Hi there! Happy Mother’s Day to all of the incredible moms out there.

I hope you had a great week!

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Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms

What a week it was!

Between gardening and dashing around, it was an incredibly busy week!

We spent the weekend in Pittsburgh celebrating my niece’s graduation from law school.

It was really a thrill to watch her graduate as I had accomplished this same goal when I was her age about 25 years ago.

The family and I had a wonderful time celebrating with her and the rest of our extended family and we are making our way back to New Jersey this morning.

I also went to a fun pre-graduation party with some old friends where we celebrated our kids’ last year in high school.

For several of us, this is the last one to graduate high school, so it is a milestone year as a parent.

Since that time we stayed home and moving, I hadn’t seen some of these ladies in a long time! And it was really nice catching up with them.

New jersey home and garden blogger stacy ling and friends at a pre-graduation party
New jersey home and garden blogger stacy ling and friends at a pre-graduation party

In other breaking news, I had an MRI done on my shoulder earlier in the week. Although it improved after receiving a steroid injection, I’m still in a lot of pain with limited motion.

So, off to get an MRI I went to narrow down any other issues that might be going on.

Turns out I have adhesive capsulitis, aka frozen shoulder. Which is pretty painful but I’ll get through it. It’s limited me a bit in the gardens, but I’m still doing what I can to keep my shoulder moving.

If you’ve experienced this before or have any tips as to what helped you through it, please let me know in the comments below cause I’d love to hear your experience.

Speaking of gardening, I finished planting all of my indoor seed starts this week. The dahlias have all sprouted now. And the lisianthus is still hanging on outdoors.

They still aren’t doing much and I’m tempted to toss them.

pink dahlia flower
Dahlias

What I’m Shopping For This Week

This week I stocked up on a few more garden supplies that I’m running low plus a few other odds and ends.

This is what I bought this week!

  • This trellis netting support for my raised garden beds to keep my dahlias, zinnias, snapdragons, cosmos, and other flowers upright.
  • With the gardening season well underway, I needed a few more bags of potting soil.
  • I bought this cute summer dress in a few colors! What a good deal and perfect for those crazy hot days.
  • These organic chia seeds. I’ve tried a bunch of different brands and these are by far the best ones. I use them in everything from green juice, to smoothies, overnight oats and chia pudding. So we go through it!
  • I also ordered more collagen as we needed to restock on that too. Do you use collagen? It’s been really great for joint pain, digestion, skin, and hair health. My family has been using it for years!
  • These floral frogs to make flower arrangements. I have these for mason jars but want to use these in some large open vessels that I haven’t used yet.
  • Thinking about getting this straw beach tote.
  • Love this copper rain chain and bird bath.
  • We needed more tiki torch fuel.
  • I’m looking at this storage system for our pots and pans. I really need to figure out this kitchen. The storage is seriously lacking.
  • I also want a better system for produce storage on the counter. One wood bowl is not cutting it. So I’m considering this one.
container garden in mid may with pansies sweet alyssum and a gorgeous view in new jersey garden

What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms

It was a fun week on the blog!

We kicked off the week with a chat about how gardening is therapeutic for the body, mind, and soul.

If you are just dabbling or considering doing more, it’s a great thing to do for both your physical health and mental well-being.

White and blue hydrangea flowers in the garden
Hydrangeas

We also chatted about how to propagate hydrangeas to get more plants for free.

But there’s another way to get more hydrangeas for free. Did you know that you can divide them too?

And finally, I shared how to care for black-eyed susans. If you are not growing rudbeckia yet, you should! It’s one of the easiest perennials to grow and they look so pretty in the summer garden.

good directions birdhouse in my cottage garden by the front porch in fall with rudbeckia, celosia and snapdragons and pansies overlooking the valley
Rudbeckia in fall

Inspiration from Around the Web

There were so many wonderful posts this week! Here’s what I found.

These tips for decorating with vintage kitchen decor.

These tips for upcycling graduation decorations.

I found some great vegetable gardening tips for New England here.

These affordable and trending quilts are gorgeous.

Great tips on how to repurpose a magazine rack

This recipe for nicoise salad.

9 books you won’t be able to put down.

1850 farmhouse at sunrise with potager garden, tree sculptures and green fence
Cosmos

If you enjoy these posts, you can find past Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly posts here.

And… If you’re catching up on blog posts you may have missed, be sure to sign-up to get my newest posts via email to stay up to date with everything that’s happening here on the blog and more.

Home and Garden Blogger Stacy Ling cutting zinnia flowers in her cottage garden with wood picket fence in front of garden shed

Thank you so much for following along.

Enjoy a beautiful day! xo

stacy ling logo
The bricks \'n Blooms guide to a beautiful and easy-care flower garden book by stacy ling
The Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide to a Beautiful and Easy Care Flower Garden
  • Have you never met a plant you couldn’t kill?
  • Have you dug around in the dirt with nothing to show for it except a sunburn and a sore back?
  • Do you currently enjoy growing flowers, but are looking for more tips and ideas to level up your gardening game?

Then the Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide is for YOU

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12 Comments

  1. I had frozen shoulder on my right side about two years ago, followed by the same in my left shoulder about six months later. I had saw a physio therapist and a massage therapist. After following the exercises for several months I am happy to say I am back to full mobility.

    1. Oh no you had it in both! I’m encouraged to hear you overcame them both. How long did it take to feel better per side? I’m about 4 months in!

  2. I’m so sad to hear about your shoulder. I hope that it feels better soon. Thank you so much for the feature. I really appreciate you. Happy Mother’s Day. Hugs to you.

  3. I’m so sorry to hear that you have a frozen shoulder, Stacy. I have heard that they are so painful and I hope that you recover soon. Looks like you had a fabulous time seeing your old friends and family again. Congratulations to your niece. What an amazing accomplishment. I love the beautiful pic of you two. Thank you for sharing my cottage garden post today. Happy Mother’s Day my friend.

  4. The thing that helped me through frozen shoulder was physical therapy. My GP sent me to a physical therapist and besides receiving heat on my shoulder before beginning – which was wonderful – I did a series of stretching exercises. Pendulum stretch, towel stretch, finger walk, crossbody reach, outward and inward stretch are just a few. Exercises with bands and weights were gradually added. Then the shoulder was iced before leaving. You can find many exercises on line but I would recommend starting with a physical therapist. Mine went away and has been fine for four years. Good luck!

    1. Thank you for the tips! I’m so glad to hear you overcame it! That is very encouraging. I’m slated to go for physical therapy when some of the pain subsides so they can open it up and stretch it out. Until then I’m doing a lot of those exercises here – I hope it unfreezes soon.

  5. I am so sorry to hear about your shoulder. Frozen shoulders can be so painful. I hope you are feeling better soon.