Autumn Leaves: City of Trees

Yesterday the girls and I took a walk around the block and admired the beautiful fall colors. It was great to be outdoors although it did rain on us a bit. Along the way I took pictures of my favorite trees dressed for fall...

The city of Roeland Park (where my home is nestled) is known as a City of Trees. It has many beautiful trees canopying the streets and towering over the homes. Another great and unique thing about Roeland Park is that in the autumn when all these leaves fall to the ground instead of raking and bagging them we can just rake or blow them into the street and a truck comes and sucks them all up! Pretty cool, right?

From the Garden: November Roses

Earlier this week I noticed an unexpected yet wonderful sight in my garden... Roses! They're Knock Out Roses that I planted last year. To enjoy my garden's last blooms of the year to the fullest I clipped a few to bring inside. After clipping the roses I searched the garden for something to add more interest and texture to my arrangement. Being November it was a bit more challenging... but I did find some Lavender (Lavendula) and Lambs Ear (Stachys Byzantina) that was still looking quite lovely.

Then I simply ran my fingers down the stem of the Lavender to remove the bottom leaves. Note: Toss the leaves into your sink disposal for a wonderful Lavender aroma!

I arranged them in one of my favorite Jadeite vases and placed it on my kitchen table.

I love the combination of the beautiful color and elegance of the Roses, with the soft, sweet appearance of the Lambs Ear, and texture and contrast of the Lavender.

I also made a small arrangement for my kitchen window sill, using a single Rose and three Lavender sprigs.  

Making arrangements with clippings from your garden is a great way to get more enjoyment out of your garden on many levels. Place the arrangements somewhere you'll see them often. And hopefully every time you see them they'll bring you joy... I know mine do!

What plants are your favorite to make vase arrangements, whether it be for there flowers or their foliage?

Painting Front Door- Interior

Painting the interior of your front door is a great way to brighten, freshen-up, create a new look and make a bold statement in your entryway. The color you choose all depends on the look you're going for, your decor and your homes lighting. I prefer a white or black door, to me it looks classic, crisp and sophisticated. It will also go with most decor. While black is more bold and will hide dirt, white will brighten the space and even make it appear larger giving you that airy-feel. For my home I choose white because my house tends to be dark (due to the large trees surrounding our home) and it's quite small cozy.

This is what I started with:

The door was dirty...

it had a nail in it...

old nail holes...

old caulk...

bare wood around the door knob...

chipped and rusted hinges...

...and peeling paint!

Step 1: Choose a color (I used Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore, it's a bright yet not stark white).
Step 2: Clean door and trim (use a damp cloth).
Step 3: Fix caulk and fill-in any holes (if necessary).
Step 4: Tape-off or cover windows, door knobs, hardware, floor, door sweep, etc. (anything you don't want to get paint on).
Step 5: You're ready to paint!

Note: Preparation can be tedious and time consuming but don't get discouraged, once you're ready to paint it goes on quickly!

Tips: Use a semi-gloss sheen, it will be more durable, easier to clean and look more crisp. Paint from top to bottom. For flush doors, roll paint on in the direction of the grain. For doors with inset panels, paint in the order of recesses, panels, horizontal rails then vertical stiles.

You may debate whether or not to take the time to tape, but the clean lines and not having to scrape are well worth it.

Make sure to tape around the bottom if you're also painting the trim.

To keep your door knob free of paint, simply wrap it with aluminum foil.

Before

After

I love how Benjamin Moore describes Chantilly Lace... "As delicate and refined as the lace it was named after, this crisp, clean white evokes images of pure silk, soft linen and simpler times." ...Now that's what I want on my walls!

What color is the interior of your front door painted?

Unique Uses: Foil on Door Knobs

Whenever you're painting a door, to keep the door knob from getting grazed, dripped or splattered with paint simply wrap it with aluminum foil.

 For a clean line, overlap the foil onto the door then trim the excess off by running a sharp utility knife around the edge.

Gardening: Get Into Your Zone

To make the most of your garden come spring use your autumn and winter months to design your garden. Before you begin selecting plants it would be beneficial to know your plant hardiness zone. This lets you know which plants can survive in your garden based on your climate conditions, such as, minimum temperature. It can also save you money buy not having to replant year after year. Although I love annuals for there colorful blooms all-season long the majority of my gardens are perennials. Each spring I get so excited to see my perennials sprouting up from the soil! It's also smart to use plants that re-seed themselves.

The temperatures are based on the average annual minimum temperature.

If this map is difficult for you to tell your zone, the National Garden Association has a tool where you can enter your zip code.

Now that you know your zone you probably want to know which plants grow well in your zone...

Try this Landscape Plant Selector and select from a list of criteria to find the perfect plants for your garden and get just the look you want!

Most plants and seeds from major nurseries and stores will be labeled with the zones in which they should be grown. At the same time some sell the same plants nation-wide, so be sure to check. 

If you live in a cooler zone, you might be experiencing "zone envy." But rest assured there are things you can do to "stretch" your zone by created a few extra growing days on either end of the season. You can do this with the use of cloches, row covers or a greenhouse. Also, starting seeds indoors will jump-start germination by several weeks.

Cloche

My dream greenhouse...

Others factors to consider: 

• Growing Season / Frost Dates (number of frost-free growing days)- this is especially important when growing vegetables and annuals.
• Amount of Sunlight: Full Sun (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight), Partial Sun (3 - 6 hours of sun, emphasis on minimum sun requirements), Partial Shade (3-6 hours of sun, needs relief from intense late afternoon sun), Dappled Sun (sun that makes it's way through the branches of a deciduous tree), Full Shade (less than 3 hours of direct sunlight and filtered sunlight during the rest of the day).
• Soil Type: clayey, loamy or sandy. Loamy soil is ideal, as clayey and sandy soil create challenges with irrigation. Here's a simple test you can do to find out what kind of soil you have... pick up a marble-sized bit soil and attempt to roll it into a ball, if you're successful you have clayey soil, if you're completely unsuccessful you have sandy soil and if you have some successes but it falls apart after you release the pressure you have loamy soil.

{My garden in Roeland Park, Kansas is nestled in zone 5b. Due to my house being surrounded by large trees, most of my gardens have shade... front gardens: full shade, North side gardens: full shade, back gardens: partial shade and dappled sun and South side gardens: full sun.}

Although hostas have a late, simple bloom that last only days, I love them for there foliage and hardiness. They're also great to separate and move to other places in your garden and share with friends!

Which zone is your garden located in and what plants have thrived in your garden?

Images courtesy of Wikipedia (scale), Thrifty Fun (map), The Slow Cook (cloche) and Victorian Greenhouse (greenhouse).

Wall Decor: Bathroom Shelves

I tackled yet another empty wall space that was just begging for some attention!

Your bathroom should be a place that makes you feel relaxed and peaceful. A place you can escape to for a bubble bath and melt away all the stress from your work day. To create this oasis for yourself use soft colors (pastels), plush textures (towels, rugs & curtains) and items from nature (sea shells, sand, stones, wood, bamboo, potted fern, flowers in a vase, etc.).

This is the wall space I decided to spruce up... the small corner in our bathroom.

Step 1: It all started when I found these white shelves at a garage sale just a few homes down from ours for only $2.50 a piece.

Step2: I then added a diffuser to the top shelf from Target...

...and three clear-cupped white tealight candles inside Dots Candleholder from Crate and Barrel. I love these and the best part is that they're only $0.95 a piece!

Then the finishing touches... sea shells and a large star fish. I love incorporating things from nature in my decor and I think it gives the room a beach resort feel!

Close-Up

Before

After

Tips:

1. Work with what you have! (i.g.- the sea shells and star fish)

2. If you find an item you love as much as you love the price AND it's a classic (meaning you'll love it for years to come... don't pass it up! (i.g.- the $2.50 shelves and $0.95 tealight holders.)

3. It might help to work in stages! (i.g.- I left this project at step 1 for a few days and at step 2 for a few months.  As the ideas came to me, as I came upon items I liked for the spaces and as I found the time I continued working on the space until I accomplished a look I loved!

This post was linked on Beach Cottage blog hop... BC Good Life Wednesdays!

XO,

  Jaclyn