Bird Feeders - Op Shop Style!

As you all know, we really enjoy op-shopping and making things for our home. During the holidays, we saw an idea on Pinterest (where else), for making glass bird feeders with second hand glass ware. We hunted through our local op-shops for glass pieces that we thought would work well for this project, then headed home to get started. 

Our family really enjoys birds. They are such beautiful little creatures and their variety is a testimony to the creativity of our amazing God. Having more of them around our home is definitely something that all of us like the thought of!

The feeders were so simple to make. 

All we needed was ...

• the second hand glass ware
• a hot glue gun (with spare glue sticks)
• some wire
• a pair of pliers

I also found in the shed, a black wrought iron candle holder that once held a glass bowl in the top for wax melts. The glass bowl had long since shattered and so I thought that re-purposing the holder to make a bird feeder would be an excellent use for it! It gives the garden a bit of a quirky touch too, which doesn't bother me in the slightest!

As I was sifting through the shed, I also found two wire brackets that I ended up using to hang the wire hanger on as well.

We sat out on our back patio as a family, while the rain drizzled all around us, and happily made the feeders. We tried different dishes stacked on each other and chose the layouts that we were most happy with and the ones we thought our little feathered friends would most appreciate! 

They've turned out so beautifully! I am yet to fill them with seed, as it's been raining for a few days here now and it'll just be a waste to get the seed wet. But, we have seen a couple of birds already drinking from them, which is very exciting! 

All up, these four bird feeders cost us no more than $5! A very inexpensive way to provide a little refreshment for the sweet birds, and add some extra beauty to the garden.

Succulent Table Gift

My Dad is a lover of succulents. To be honest, I really didn't have an appreciation for them at all, until somehow, he got me hooked. And now my son is hooked too. Is there such a thing as succulent disease?

For Christmas this year my amazing husband allowed me to use one of the coffee tables that he made out of old windows, which unfortunately had the glass top accidentally smashed, to make a succulent table for my Dad for his gift. We thought it was an amazing way to re-purpose the still very structurally sound, and beautiful table without needing to use the glass.

So, my son and I headed into town to visit Mitre 10 to purchase some extra succulents to add to the cuttings from ones already growing around our home. We chose some larger ones so that they could be 'features' in the display. While we were out, my hubbie chipped out all the excess putty, planed and sanded, drilled drainage holes, lined the base with black plastic, and then added chicken wire in replacement of the glass.

It looked great! ...

My youngest son, eager to fill the table with soil for his Papa!

The table, prior to soil and plants.

The table being filled with succulent soil.

As we planted the cuttings, we tried to fill in the gaps and have each succulent nice and close together,
 it gives a much nicer look!

The (almost) finished display ...

My Dad has a lovely undercover outdoor veranda out the back of his house so we are hoping that he will find the perfect spot for it there! We do plan on adding more plants over the next week (my Aunty is visiting tomorrow and is bringing some of her succulent cuttings with for us!) We also thought that leaving a bit free would allow Papa to add his own, and have some gardening fun for himself too!

We are really happy with the table and hope that Dad is too!

Oh, and while I think of it ... here's an update, as promised, of my herb seeds that I planted in my new herb stand. They're not quite big enough yet to start using, 

but it won't be too long! ...

There is actually a few teeny, tiny leaves growing in the Peppermint!

Simple gardening brings such great pleasure!

Herb Stand

As I've shared with you all in my post about My Personal Goals, I am wanting to learn more about natural living, healthy eating, gardening etc. Over this past weekend, I was able to set up a herb stand that I am very excited about. My son and I did it together on Saturday night, which made it even nicer! 

At our local produce there were herb seeds for sale that were $4.30 a packet, I thought that was way over-priced so I held off, and I'm glad I did. I searched in the dollar store and found herb seeds there for only $1.69 a packet! ... much better! So I grabbed all the ones that I knew I'd use in our kitchen (and hopefully teas and medicines etc), and brought them home pretty excited to get it started! Such simple things in life!

While in Toowoomba a couple of weeks ago, I planned ahead by purchasing some small terracotta pot plants from Bunnings for only $1 each! The cost of the same pot-plants where we live are over triple the price! So, naturally, I stocked up! (my husband plans on using some for making more of his amazing projects too!) A couple of $3.00 bags of potting mix later and I have some herbs planted, waiting to sprout! I'm so thankful that I was able to do this little project cheaply! I was going to wait to purchase some already established single herb plants from the next local markets, but I'm impatient. Sigh. Even though I have to wait for the seeds to germinate anyway! Oh well! 

My parents gave this gardening stand to us a couple of Christmases ago, I'm happy to have it set up with herbs!

I remembered I had two vintage drawers that I thought would add some nice character to the shelf! 

The stand is set up underneath our outdoor patio area, so that it's nice and close to the kitchen! I find that if I have herbs close I see them regularly which reminds me to not only use them, but water and fertilize them as well! I love sending my kids out to pick the herbs I need to add to cooking, it is a really good experience for them! 

Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.

May Sarton

When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited.

I'm very excited to be growing Peppermint and Lemon Balm, I've not grown either of these before. I think they would both be nice in a tea? 

I'm looking forward to seeing all the little sprouts popping up out of the soil in time! 

Next, I hope to plant up more flowering plants; maybe lavender, some bulbs, some roses ... and anything else that's pretty really! I was watching Sarah, Plain and Tall the other day with my girls, and Sarah was hanging lavender up in their home to dry it ... I hope to do the same! 

Pinterest has been overloading my mind with all these gardening ideas that I am really keen to begin! As we are renting, I'm trying to set up things in pots so that we can take them all with us when we leave. I've been smitten with the 'hidden gardens'  that I put into the search bar on pinterest. Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to create a little hidden spot, bursting with beautiful flowers, sweet smells and lots of birds, butterflies and bumble bees! 

Little things seem nothing, but they give peace, like those meadow flowers which individually seem odorless but all together perfume the air. 

Georges Bernanos

Well, I hope you're all having a wonderful week! I'll be sure to show you photos of the herbs as they sprout and then recipes using them! 

Raised Veggie Garden Part Two

Well, we've had the soil for our two veggie garden beds delivered and we worked together to shovel it all in, ready for planting.

With all of us shovelling, it really didn't take very long at all to fill the beds with the good soil; complete with added mushroom compost.

It is really good to have a veggie garden again; we were all missing our large one that we had at our old house. We're looking forward to the next process now ... planting lots of seasonal veggies (and a tad more decorating by me!)

We mulched the beds with clean hay, then planted the only two plants we have for the time being! A tomato and a chili plant!

 I bought this lovely old fashioned timber chair with a partner for it, for five dollars each. The partner is in the lounge room (it's been restored) and I thought that this one would look beautiful here! It's the older, less repairable of the two, so I don't particularly mind it being out in the weather getting more of a 'natural rustic' appearance! I've seen on Pinterest an older chair than this one with a climbing rose growing all over it; I'm going to do the same, but with the rose being a 'miniature climbing' one and in a pot.

Gardening is such a wonderful family activity and it adds so many blessings to our home. It's so nice knowing that hopefully soon (when we visit our neighbouring towns monthly Saturday markets) we can stock up on very well priced seedlings of our favourite herbs and veggies. We may even purchase some dwarf fruit trees for potting, it's easier to take them with us then if we have to leave our rental!

So, between our two kitties, our little puppy, our six chickens and our home-made, recycled veggie patch, our little town block is feeling even more like a snugly little country farm house for us to call home!

I hope you're enjoying your homes and those you share it with!

(Take me back to the Introduction Page)

(A Write 31 Days Post)

Raised Veggie Garden Part One

Something that I really enjoy doing is re-purposing the old in to something new. Not only is it often cheaper, but the finished product has a lot more character, which is what I love the most!

As we are in a rental home, we try to make sure that anything we do is temporary and removable. At our last home, we not only had chickens, we also had a very large veggie garden. Seeing as the chickens are now tucked up in their coop, we thought it would be a good time to start the veggie patch!

We weren't wanting to spend a lot of money in making them, so I had a look around at what we already had in the shed and found some old windows that MR S was given on a job site, and I thought they would perfect to transform into the sides of a raised garden bed. Being married to a carpenter is so good!

This will be an on-going project over the next few weeks, as we add to them as the budget allows. We plan on paving around the edges of the beds hopefully with some left-over pavers that are not too expensive at the landscape suppliers. 

This time I'm going to try more companion planting with our veggies. Have you found that companion planting is worthwhile and effective? What do you think are the best combinations?

Our first step was to join all the windows together with screws, making sure they were braced with triple grip on the inside corners of the windows. The front side of the second garden bed has some overhang on each side, but I rummaged through the shed again and found some scrolled brackets that MR S screwed on the overhangs; they are perfect for hanging my watering can on and I'm thinking, maybe some teacups or something else that's a little bit whimsical. I'm not sure yet.

There are still quite a few things to get done before we start planting. We plan on lining the ground with black plastic, filling the planters with soil and fertiliser. Paving around the edges and adding a few extra pretties as we go along. I love the little statues of Beatrix Potter from my parents, I think they are a great start to the cute, whimsical, cottage feel that I hope to achieve.

So, this is the beginning of what we hope will be a lovely garden that will fill our kitchen with produce and be shared with family and friends. I'll be posting more about the gardens progress soon! I hope you've had a beautiful day!

(Take me back to the Introduction Page)

(A Write 31 Days Post)