Living Wreath – How to make a living wreath with succulents

As I was browsing around my favorite local garden center, I spied a brand new shipment of BEAUTIFUL succulents that had just arrived! (I try to stop in often so I can jump on any unadvertised sales, and to see what’s new.)

Well… as I was taking in the beauty and intricacies of each little plant and trying to find a way that I could use them in my home decor, I came to the conclusion that it is time for me to try my hand at creating my own living wreath!

Because you build a living wreath out of different cuttings and not whole plants, it won’t be extremely expensive to create. I will be very careful to buy only those plants that will produce several cuttings for me to work with, which will also help to keep my costs at a minimum.

The types of plants, shapes, colors and sizes that you choose to work with are all up to you & your particular tastes, so you will be able to create something that you will truly love & enjoy for years to come!

Soon, as your living wreath begins to grow, you will be able to take cuttings, which you can then share with a friend, or use to create new wreaths to give away as gifts!

Here are a few pictures to help give you some ideas on how to create your own living wreath.

living wreath

succulent living wreath

living wreath 2

succulent wreath 2

Video – How to make a living wreath using succulents


What is your biggest question about creating your own living wreath? Post it in the comments below, and we will try to answer it for you!

Flowers for the Cottage Garden

This week I made a stop at my local Lowe’s garden center. I try to stop in frequently throughout the summer, because there are always so many unadvertised specials to be found! While I was there this week, I overheard a sales person talking with a customer, trying to explain the over abundance of plant material. She said – they have a contract with a large wholesaler, and they receive a certain number of plants whether they need them or not. This usually means that they have way to many plants & need to mark them down – or else they will risk loosing the plants due to lack of proper space & care.

There is almost always a rack of plant mark downs when I stop in. I routinely find deals of 50-% – 75% off!

I am so thrilled with my latest finds!

This is an evergreen ground cover called: Lithodora – Grace Ward
Lithodora Ground Cover

It flowers in May & June, only gets approx 6″ high, and is one of the best blue flowering ground covers available!

This little beauty is a wonderful option for; ground covers, rock gardens, spilling over walls, hanging baskets, or edging your flower garden borders. I think this plant would look wonderful with the white version of this plant which is called “‘White Swan”. I think I might also mix mine with some ajuga.

I was VERY excited to find this Longwood Wisteria plant with a few flowers already on it, especially when some types of wisteria plants can take up to 7-10 years to bloom!
Wisteria - Purple Longwood

They like to grow in sun or partial shade, and can reach 20 – 30 feet tall! It will grow in zones 5-9, and I was surprised to find out that this particular wisteria is a US native! Although this plant blooms from late spring to early summer, there are also reports of this beauty showing off again right through September!

Delicious Summer Pasta – and new visitors to the cottage garden

Salad Mix

This is a quick, easy, cheap, come back for seconds family dish!

Pasta salad is the perfect side dish for any summer meal! You can also change the recipe very easily by tossing in any of your favorite ingredients right from the cottage garden!

Cook your favorite kind of pasta while you’re making the sauce to save time! (we like using small pasta such as angel hair or bow-ties)

* Feel free to double the recipe – or add your own favorite ingredients 😉

While your pasta is cooking, mix together the following ingredients & let sit until pasta is done.

4 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped basil leaves
2-3 cloves pressed garlic
1 can sliced olives (I prefer mushrooms)
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. olive oil
Add salt & pepper to taste

Top your pasta with this delicious sauce & be prepared for seconds 😉

Some ideas for extra favorite things to add:

– Cheese bits (or freshly grated parmesan cheese)
– Diced green, yellow, red, or hot peppers
– Broccoli
– Beans
– Sugar snap peas
– Celery
– Onions
– Chicken
– Pepperoni
– Bacon

I know your family will enjoy this one!

I also wanted to share some of the newest guests to our bird feeder with you!

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I call this little guy Fred 😉
I thought he had a piece of string tied to his tail! It took several days of seeing him at the feeder to realize that his little leg was broken. He gets around very nicely – even though he is “disabled” 🙂

My Friend Fred - At the bird feeder

My bird feeder gets lots of traffic! This wild turkey is our latest guest 🙂 Don’t forget… although we have several acres of land surrounding our cottage in the woods, we do live in a little Victorian village! Nice to see such a variety of “guests” come out even in the village 🙂


Wild turkey at the bird feeder

The Bird Feeder – A Hot Spot in Our Garden!

Yellow finch at the bird feeder in our garden

There’s nothing better than being able to sit at my desk, while enjoying all of the noise & traffic that goes by my window each day! Traffic you ask? Yes! The best kind of traffic… wildlife roaming through the yard, enjoying a little treat as they go about their day 🙂

I’m talking, of course, about our bird feeders!

With this being our first year living at the cottage in the woods, we are just starting to get a taste of the joys of living with nature 😉

I thought I’d share a few pictures of the recent guests to the cottage feeder.

The first up (one pictured above) are the wonderful finches! They come in so many colors & sizes – but most of all – they have the most beautiful songs!

Then there are the little guys like this little chipmunk! So cute & tiny – we love to watch them stuff their cheeks full of goods then run back under the trees!
Chipmunk at the bird feeder in our cottage garden

And last of all… the bigger guys like this sneaky raccoon! I do love wildlife… but I hope this is as big as the visitors get! After all… there were a few bear sightings in our area last year – yikes!
Raccoon coming around the cottage garden bird feeder

* Did you know that raccoons have “thumbs” which is why they are able to open trash can lids, and get into lots of other trouble around your property?!

* Do you know what a baby raccoon is called? Answer: A kit

Great Blogs to Visit

We’ve received the Thinking Blogger Award
Thinking Blogger Award

I want to thank Manuela at The Feathered Nest for choosing me to receive the Thinking Blogger Award! She has a great blog – take a minute to go over for a visit!

Once you’ve received this award, you are supposed to pick a few of your favorite blogs to give the award to. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Homespun Living
Deb shares tidbits of her families daily life on the farm. The posts are filled with ideas about recipes, crafting, gardening, and life in general.

The Decorated House
Donna shares lots of wonderful home decorating ideas. You’ll find lots of inspiration at this great site!

Daisy Cottage
I think you’ll love Kim’s little cottage… I know I do! She has a great eye for color & design. You’ll love reading her posts that cover many of her different interests.

Nostalgia at the Stone House
Read about life in Somorset (in the UK). This site is filled with wonderful pictures & ideas, gardening, and decorating ideas.

Here’s a link to see the rules, as well as how the award got started – Thinking Blogger Award

A Storybook Life – The New Issue is Ready!

The new issue of “A Storybook Life” is out now!

If you have not subscribed to the monthly newsletter & would like to, you can subscribe with one click at our site: http://www.LittleCountryVillage.com

Once you subscribe, you will get an email with this month’s newsletter inside.

Enjoy!

Pearl

Here’s what’s inside the latest issue:

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In This Issue:

From the Cottage – Pearl’s Ponderings

Letters to The Editor

How to Boil the Perfect Easter Egg

Elegant Easter Eggs – Your little masterpiece will be the talk of the hunt!

Have a Designer Look For Your Walls Using $1 per Yard Fabric

No Mix, No Measure, Delicious Rhubarb Crunch Cake

You can Have a Beautiful Cottage Garden Even in a Temporary Space!

Interesting Things You’ve Got to See – Pearl’s April Picks!

Various & Sundry Other Tips & Treasures
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