Cottage Style Indoor Herb Garden

Hello, friends! 

If you have read my blog (or seen my pinterest boards, for that matter), you know that I am a self-proclaimed epicurean.  While I am nowhere near a professional cuisinère, I love cooking, and I love exploring different types of culinary delights. 

Summertime is a great time for entertaining, and when cooking, there's nothing better than having fresh herbs on-hand and ready for use.  Today I will be sharing how to make a simple cottage-style herb garden for the kitchen countertop or windowsill for less than $20.  I hope you enjoy the post!


You will need:
1 Set three galvanized buckets (flower pots) and tray, I found mine at The 99¢ Store
Modpodge
Burlap fabric or extra-wide burlap ribbon
Spray adhesive
Printer paper
Printer and printer ink
Scissors
Paint brush
Living herbs from the local grocer
Garden soil

First, using a free photo-editing software, create the graphic you want.  I chose to write the names for my herbs in French for a little cottage-y appeal.  I used Picmonkey to create this simple graphic.  Once you have designed your graphic, print. 

Cut the names of the herbs out.

Size the names of the herbs on your piece of burlap or burlap ribbon, and trim to size, leaving the burlap a bit bigger than the name.  If you are using burlap ribbon like I did, you may want to remove the welted edges and unravel a few rows for a bit more rustic appeal.

Spray a minimal amount of the spray adhesive onto your mini bucket, enough for the burlap to adhere to the surface. 

Shown here.

Using the paintbrush, brush a small amount of Modpodge onto the burlap.

Place the paper with the wording centered in the middle of the strip of burlap.  Paint over with the Modpodge.  Allow to dry.  I set mine outside in the 100+ degrees California sun, so they dried quite fast!

Once they have completely dried, Modpodge them again.

So cute.

 

Now, these are ready for fresh herbs.

Add a small amount of enriched soil to each of your mini buckets, and water the soil.

Gently break apart the roots of your herbs to promote growth. 

Add to your mini buckets.  Top off with soil, and water once more.  Violà!!  It smells like a wonderful Italian restaurant as I am working...mmmm, so good!

This project was so easy, inexpensive, and the herbs taste lovely!  I buy these often, so I thought, why not keep them growing and easily accessible? You may pin if you like this tutorial:

 

I hope you are enjoying the beautiful summer weather!  Until next we meet...



 
Ruffled Apron with lace rosette, Jillie Willie, Horchow/Neiman Marcus
Crocheted Tea Towels, Boutross Linens, Horchow/Neiman Marcus

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,  

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Summer Solstice and a Bounty of Bougainvillea

Hello, friends!!  How has your summer been thus far?  The marking of the Summer Solstice today (or yesterday depending on your time zone) means it's official!  Summer has arrived...not that I needed any reminder, it has been above 107 degrees all week, hot, hot hooooootttt!!!!

Typically, I post about little blossoms poking their faces out at the onset of the Spring, but in today's post, I am sharing some pictures of my bougainvillea.  The whole garden is practically bursting!

Bougainvillea, or paper flowers, are indigenous to South America. However, they are cultivated and grown all over Spain (as Buganvilla), Italy, and Greece, and numerous other areas.  There are approximately between four and eighteen different species in its genus, and they can vary in color from the fuchsia you see here to red, yellow, and even oranges, whites, and pinks!

Santorini

Although these plants appear as an abundance of blooms, they are quite the tricksters!!  The actual "flowers" are the teeny white flowers you see depicted here, while the colorful part are leaves. 

These lovelies adore heat, and with temperatures soaring here in Southern California, I am so glad I have found them.  Don't they make a pretty addition to this Spode Italian tureen?   I will be sharing more about that later in the week.  Until then, keep cool!

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,  

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤



My First Visit to the UCR Botanical Gardens

Hello, sweet friends in blogland and beyond!  I am so happy for the Spring and wonderful weather, aren't you!?  The beauty of Spring can be found all around; in the fragrant breezes, the beautiful blooms, and the twitter of God's children great and small.  The weather has been so fair that I thought it would be the perfect time take a tour of the UCR Botanical Gardens.  It made for a lovely morning, for certain!

The garden boasts four miles of wonderful hiking trails, conservatories, and ponds, just to name a few of the attractions.  During my visit, I was able to tour a portion of the gardens, and it was really gorgeous.

Upon entrance, I took notice of several types of Cacti, the website states there are hundreds, in fact; I was most intrigued by the cacti with blooms or ones of interesting color.

Gorgeous blooms of a Yucca.

Lovely pink petals of a Easter Lily Cactus, with buds that are just opening.

Closer look.

Wonderful purple.  Echinocereous Stramineus (No common Name).

I love the vibrant color and delicate blooms of this Coral Yucca.

This "Traveler's Friend" cactus appeared more prickly than friendly.  ;)

I found the flowers of the Twistpine "Prickly Pear" quite interesting, they almost emulate roses.

Closeup.

Speaking of roses, one of my favorite areas of the tour was the extensive rose garden.  I could sit here for hours taking in the sweet aroma of the beautiful flowers, of which there were over 300 types!

Here are a few of my favorites.  

Wild Blue Yonder Roses 

Eureka Roses

Handel Rose

Friendship Miniature Tea Roses

Little Jackie Miniature Roses

New Beginning Miniature Rose

Beauty Secret Miniature Hybrid Roses

Dream Come True 

Memorial Day Rose

They were all so unique and fragrant!  

There was a section of irises, 

and a wonderful butterfly garden

full of attractive blooms such as this Adonis Blue English Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)!!

Hello, little fellow.

The trails were laced with wonderful trees, such as these incredible Italian Cypress

that climb into the sky

and beautifully fragrant California Buckeye.  

So wonderful smelling!

Among these beauties were lots of wildflowers indigenous to the area...

sweet purple mallow growing wild on fences,

a sprinkling of vibrant California poppies,

prettiness spilling over walls,

and even a gorgeous sitting area trellised with white prickly poppies!

Closer look.

All-in-all, it was a wonderful tour, and I hope to return soon to see more!

Thank you for touring with me!  Until next we meet~ ❤️❤️

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,  

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤

 

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,  

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤