Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Catalogs Have Begun Arriving!!!

Today I received TWO gardening catalogs - An early Burpee catalog and one from the Gardeners Supply Company. So what you're asking yourself... That means that myself and gardeners throughout southeast Michigan have begun to get the "itch". It doesn't help that the cold and snow the past few days has caused some to grumble (not me though)...

I DID find a very cool raised bed "planting tool" on the Gardener's Supply company catalog - And it's something for FREE. Check it out. The tool will help you plan and plant eight types of raised bed gardens from plans for a children's garden, the kitchen garden, and even a high yield garden. I am planning on trying it out this summer for my two 3' x 6' raised bed gardens and my small 3' x 3' raised bed. Looks to be easy and educational!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Best Holiday Gardening Gift

YEA, I am so excited to write that I have been given the best gardening gift yesterday - And I CAN'T wait to use it. No it won't help me grow bigger, better plants, and no it won't make my summer gardening chores easier, but it is a FUN gadget!!! Yes that's right, mom gave me a time lapse garden cam, specifically the GardenWatch Cam by Brinno!

I can now spy on my growing garden... He he, better yet MAYBE in can capture images of my sneaky rabbit as he chomps all of my sweet, succulent lettuce to the ground... Grrr... Silly rabbit this is for kids!

No really, mom bought be a plant cam. I saw one in a catalog a few months ago, and casually mentioned it to my mom. I thought it would be a fun thing to use throughout the yard. it SO makes me want to begin planning and plantin', THAT'S for sure.

Here is a demo of some seedlings growing that is posted on YouTube:


What was the best gardening "gift" that you received from Santa this year?

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Build Your Own Rain Barrel This Winter

A few years back my brother bought me my first rain barrel for Christmas. Yes a rain barrel in Michigan, in December is kind of odd, however if you think about it, planning your garden for the next season is a popular hobby, so why not plan on how you're going to water it. PLUS some communities give tax rebates for the usage of rain barrels!

So why not make your own rain barrel??? Take a look at a friends video of the experience her and her husband had while building their own rain barrels:

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Gifts for the Gardener

I love Downtown Home and Garden in Ann Arbor, and don't know ANY gardener who wouldn't appreciate a holiday gift from there... So when planning what to get that hard-to-buy-for gardener, think of bringing them a garden in Winter!

They even have a great web coupon available for this month: