Wagon Succulent Planter

Today, I did a quick bit of gardening.  We bought a dozen small succulents yesterday and in less than an hour, I turned this wagon into a lovely, little garden.  All of the succulents called for roughly the same amount of sun, moisture, and drainage. We picked this wagon because it leaks out the bottom and succulents require good drainage.  So though this will not last forever, it has enough drainage to sustain the succulent garden for a little while.  If you are using a newer wagon, I suggest drilling holes in the bottom to ensure the plants do not get waterlogged.  

I do not have much of a DIY because it is pretty self-explanatory.  Lay out some potting soil, dig some holes, place plants in, pat down around the edges, and give a nice watering!

I also included some cuttings from another succulent plant and will add more to fill in the holes.

And that's all! This is a quick way to make a garden that is easy to care for.  It can brighten up any outdoor area, especially if you have a lot of concrete and little grass.

Quick Stop in London

On my way home to Long Island, I had a one-day stop in London.  If it were not for the British flags everywhere, I would not have even known anything was going on where I stayed near Manor House tube station.  It was a quiet Saturday afternoon.  It felt like a kind of eye of the storm in my travels.  

My friend's garden is apparently full of frogs.  This sign has been erected to warn visitors.

The whole area is covered in blackberries!  In the afternoon, we went for a walk looking for somewhere to get a pie and a pint. 

Railway Fields via QYPE

Out of an ornate gate, a woman appeared and asked us, "Do you live in the neighborhood?  Did you know that there is a nature reserve in your neighborhood?"  She invited us in to explore.  It was a special event in which Railway Fields Nature Reserve was open to the public on a Saturday afternoon.  Inside, we found tons of blackberries, idyllic walking trails, a little seminar on beekeeping, and a little pond.

We brought home quite a bag of blackberries.  Oh how I love foraging!  We used them to make a lemon polenta blackberry upside down cake!

Yum!  While the Olympics are exciting, it was lovely to have a calm break in my travels for walking, foraging, and baking.

Now, Amy and I are relaxing in Greenport.  Amy has increased her antique hat collection and today, hopefully if the weather holds out, we'll go swimming in the bay.  I am so happy to be home.

Hooray For The Internet!

I have had an exciting week over here! I finally finished my Master's dissertation. It feels really good to not have to worry about it anymore and I think that it turned out very well. I am most excited about the extra free time I have now. This summer will be filled with adventures around Prague and quite a lot of travel!

This week, I have found some interesting links to share with everyone--including some very special elephant pictures! I hope that you enjoy!!!

Post of tips on gardening, there is good advice on planting a garden without a lot of space.
via A Beautiful Mess

I have been falling in love with brightly colored refrigerators lately.
via Deco Photo Blog

Silk ribbon embroidered flowers!
via Dear Friend's guest post on  Little Chief Honeybee

This picture of elephant and hot air balloons is perfect for our blog!
via La Carpa on tumblr

Instructions for building your own tent on the beach.
via Apartment Therapy

Love this picture of San Francisco.
via Poppytalk

Recipe for blackened chicken and Cilantro Lime Quinoa.
via Sarcastic Cooking

These two are too cute!
via Jadore Simone at tumblr

<3 Amy

Bean Sprout Update

Bean Sprouts Planted 1 Week Ago

Last week, I wrote about sowing beans in a window box.  On Sunday, tragedy struck.  A sunny afternoon quickly turned dark as rain clouds overtook the sky.  Rain began to pour as a great gust of wind blew open our dining room window and knocked everything off of the sill.  Over tumbled two potted plants, who thankfully came out unscathed.  My window box and two other pots of recently planted beans, however, did not.  Soil covered the floor and I could see little beans, with tiny shoots poking out, mixed in with the debris.  Amy helped clean up the soil while I tried my best to save the beans.  I found a lot of black-eyed peas and a few pintos but barely saw any black beans.  They hid themselves so well.  I replanted them as best I could and hoped for the best.

Over the past few days, I've been delighted to see that the beans were pretty much unfazed by their journey.  They are growing well and every few hours, I walk over and I am amazed by their progress.  The black beans, however, are no longer grouped together.  One has already popped out of the pinto bean pot.  Nevertheless, I am happy to have some spring inside of our flat and excited about the prospect of beans this summer.

Sowing Beans

Sowing Beans

My First Attempt at Container Gardening

This past week we had our first signs of spring in Prague.  The windows have been open more in the past two days than they had been since we moved in in October.  Though I am housebound by another late-winter illness, I've been trying to make the most of the sunshine.  

The previous tenants left some dead or nearly dead plants in the gutters outside of our window where they weathered the winter.  I wanted to plant something in them that was easy and would provide a bit of greenery.  The only kinds of seeds that I had around were some dried beans in the cupboard.  

It seemed obvious enough that I could plant beans and get bean plants--after all, the beans are the seeds.  However, I did some checking around to make sure.  Here are some tips:

Do not try to plant chickpeas.  They are not a very productive plant with just one seed per pod.

Make sure you are using the nicest-looking beans.  No cracks or discoloration.

Try to use organic.  Traditionally-farmed beans may come from Monsanto which may breed them to grow better with specific chemical pesticides.  Also, Monsanto really hates you using their seeds for free.  You do not want to get on Monsanto's bad side.

Look up the needs of your specific beans on a gardening website, such as Weekend Gardener.  

For now, our beans are growing on the windowsill.  When there is no more chance of frost, they will be moved outside.  Hopefully, in the coming months, I will have good news to report on this experiment!