures and plant my sunflowers inside the obelisk. It helps them from toppling over and they looks beautiful with the sunny faces spilling over each rung.

ADD PROTECTIVE CLOCHES

Another way to keep the critters out until the plants get larger is to cover them with wire cloches. You can see where I get mine for $1 each here. Not only do they work for keeping them from being nibbled on they look like pieces of art in the garden.

DEFINE THE BORDER WITH ROCKS OR WOOD

I find keeping each garden space defined with rocks or a wood boarder works best for me. It’s way easier to keep the weeds out and it also makes the space look and feel tidier. When it comes to weeding time I can pick different sections every day to weed and not feel overwhelmed with tiring to tackle the whole garden at one time.

ADD WHIMSICAL GARDEN ART

My favorite thing about a rustic garden is having whimsical, rusty art pieces added here and there. It’s the unexpected pieces that make my garden work. I’ve picked up things from thrift stores and many have come right out of our barn. Don’t be afraid to use whatever you have to make your garden unique to you.

MAKE ROOM FOR SUNFLOWERS

Last but not least, make room for sunflowers. You’ll be glad you did. They bring that bright sunny spot to a garden, they feed the birds with their seeds, and you can also harvest the seeds for next years planting. There’s nothing more pretty than sunflowers dancing in the garden.

Thanks for stopping by today and don’t forget to click on the links below.

Creative Cain Cabin / It All Started with Paint / Vinyet Etc. / Hymns and Verses

Finding Silver Pennies / Duke Manor Farm / Town and Country Living

TO MY REGULAR READERS: ANYTHING YOU SEE IN THE GREEN BOXES WILL BE MY DAILY UPDATE DURING THE VIRUS! Please leave a comment and fill me in on what you’re doing. God Bless you all!

Sunday April 26: I had to get up in the night and work on the furnace. For the past 3 nights I woke up in the night, hot. All I wanted to do was open the window and let some 30-degree air in. Last night I decided to investigate what was going on. For some reason our furnace was running but getting hotter in the house than the thermostat setting. I had no idea what was going on so I turned the furnace off completely and decided I’d investigate in the morning. I removed the face of the thermostat and let it set on the counter for a while before putting it back on. Must be that reset something and now it seems to be working fine.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that’s all it was I a can go back to not suffocating during the night. Once I got up for good I put a load of laundry in the washer, hung it on the line to dry, edited photos and blogged for most of the morning. Then hubby and I warmed up Chinese for lunch and baked a batch of breakfast muffins. I sat on the porch in the sun and did a little Pinterst scrolling, and decided that was enough screen time so I’m now back inside looking for the paint to a small project. DIL and I rode bikes for 5.5 miles, then home to put the chickens to bed for the night.

Monday April 27: My DIL and I shopped for some landscape plants and found the prices are outrageous. I’m not sure if this pandemic is causing price hikes or what is going on. Most potted trees and shrubs were double the normal price.  With that being said we walked away without anything in hopes there’d be a sale soon.   We also picked up a few groceries and noticed the shelves are becoming bare again; especially in the fresh and frozen meat cases. When I got home I took all the sheets and blankets off my bed and washed them. I woke up with what I thought spider bites but realized I actually have poison ivy. It’s no my hands, face, and legs. UGH! Of course if I needed a doctor it’s not going to happen. I’ll just continue to treat it with my natural remedy and hope it dries up.

Tuesday April 28: It rained overnight and it was so nice to have the bedroom window open just enough to hear the rain hitting the porch roof. It’s a relaxing and soothing sound I love. Up and have two loads of laundry on the line. My lawnmower is in the shop so while the shed is spacious I decided to clean and organize it. I did find a couple of dead mice (yuck) and got them scooped out. Swept the floor and organized my tools and garden supplies. It sure feels nice to be outside getting things in order. The sun is shining and I plan on taking the afternoon to read and sip peach tea on the porch.

Wednesday April 29: Another day of rain on and off. I had the chicken coop doors open and I must have run outside a dozen times to shut them when the rain started. Once it let up I’d go back out and open them again. Finally in the later afternoon the rain passed and my DIL and I did a 6.5-mile bike ride. I’m so blessed to have a bike and a bike-riding partner. Talked with Grama Red and she’s so bored and hates not being able to go anywhere. I wish I had some projects she could do but being blind limits what craft she can do.

Thursday April 30: Woke up to an overcast rainy day that’s just gloomy. I went out and fed the chickens then back inside to figure out what to make for dinner. Hubby got home so we went to pick up a truckload of water softener salt; our unit was almost empty; luckily they have a drive through and could service us. I was so bored that I watched a few episodes of a home improvement show and my DIL called saying there was a break in the rain so we went for a 6 mile bike ride. It sure was a chilly ride but it was nice to be outside getting a little exercise.

Friday May 1: It was a nice sunny day out today. I made a trip to Lowes to pick up a few fern and the flowers to plant in my garden cart. Once I was back home I grabbed some lunch (leftovers from last nights dinner) then back out to plant the onion sets in the garden. I let the laying hens out to scratch around in the dirt for most of the afternoon. Then hubby and I went to the creamery and had icecream for dinner.

Saturday May 2: It’s a beautiful sunny day today. I spent all day outside hanging up 3 loads of laundry, watching the chickens scratch around in the yard, tilling the raised garden beds, spray weed, planting pea seeds, and picking dandelions to make salve with, and to end the day I cleaned out the chicken coop and then jumped into the shower. My aching back is going to feel it at bedtime. I’m just not as young as I used to be.