Happy Sunday! It is another cool, dreary day in Florida. I do not mind the cool weather, matter of fact I welcome it. But, the gray, damp, dreary I could do without. I am a sunshine girl!
Part of my self care routine is gardening and yardwork. Yes, yardwork! I find yardwork soothing even if I am sweating to death. Last Fall I made a very smart decision to plant some baby Elephant Ears in old bins I had. They grew quite quickly over this past Spring and are regularly making babies. I have been able to propagate these two Elephant Ears into at least 20 new plants that have been planted all along my privacy fence. Why they regularly make babies in the container, but not as rapidly in the ground, I have no idea. I love plants that I can propagate and get more plants for free. Gardening is a work in progress for me. I plant a lot of plants in the Fall and then baby them through the Winter. Summer gardening is just too hot in Florida. I have been able to propagate and replant my Plumbago which is awesome on a trellis or along a fence line. My Confederate Jasmine has made a natural privacy barrier now along one fence line surrounding the back yard. Confederate Jasmine is a very fast growing, sweet smelling plant. I do have to trim it back quite a bit to keep it under control. I have not successfully been able to propagate any new Confederate Jasmine. Hibiscus is another of my plants that I have been able to successfully propagate and get new plants, as well as Mums. I try to plant only plants that can grow in this awful heat.
My miniature garden, and I am slowly building another, is an old wheelbarrow that one of the handles rotted off rendering it useless. It has been a miniature garden for over a year now. I simply change up the decor for different seasons. Right now it has a Fall/Halloween theme. After Thanksgiving I will create my Winter garden. It is not necessarily a Fairy Garden as I put Gnomes, and miniature people in their too. I forgot to add the little people, except for one witch, so you won’t see them in my images. I also forgot I bought some pumpkins and pinecones, that actually were for candles, but they didn’t work well in candles. I will also be adding them to the garden. The lights are fairy lights, that are solar powered. I paid 15 dollars for them on Amazon and they last forever. I plan on getting more of them. I have one other set that will be a cool Halloween decoration. Be sure to check back in about a week for a super easy Halloween decoration. Most of my miniature garden items are either handmade by me, see the terra cotta house, bought from the Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, upcycled from other items, or purchased at a consignment store that I love. I keep my miniature garden under the trees so it does not get too much water.
See the videos below for some great miniature garden ideas. Some are quite fancy and expensive, while others are more affordable. What about plants? The plants can be pricy. I get mine at Walmart, wait for their succulents to go on clearance. Even if they look scraggly succulents can come back to life with a little love. Trader Joes also has awesome miniature plants at very good prices. I buy a lot of my miniature plants there. Dollar Tree sells faux succulents which are awesome too. I often have to change out my plants as they do grow and can get quite large. I simply move them to a bigger garden, and replace them with smaller ones. I am trying to propagate some Ivy in the miniature garden right now with the hopes to transplant it in the Spring. If you prefer to order online there are tons of websites that offer miniature plants. They can be quite pricy, though. The fence in my garden is a Christmas fence, but it is a pain to get it exactly where I want it, so it stays in the garden all year. If you have some empty jars lying around you could make these illuminaries pretty easily, or use them as a Fairy House in the garden.
I have so much fun creating my miniature garden, and changing it with the seasons and holidays. It is fun, relaxing, and soothing for me. If you would like to learn more about how a Holistic Health Coach can help you with your own Self Care, you can use the contact form below to message me, or email me at melissa@healthbuddymelissa.coach for a free meet and greet. All new customers get their first month of coaching for 25 dollars.
Living Life With CKD 