Herb Gardening and How To Paint A Sign

Hi everyone! So far I got my herbs planted and then decided to make a little sign for that container. I’ll do the tutorial on sign making at the end since so many of you have seen me do it before.


I planted my herbs in a large container on my deck, right outside my kitchen window.


It’s more convenient to have them right by the kitchen as I can just pop outside to cut some fresh herbs when I need them.


I have basil and sage. I also have quite a lot of basil in my veggie garden but that’s for making pesto.


Two parsleys – flat and curly.



Oregano and thyme.



I have separate container that has rosemary in it. I’ve had this same rosemary plant for about five years. It doesn’t look too good this year probably due to all the below freezing days we had during the winter. Usually our winters are mild. Yes, that’s the edge of my husbands big ol’ grill!

I have some French Lavender in a pot. Smells so divine!



I also added some flowers since I can see this area when I  sit on my windowseat in the kitchen. The blue pot is from Home Depot - $8! They come in fantastic colors!



A little bird bath. I love to sit in the kitchen and look out to see the birds splashing about! I have a few more containers to plant for my deck and then that's done.

O.K. Here’s how I made my herb sign. This is the way I make all my signs and also the way I paint words on walls. I usually just paint over a sign I already have. But in this case I didn’t have one so I bought one at Michaels for $4.99 – something about a Queen Bee Gardening was on it.


I primed it with some spray primer and then I just painted it green with some craft paint.

I then decided on the size I wanted my word to be and using Wordpad printed out the word “Herb” at 160 and used the Georgia font. To change the font size you just delete whatever is there and type in the size you want and hit enter.


Then you need some graphite paper or you can go over the back of your word with a pencil, charcoal or crayon. This is so that it will transfer.

Lay your word where you want it and take a dull pencil and trace around the outside of the letter.

You should then have this.


I took a paint pen and went around the outside of each letter and then came back in and filled it in. You can use a brush and any type of paint if you have a steady hand. I find paint pens (Michael's/Hob Lob etc.) easier to use.
 
There you have it! When I have more time I’ll either paint or maybe stamp a picture of a herb on the sides to dress it up a bit. Then I’ll use some sealer to protect it since it's outside.

Give it a try – it’s really easy as long as you you pick a pretty straight forward font. I’m sure if you look around you probably have a sign at home already that you may be tired of. Give it a new life.

As always, you can either spend the money and buy something or you can spend the time and make something. Neither is right or wrong. I just happen to think it’s more fun to make stuff if I can!

O.K. back to painting that halltree - red takes a lot of coats!

My To Do List For This Week

Well…some of this weeks to do list. Like everyone else I have normal house things to do and there’s always lots to do in the garden!



Paint these mirrors that I got at Goodwill.



Take these down and replace with new mirrors.



Done! I’ll show you the whole thing when I’m finished with the entire foyer.



Prime halltree I got at Goodwill last winter.



Done! Now all I have to do is paint it….red…or maybe yellow? Nah, I think red!

Plus a little kitchen project and I have to plant my herbs on my deck.

Let’s see what I can get done by Wednesday! Care to join me? What's on your to do list for this week?

Sunday Photo Feature

Hi everyone! Hope you are all having wonderful weekends. It’s hot and humid here but I’m still outside working on numerous garden projects.

I think I’m going to do a Sunday post that’s going to just be photos – no or little text. Taking photos is one of the things I love about blogging and often I just want to shoot something and post it without a whole lot of explanation. So we’ll see if this works out.

I just wanted to show you how pretty my blue framed mirror looks now that the hydrangeas are in bloom!


The gazing ball was a Mother’s Day gift from my daughter. Love it! I didn't even tell her to buy a blue one or that I wanted one for this very spot.






Jasmine in bloom on the fence.

I’m thinking of not having comments open on Sundays. Do you care? My thought was you can just come and have a look and go on your merry way. But if you all feel strongly about the comments thing I can leave them open as usual.

A Simple Pleasure

Home grown strawberries!


I picked some today to make a strawberry-rhubarb crisp.


But you know what? They taste so incredibly delicious plain and warmed by the sun. 


That I’m going to have a little bowl of them just as they are! Au naturale!



This is my strawberry bed. The pots on the sticks are so I don’t poke my eye out when I go to remove the netting!



As you can see, once the berries start to turn red we have to net them or the pesky birds come and take nibbles out of them!



I really want to encourage you to grow your own! They grow in pots if you don’t have a space outside. I read that they grow well in those Topsy Turvy planters too!

Believe me, a store bought strawberry doesn’t taste anything like a homegrown one!

As always, thanks for visiting today. I hope you all have wonderful weekends!

Julie’s Bread

Hi everyone! I just had to pop in for a quick minute because I just had some delicious bread that I made using Julie's (The Harward's Circle Cliff Views) recipe. How can you go wrong with a  bread that’s called  “The Easiest and Best Bread Ever!”

I don’t know if it was supposed to rise more than it did but the texture was just outstanding and the flavor out of this world.

The only things I changed -  I halved the recipe because it makes 4 loaves. I also went to the health food store this morning and ground some wheat (used half wheat half King Arthurs Bread flour), I used olive oil and local honey.

I feel great that I made a bread that's not only delish but that's good for my family. Go here for her recipe. We are so full of bread and jam I don't think we need much dinner! Thank you Julie!

Color In The Front Yard

Hi everyone! I thought I’d share a few photos of the front of my house with you since I just planted some containers.


I painted these concrete containers red this year!



They’re planted with white Geraniums and a lovely chartreuse potato vine.

 
Pretty much the colors I use inside too. Last year the containers were painted white with red Geraniums and potato vine.

 
I have two black urns in front that I plant with ferns every year. Mmmm…I think I need to repaint those. Those ferns fill in quickly and pretty much last until October or so.

 
This is a beautiful rose in front of my family room window. I don’t remember the name of this one as I planted it when we moved in 10 years ago.
 
Don’t be afraid to use some pops of color in your front yard!


You don’t have to go crazy and have a clown house (no offense to all you clowns out there that read this blog).



But a bit of selective color is nice especially if you can tie it into your house (I have a red door and various red roses).


I’ll take some photos later in the season when everything fills in since it'll look so different and we can do a before and after.

Thanks for stopping by today!