Yard Sale Finds

Larry & I walked up the road last Saturday to check out a couple of yard sales going on in the neighbourhood. And, of course, I came home with some great finds!

I bought this old milk can...something I've wanted for years ever. It is smaller than I wanted, and has a painting of farmland and animals all around the body, not naturally rusted the way I like them. But, bonus is, the dairy stamp is still visible!  On closer inspection, I found it still has the UPC code! It is made by a company called Houston Harvest Gift Products from Franklin Park IL. The woman told me she could never figure how to get the lid off...probably because it doesn't come off, never meant to. I was so happy to finally find one at a good deal, I didn't check all this when I picked it up. I didn't even barter...then again, I rarely do...I usually just pay the asking price or when I have a few items ask what do you want for all this and then give it to them. lol Yard sale people probably love me. :) I don't go often enough to feel comfortable haggling about price. 

Laurel from The North End Loft posted on how she took a milk can that had been painted red then black and 'restored' it to it's original rusty patina. And all with paint! I was amazed at how natural it looked! I have to look into this...I'm hoping the picture can covered and the can will turn out rustic & old. Using her technique, I'm sure it will turn out to be just the way I want it. This is a project I will post when I finish...hopefully soon. 

The family was also selling a bunch of bird houses. I only bought 2, brought them home and immediately started spraying them with some paint I had left over. 

These need a coat of something or other...

I didn't get rid of all the decor on this one, just touched up a bit of paint here & there. Messed up the front, but hopefully the birds won't mind. Will probably work with this one some more, not happy with it...I was too trigger happy and in a rush! (Oh and the one in the background...dollar store, thinking this one's going to have a paint-job in the near future)

 I do like the way this one turned out! Used a pretty blue and 'splashed' some old ivory on top to give a bit of a worn look. I know the birds will be happy here!

Saw this metal container, now this is a patina I love!!! Didn't need to do anything with this fella, just fill with stones, soil & plants!

A couple of Echeveria and a crassula

I also found this old container that I don't think needs a thing done to it. I did have Larry drill a few drainage holes in it, now all I need to do is figure out which plant I'm going to transplant into it.

The church was having a huge sale. And all I came away with was this small Blue Mountain Pottery gravy boat for 50 cents.

 Potted it up with some succulents and it looks great!

 Off the yard sale topic, but still recycling...a nieghbour was getting rid of some old stairs that led to their porch, once upon a time. They brought them over to burn one night when we were having a bonfire. I really have to keep an eye on Larry and his fires...he loves to burn 'garbage' to get rid of it...I keep digging in his burn pile and rescuing stuff. I rescued these stairs and they make a perfect potting 'stand' for my collection of hibiscus!! And I don't need to do a thing to them! :)

I love finding reusable stuff that is usable as is!! And so much of these are perfect just the way they are. :)

Repotting a Huge Cactus!

I bought a Golden Barrel cactus from work a couple weeks ago. I was thrilled we got them in, always wanted one!! It was in a small green plastic pot and of course I have more interesting ones to plant it in. Or so I thought...

Here is my arsenal in preparation for handling this cactus. A little overboard? Maybe...but I didn't want to get speared by him! (I actually found it easier to handle than some of the smaller cacti with tiny spines!)

Our neighbour had a garage sale, and before work I had to stop over. I picked out a 'seatless' child's chair and asked them to hold it for me till I got home. When I got home, I picked up my chair, picked out another item and they gave me the most fabulous cement container! Almost needed the dolly to carry it home, it's so heavy.

I decided the cactus would look perfect in it. But, it looked silly...big as the cactus was, it was way too small for this container. Oh well, I had a new terra cotta pot on standby. The pot will look better when it's well 'used'.

I put a selection of other succulents in the cement planter...and they were a perfect match!

Hawarthia, crassula & echeveria

So this is what I did with the chair! I had a pot that fit perfectly in it, added some fennel and creeping Jenny. I like the way it trails and hides the plain black pot. I put it on the stairs beside the herb garden in the raised beds.

Still haven't put anything in my other garage sale find...pretty sure it will end up an terrarium. :)
(Oh brother...can't find the picture anywhere!! Will have to take another and add it tomorrow.)

It is heavy & solid, I love it. Mind you, it would make a pretty awesome canister or candy jar! Probably what it started out to be... guess it will sit on the table till I find the perfect use for it. :)

How to Make a Succulent Wreath

I told you about the workshop we had at work helping women make their own succulent wreath. And I promised you I'd show you how to make one when I made my own at home. I was off today so it seemed like the perfect time to get to it. I took pictures as I went so I hopefully can show you 'how to' with more than words. Sorry, it's a bit long, but I didn't want to leave out any steps! Please show me what you create, I'd love to see them. 

First, gather all your supplies! The fun part. :)

You will need:

A wreath frame

Sheet moss

A bucket of water to soak the moss in

Twine

Scissors

Lightweight soil

MYKE™ (optional, but recommended)

Your favourite succulents

Large saucer or some other vessel to fit the wreath in

Assorted decor

A hook for hanging it!

I started with an old rusted wreath frame I purchased at work. 

I had my bag of moss soaking. It is far easier to work with wet moss than dry. 

I put down a used tablecloth from the dollar store to stop the water from running through the cracks in the top of the potting bench. 

Have a bucket (or like me, use an old pot) and fill with water for use later.

We use twine instead of wire.

Cut one and a half arm-lengths of twine. You will need 4, one for each cross section on the frame.

Tie each piece of twine to the cross sections. This was suggestd by one of the women after we finished the wreaths and I did find this was easier than tying it on after you have the moss & plants in the frame. 

Tidy it up by trimming off excess twine.

Now you can start adding your moss! Make sure to get the sheet moss, it will hold together better. When you are adding it, you want to use chunks that are still one piece. 

When you have filled in the frame with enough moss, make a trench in the middle. You can see how it looks hollowed out now. 

Add your soil to the trench. Because I'm using succulents, I want a well draining, light soil. I didn't use cactus soil, I mixed a good lightweight potting mix with extra perlite. 

For great results, we recommend adding MYKE™ to the top of the soil. You want the roots of the plants to be in contact with MYKE™. You can find this product at the store. 

MYKE™ is a Mycorrhizae which helps the plants better absorb moisture and the nutrients in the soil such as phosphorus, copper and zinc. Also, the roots grow better helping to hold the soil to prevent erosion. And in a hanging wreath, that is a bonus! We recommend it with all plantings and I can't believe the difference it has made in my gardens this year. You should see my tomato plants!!! 

Ok back to the wreath...here you can see I have added the MYKE™.

Have you selected the plants you want to add to your wreath? Here are the ones I choose...

Arabis caucasica Rock Cress 'Variegata'

Echeveria sp

Hens & Chicks from my garden

Lithops

Sedum lineare 'Variegatum'

Sempervivum 'Oddity' from my garden

String of Pearls

Crassula sp

Once you have your plants selected, set them around the frame until you are happy with the arrangement. 

Working with one at a time, remove it from the pot and carefully jiggle the soil from the root ball.

Here's where you use that pot of water. Dunk the root ball in the water and work more of the soil loose. 

Set the plant's roots in the soil on the frame. Don't worry that it seems loose, we will be adding more moss to cover the roots. :)

Continue with all the plants you selected, and add more if you find it is too sparse. But don't worry, it WILL fill in! If you have one that is too big (like my Sedum) divide it to the size you need.  I only needed 1/4 of this plant! 

And I found I had a bare spot, so I dug up a piece of a different hens & chicks from the garden.

Here is a picture of the plants all in place.

Now it's time to top them off with more moss!

Shoot, sorry's it's so blurry :(

Continue until you have it all around the plants...you don't want to see any soil! It's starting to look like a succulent wreath! :)

But we aren't finished. Remember that twine we tied on the four crossbars? 

Now comes the tedious fun part...you get to tie it all together. ;) We found it easier to place the wreath on a pedestal of some sort...I used an old hanging basket, we had buckets for the women at work.

Grab your first piece of twine & start working it around the wreath. Make sure to get in the middle or as close to the root ball as possible to hold your plants in place. And wrap it around every inch or so in order to hold the moss in place too. 

I was lucky...String of Pearls is very delicate but from what I could tell I only lost one little ball!! 

When you get to the next crossbar, tie up the twine you've been working with, then start with the next one. Once you have finally finished finished tying up the wreath, turn it upside down and give it a gentle shake. Yes! I said shake! You will be able to tell if you need to reinforce any spots that are loose. :)

Again, I was lucky...only a bit of moss came loose! :)

Here is my finished wreath. As you can see, there are still a couple bare spots, but the plants will fill those in over a few months. I have it sitting in a large saucer for easy watering. You can use whatever you have lying around, like a garbage can lid. It needs to rest for a week or more so the plants have time to secure themselves. 

Well, almost finished. Now it's time to clean up! Yuck Yeah!! Be sure to drain your moss and let it dry out (if you have any left) before you store it. Otherwise you are going to have one heck of a stink in a day or two!! 

After it rests for a while, I'll add an ornament or two. I haven't decided what I'm going to add...but here's a few ideas I'm tossing around. 

I might wire on a bird...(bird on a wire?)

And/or maybe I could hang a candle holder from the top so it hangs in the middle of the wreath.

A charity I support, it could be a themed wreath.

 Then again, I might plant another small succulent in this teapot and have it hanging in the middle

 Tillandsia...I think this would look neat wired or glued to the outside of the wreath. We had these for the women at work, a couple used them and they did look great!

Or maybe I could use parts of this broken wind-chime?

Chances are, by the time I'm ready to hang it up I'll have something entirely different in mind. You can change your decorations with the seasons. You can use it as a table topper, too! Put a hurricane candle holder in the middle and voilà! You have a beautiful centrepiece. The possibilities are endless...your imagination will come up with wonderful ideas. 

My wreath is a mixture of hardy and tropical succulents. So, I won't be able to over-winter it outdoors, I will have to find a home for it inside. If you make yours with hardy succulents, you can have it decorating your outside all year round. Or, if you live in the south-west, you seem to have a larger variety of succulents to use and you get to have it outdoors! Lucky you!! :)

After you have let it rest for a while, be sure to hang it on a sunny door, wall or fence. And enjoy the labour of love you created!

I want to thank and give credit to my boss, Diane Hutchinson from Walter's Greenhouses, for teaching me all I know about creating these wonderful wreaths! Thanks Diane, you are a wealth of information! :)

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