Flower Gardening

I don't know about where you live, but this past weekend was absolutely wonderful here in Wisconsin.

We had sun, we had warmth, we had birds chirping, and we had green grass! It had been far too long since it had been warm enough to wear short sleeves because our winter crept into the middle of April. It seemed anywhere you went, the cold was all people could talk about. It was depressing. But it's over now!

Maybe that's why this weekend felt so glorious? Heck, I even worked a long shift at work on Saturday and had one of the worst days yet and I still count this weekend as a huge success - now that's sayin' something!

Because of the nice weather, I've been itching to get some flowers planted and this year's vegetable garden planted {remember last year's garden?!}. We rent and can't plant our garden directly in the ground, so I'm thankful we got that all figured out last year {see our renter's garden solution!}. This weekend I finally gathered everything together and planted a few flowers.

I wish I had some pretty photos of the flowers to show you, but I decided I wanted to try planting flower seeds this year in an attempt to save money... so they're pretty darn boring looking for now.

Growing up on an organic farm and being raised by two garden-crazy parents, I've spent a good amount of time planting. I've also gathered a couple tricks here and there... one of which I know everyone who plants in pots can use.

So here's what you need to do...
When you're ready to being planting in pots, grab a few coffee filters - if you don't have some already, a pack is only about a dollar or so at the grocery store or local dollar store. Then simply place a single coffee filter in the bottom of each pot before you add the potting mix. Plant as usual. This will eliminate any soil that would otherwise fall through the drainage hole in the bottom and doesn't add any weight {like adding stones or gravel would}. Plus, any excess water will seep through and drain away easily. It's a quick and easy way to keep your planting area clean and make sure that your pot doesn't lose the soil it needs to grow!

Get out there, enjoy the Spring, grab a handful of coffee filters, and beautify your yard!

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