Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly 155
Hi 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!
Chris and I went to the NY Giants game last Sunday. It was a gorgeous day, the Giants won, and we met up with some friends for a tailgate party before heading in for the game.
We spent the week preparing the property for winter. We put away all of the drip irrigation kits, turned off and blew out the irrigation lines in the ground, and started putting things away.
The property right now is beyond spectacular with all of the beautiful fall colors. I’m going to share a few photos in this post but wow! With each passing day, the landscape gets richer and richer in beautiful gold, orange, and crimson hues.
We still haven’t had a frost yet so all of the flowers are still blooming too. Of course, some summer-blooming annuals have seen better days, but overall the gardens still look gorgeous.
I just pulled all of the supertunias in the front yard cottage garden and started cutting back a few perennials that have seen better days.
Oh, and I got a lot of plantings done! My mother and father-in-law gave me a ton of bearded irises. So I spent a day just planting those in the formal garden.
Deer are pretty mercilous out there as I see at least a herd out there daily. Bearded irises are pretty deer resistant though, so we’ll see how they do. I may spray the foliage with this deer repellent as the plants emerge just to give them a little insurance.
I’m not sure what color the flowers are so we’ll all be completely surprised with their appearance next spring. Once I know what they look like I’ll probably need to tag them so i can move them around and group like flowers together.
This weekend, I spent some time getting my spring flowering bulbs planted. I couldn’t tell you how many, but it took me all day, so there was a lot! Last year, I focused on the porch gardens, but this year, it’s all about the front pond.
What I’m Shopping For This Week
Since I’m wrapping up the gardening season and looking ahead to next year, I ordered a few things to get ready.
As I started preparing for Thanksgiving, I shopped around for some decor and must-haves to make Turkey Day a little bit easier for me.
Every year, I keep saying to myself, you need to get this and then I forget about it. Well, last year, I actually made a list of things I needed to get and I finally bought them!
- These turkey lifters have been on my list for YEARS! I finally bought them.
- And I finally snagged this separator too for the gravy.
- My roasting pan had seen better days, so I bought this one. I delayed upgrading for as long as I could.
- I would love to have this platter! Isn’t it gorgeous?
Garden Stuff I’m Shopping For
- I needed more rooting hormone to propagate more plants.
- These hedge sheers. Mine were getting a bit old and not working great anymore.
- I bought a few more houseplants, so I am in need of more plant saucers like these.
- I’m in love with these planters and they are on sale!
- These basket planters look gorgeous with indoor plants too and add a lot of texture to a room.
- I am thinking about getting this cute planter for my family room.
Online Dahlia Course
I also want to share my friend Jen’s new Dahlia course. If you want to learn how to lift and store your dahlia tubers, she shares some amazing insights as a dahlia flower farmer. If you are interested in the course, click here.
What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms
It was a fun week on the blog!
We kicked the week off with my favorite Italian soup recipe. Have you ever made pasta e fagioli before? Some call it pasta fazool but in any case, you need to try this one. I make this at least a few times a month because it’s cozy, hearty, and SO GOOD.
Since I’ve been hosting Thanksgiving dinner for over 25 years, I shared some great tips that will help streamline your day. And if you aren’t hosting? I shared some things you can do to help out the hosts.
My supper club got together for a Thanksgiving-themed party with lots of beautiful fall table decor, centerpieces, and tips for creating a pie buffet.
This post is my favorite tablescape to date! I shared all the details about how to decorate for the day with lots of rustic charm.
Since we each made a pie for this one, I shared my husband’s favorite fall dessert. He is a huge fan of this one.
And if you need some pie inspiration for Thanksgiving this year, I got you. There are lots of classics and new takes on Thanksgiving pies you’ve got to try!
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.
- This DIY Thanksgiving Wreath is beyond gorgeous!
- These Dollar-Tree budget-friendly Christmas ornaments are a unique idea.
- These tips for taking family photos for fall and the holidays.
- This thrift haul found some great stuff!
- These fun ways to celebrate fall.
- This homemade apple sauce recipe.
- These fall porch decorating ideas.
- This Christmas wreath is fun for the holidays.
- And this fabulous fall room makeover.
If you enjoy these posts, you can find past Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly posts here.
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Want to Learn How to Grow Flowers With Ease?
If you’ve always wanted to grow flowers but struggled with where to start or how to create something beautiful, I got you. I wrote a book that shares all the things you need to know to grow 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 to a Beautiful and Easy Care Garden Book is for YOU!
What’s in the Bricks ‘n Blooms Guide?
- Gardening basics to set you up for success
- Great garden design ideas with ready-made plans for you to follow
- Easy-care instructions for a wide variety of flowering annuals, perennials, and shrubs
- Helpful how-tos for container and cut flower gardening
- Graphs, charts, and lists to help you stay organized
My book publishes on February 6, 2024, but you can preorder now and get a special pre-order bonus chapter you can’t get when the preorder period closes.
Preorder your copy here and get a free, downloadable guide that shares bonus information with tips and unique garden designs to get year-round color in your landscape. Offer ends 2/5/24.
Garden Supplies I Use
I’m often asked about the garden supplies and tools that I use most. From pruners to deer repellents, here are some of my favorites in no particular order.
- I like to use a good-quality, potting soil, garden soil, compost, and perlite when planting. While I make my own compost, you can easily buy it ready-made for use.
- I have used this deer repellent with great success. But now, I’m all about this deer repellent that is systemic instead of topical. This means the plant takes it in as opposed to it just smelling bad.
- Hands down this is my favorite hand-weeding tool. You can use it to get underneath roots and loosen soil, and it cuts down on the weeding time because you work much faster.
- But I also love this long, stand-up weeding tool to really get around roses from afar.
- I use THIS ORGANIC FERTILIZER for roses because the blooms are more prolific and it’s organic.
- And I use this organic fertilizer for my vegetables and herbs in the potager garden.
- You’ll need a sharp set of pruners when working with plants and flowers. I buy a few so I can stash them around.
- I use these garden snips to deadhead and cut flowers from my gardens.
- Where pest and disease problems are concerned, if I need to, I generally use this insecticidal soap or neem oil to help control infestations depending on the issue. When using, only apply when pollinators are less active.
- This is my favorite set-and-forget slow-release fertilizer for houseplants, annuals, and container gardens.
- Whenever I stake my peonies or other plants, I generally use these grow-through garden supports because they work really well and keep the blooms upright.
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Enjoy a beautiful day! xo
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