Hi there!

I hope you had a great week!

(Posts on stacyling.com may contain affiliate links. Click HERE for full disclosure.)

Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms

What a week it was!

I was crazy busy in the gardens. From potting up containers to planting sunflower, cosmos, and tithonia seeds, supporting my dahlias, and general care, I was doing stuff from morning until the evenings.

I received a HUGE shipment of annual flowers from my favorite grower Proven Winners.

Eight boxes of heaven were delivered the other day and I spent about two hours just unboxing and organizing them so I could plant them.

I cannot wait to show you these blooms!

My jaw dropped with a few as I was opening up each plant.

But here’s a little sneak peek at one of the plant combinations!

This container garden recipe is made of:

🌸 1 Angelface Cascade Blue Angelonia
🌼 2 Superbells Prism Pink Lemonade
🌸 2 Supertunia Mini Vista Indigo

front porch planter that is a black urn with proven winners superbells and angelonia cascade blue

But the gardens are looking sooooo good right now. And the potager garden is really starting to come together.

It’s fun watching the plants fill in.

The clematis ‘Gisele’ that I planted last year is blooming like crazy. And the recently planted bearded irises took off and are all blooming just outside the potager garden.

This one is called ‘Angel’s Rest’ with ‘Dream of You’ just behind it.

close up of bearded irises in the garden
Clematis 'Gisele' outside the potager garden with green fence

I was not expecting them to bloom this much this year, so I’m really happy about it.

Speaking of the potager, I had to pull one dahlia tuber from the planter. It was wilting quite a bit and I was concerned it may have verticillium wilt.

And I question whether the tuber had it because it was planted in completely new raised garden bed soil.

close up of the potager garden raised beds with seedlings and dahlias

Since I didn’t want to take a chance, I pulled it carefully and disposed of it. And now I’m going to pray that it did not affect the rest of the bed!

I’d rather pull one questionable plant than leave it there to cause a much bigger problem over the next month.

Oh and if you are wondering about the lisianthus? I let them go all together and I’m not looking back. BUT…

One somehow managed to survive, so I planted it in one of the raised garden beds. Let’s see what happens.

1850 farmhouse in mid spring with hostas, pansies and baptisia with buckeye tree in bloom

In other breaking news and I’m not sure if I mentioned this yet, Chris and his buddy Mark have been repairing the bridge over the front pond.

The boards were starting to rot and we enjoy viewing the pond from above, so he is replacing all the deck boards.

And then, he’ll repair all the cedar branch railings that we sourced from my sister-in-law’s tree farm.

We also enjoyed a fun evening with our neighbors for dinner. And my eldest daughter had some college friends come to stay with us for the weekend.

lonicera and spirea by the front pond

What I’m Shopping For This Week

I didn’t shop around for new things as much as I did restocking on supplies that I am running low on already.

Here’s what I snagged this week!

For the Garden:

  • As my dahlias are growing, I’m noticing some chewed foliage and holes. I needed to get more slug and snail bait. It works really well on hostas too.
  • Some of the roses are showing signs of black spot from the cool evenings we’ve had. So I’ve been using neem oil on them and the lonicera that also has issues with a fungal disease.
  • I’ve also decided to try Proven Winners slow-release fertilizer. It doesn’t last as long as Osmocote but I want to see if the blooms do better during the summer since it’s applied more often.
  • To help protect myself from a poison ivy outbreak, I stocked up on this scrub for the shower. It works extremely well to get the oils off.
  • I love this 15″ copper planter for my houseplants.

For Me:

close up of allium globemaster in the garden

What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms

It was a fun week on the blog!

This week, we chatted about how to keep your gardens protected from deer damage.

With the gardens bursting from the ground, deer are coming out in full force ready to eat garden plants.

Are they a problem where you live too?

I’m often asked how to maintain curb appeal and keep deer from eating plants and flowers in the garden. While no method is foolproof, there are a few precautions to take to minimize the damage.

I implement a few strategies that work well for me and have given the same advice to family, friends, and clients who have had similar success.

And if you are a gardener who believes Irish Spring or coffee grounds will keep them at bay, we chatted about the effectiveness of these strategies too.

view of the potager garden from the porch with tree sculpture and viburnum flowers with ninebark

We also talked about how to identify, remove, and treat yourself for poison ivy. I had a really really bad case one year, so a little prevention can go a long way.

And finally, I shared a great way to use your fresh garden mint with a summer drink recipe that is certain to knock your socks off!

Whether you are hosting a summer BBQ or enjoying a lazy day on the porch, this is refreshing but packs a punch.

close up of long island iced tea with lemon and mint for garnish on stone wall

Amazing Inspiration from Around the Web

I love finding cool inspiration from around the web and wanted to share some of what I’m loving right now.

These patriotic decorating ideas.

These affordable gardening tips.

You’ve got to check out my good friend’s shop.

These cute votives.

And these tips for restoring wood adirondack chairs.

view of my 1850 farmhouse from the potager garden with raised garden beds and outdoor dining table

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

Buy Now

Related Posts

Stacy Ling

Stacy Ling is author of the best selling book, The Bricks 'n Blooms Guide to a Beautiful and Easy-Care Flower Garden, and writes the blog Bricks ’n Blooms from her 1850 farmhouse located in zone 6b northern New Jersey. She is a master gardener who’s been gardening for over 25 years and enjoys sharing her passion to help beginners find their inner green thumb, as well as discover a love for all things plants and flowers. Stacy loves to bring the outdoors inside her home and decorates with a comfy, casual, and cottagecore style. Come grow stuff and create beautiful spaces with her.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

6 Comments

  3. Your garden is really taking off Stacy. I bet you are having so much fun out there. Love all the inspiration. Thanks so much for sharing my pinching plants post. You’re the best!

    Reply