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Transform Your Garden with Practical and Fun Additions

Every year, I scroll Pinterest and YouTube for garden decorating ideas. While I love many of them, I need to be realistic on what will work for me and the way I garden. Below, I want to share a few items that have made my garden a place that makes me happy, is productive, and just makes sense.

Leaves

They are so beneficial to a garden. While not aesthetic, they are free and can serve a few purposes. First, I use them as mulch. This helps cut down on weeds and decreases the amount of watering. Just be careful not to use too much. They can also be a barrier to water if laid out too thick. Second, leaves add to the health of the soil as they break down. In late fall, when we close the garden for the season, I add a good heaping pile over the top of my raised beds. Third, I use them to grow my potatoes. I start with 8 inches of dirt in a grow bag. Then add potatoes with a slow release fertilizer and top with leaves. As the potatoes grow, I add more and more leaves.

“Outhouse”

Just kidding about the name. However, I love the outhouse theme as noted by the moon. This garden decorating idea makes me laugh but is also a functional shed. This shed was actually a crate that my husband brought home from work. He added a slanted roof, seal coat, an outdoor rug, and made the built in shelves functional. I can even sit in it and be out of the sun! Check out the tour on my Instagram:

Decor

I love a whimsical garden. It brings interest and personality beyond the plants. It allows for full expression of ideas and creativity. The bear carving was a gift from my husband. He is my garden buddy- in addition to my dog. The ceramic figures were made by my daughter and I whenever we went to one of those DIY ceramic places. There are only so many little bowls you need but a garden has room for so much more! The antique light fixture was something we got for free from our town ‘swap shop’. It had a beautiful silhouette and I couldn’t resist using it as a hanger for some flowers.

‘Cocoa Puff’ Bear Carving
Ceramic Figurines
Antique brass light fixture

Convertible Bench/ Table

This was a very unique find. I can use it as a bench to enjoy my garden. Or, with a quick lift of a lever, I can change it into a table. It has held up beautifully for over seven years. I have taken many work calls from this bench- as long as the WiFi cooperates.

First it’s a bench…
Now it’s a table…

Garden Sink

This is probably my favorite addition to the garden. We picked up this cast iron sink at our local Habitat ReStore. I think we paid $25. My husband happened to have some leftover cedar from a project. He also had the metal base from an old table saw. We bought the faucet on sale and the rest is history. This sink drains into a home depot bucket filled with rocks. This helps decrease the chance of my feet and legs getting wet. This sink allows me to clean my vegetables outside and not get my kitchen dirty. I can also wash my hands after planting. Every garden needs one of these and I wish I had one sooner!

When you start thinking about your garden, don’t be afraid to add some fun and practical items. If you liked this post, read one of my other garden posts here.

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Container Gardening: Simple Herbs for Every Kitchen

If you have always wanted a garden but do not have the time or the space, growing herbs is the way to go!  Honestly, they are super easy and add so much in the way of freshness to all of your meals.  I do not try to grow all the herbs.  I choose to grow herbs that I love to cook with and want to have on hand year round.   Specifically, I grow rosemary, parsley, basil, sage, dill, and two kinds of oregano: Italian and Hot and Spicy. On occasion I toss some thyme into the mix as well.

Small Spaces = Big Flavor

The great thing about herbs is that they do not require a lot of space.  They are perfect for a container garden.  Their smaller size allows you to put them anywhere there is enough sunshine.  It also means that it is easier to water, easier to weed (if you even need to), and the containers make the space they are in beautiful! You can see the containers we used were half kegs that my husband cut in half.  While not aesthetic, the containers were deep, allowed for proper drainage and (most important) they were free. We like love free. We placed these in a sunny spot and they grew beautifully. You can also see a few tomato plants in the background.  Again, we really didn’t have the space at this time for a large garden so getting plants into containers made the most sense. If you think you are too busy for a garden, read a little more about some tips here.

Seed to Feed: How to Grow

You can start your herb garden with just a few items. Seeds, seed starter soil, grow lights (or a very sunny window), and a seed starting tray. You don’t even need anything as fancy as a seed starting tray, I have been successful using an egg carton. I also do not start seeds using a heat mat. I use my boiler room as seed central. It’s warm and humid so the seedlings love it. Once your seeds emerge, you will need to fertilize as seed starter soil lacks vital nutrients.

So what should you feed them?
A basic seedling-specific fertilizer works best. Younger plants need a much more diluted concentration. Once in the ground (or container) use a water-soluble fertilizer (something balanced like 10-10-10) every few weeks works. If you prefer organic, fish emulsion or compost tea is your friend—it smells like the ocean, but your plants will love it. Just be warned that some fertilizers are stinky and using them indoors may present an odorous situation.

Important tip: don’t go overboard. Too much fertilizer can actually make herbs grow faster but lose their flavor. Once my seedlings are planted outside, I stick with feeding once every 2–4 weeks. I also water first so I don’t shock the roots.

Getting Ready for Planting

Once you are ready to get them outside, start hardening the seedlings off. The process can be tedious but it is important. It takes me about a week. If not hardened off properly, the delicate leaves can scald in the sun and your seedlings can die. This is noted by the leaves curling or turning white. I have found the best success when I use the last part of the day as the sun sets. I start with 2 hours prior to sunset. Then, each day I add an hour until the plants are able to tolerate the full sun.

Using What you Grow

One unique fact about herbs is that they actually do better the more you harvest. So, harvest away. Adding fresh herbs to any dish brings a brightness and freshness to any meal. Try this amazing Green Goddess salad dressing- you will not be disappointed! Oftentimes, I grow more herbs than I can use fresh. So, I like to dry them. There are a few ways you can go about this:

  • bunch together like a bouquet and hang in a cool, dark, dry place
  • dehydrate using your oven (if equipped)
  • dehydrate using a dehydrator
  • freeze dry (if you are lucky to have one)

If you use the dehydrate method, remember low and slow. We are not trying to cook the herbs. Once you have your herbs dried, store them in an air tight container. I like to use my canning jars with an airtight lid. They look pretty and they are functional. Once the season is over, I do move my rosemary plant into the home. My sage plant remains outside and has come back every year for the last four years.

Which herbs will you try this year?

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A Working Mom's Guide Paying Off Student Debt

My Student Loan Debt: Part II

This is a continuation of my student loan debt story. You can read Part I here: My Student Loan Debt: Part I.

Graduation

When I entered the workforce after receiving my Bachelor’ degree, my student loans were on a hiatus as I waited for them to be dispersed. Meaning, the final dollar value owed is calculated. Additionally, there is a small waiting period upon graduation. Here, the loan companies graciously allow you to find employment to pay for the loans as they finalize your payment options.

I was only able to get a part time position for the first few months. So once the payments were due, I had to put them in forbearance. This is where you basically tell the loan company that you do not have enough money to pay.  The interest, however, still accrues.  But with a part-time job, I just didn’t have the money to pay.

When my position was finally changed to a full time position, I thought that I could finally start paying down this debt. I soon realized that my base pay was not much more than I made as a waitress. Then, after taxes and such, it was even less. There was definite disparity between my wage and the cost of my education.

The Plan to Increase My Take-Home

By the next year, I decided that my Bachelors degree was not filling my career cup and was not going to yield me a livable salary. In addition, I had a limited scope of practice within my career choice because I did not have a nursing degree. At a hospital, not being a nurse can definitely be limiting when you want to work closely taking care of patients.

So, from forbearance, I put my loans into deferment and went back for my Associates in nursing.  Deferment puts your payments on hold and your interest- in most circumstances.  This happens automatically when you re-enroll in school.

In 2004, I was finally done with my undergraduate degrees. Now, I had a Bachelors and an Associates degree and had never made a payment on either.  After the same period of time as after my Bachelors degree, my loans were finalized and my payment options needed to be chosen.

I could now start paying them off!

The Plan

I had a few options from which to choose to pay off my loans.  One was income based where I would pay a certain percentage based on my income.  This would pay down my debt faster.  Another option was a fixed payment schedule whereby the monthly payment would gradually increase as time went on.  This was a middle of the road option.  The last option I had was based on a low payment.  I could have low payments but extend the length of the loan.

I chose to make the smallest monthly payment so that I could pay off the loan but still have money to live.  I understood that this would increase the life of the loan and increase the payoff amount.  However, I went into it with the thought that if I had extra money, it would always go towards the loan.

Putting the Plan into Action

Overall, it took me 15 years to pay off my student loans.  According to the website, www.savingforcollege.com, my loan should have taken me about 25 years to repay. So, being 10 years early was a win for me.  By no means, was this an easy win.  There were sacrifices.

When my friends of the same age were graduating college at 22 and going out into the real world, I became a mother.  As those same friends were becoming moms, I was going back to finish my Bachelors and obtain my Associates.  When my friends paid off their student loans, I started my payment plan.  When my friends bought lake houses and went on trips, I paid cash for my Masters and still paid on my undergraduate student loans.

Yes, in my quest for a great career, I also decided to get my MBA.  As stated above, I paid cash for this degree.  While taking my online courses, my student loans were automatically put into deferment.  This allowed me to keep paying on them while interest did not accrue.

Over the years, I was certainly off schedule from everyone else and was never quite in the same season of life as my friends.  This is where I needed to see the forest through the trees.  I needed to continuously remind myself of my long term goals.  I wanted to have a great education, a great career, and no more student loans.

Stay tuned for Part III of My Student Loan Debt journey where I will share the real dollars…

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