Bricks 'n Blooms Weekly 20

Welcome to the 20th week of Bricks ‘n Blooms Weekly!

I hope you all had a great week and a fun St. Patrick’s Day!

SPRING IS FINALLY HERE!!!!

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Random Things Happening Behind the Scenes at Bricks ‘n Blooms

As I sat down to start writing this post, I realized I have not updated you on the basement fireplace! It is all framed out and sheet rocked.

So we’ve made some progress! Next is tiling the floor and finishing off the surround.

In random news, I noticed something is stripping the bark off of one of our front yard trees. If it was a smaller area closer to the ground, I would guess a deer rubbing fresh new antlers on the tree, but nope. This damage runs up about 15-20 feet.

What could be doing this???

Quick research revealed it is Emerald Ash Borer damage – and that is not a good thing. The ash borer is killing trees here in New Jersey.

And I noticed the damage on more than one tree in my yard. I’ve got a certified arborist coming here this week to see if we can hopefully save the trees.

But the outlook is not so good.

Now that I’ve seen this and know what it is, I noticed extensive damage to the ash trees driving through my town yesterday.

It’s really terrible.

On another note, did I show you the tree branch that fell down last week?

We are lucky it didn’t hit the house. And it fell over my garden too. Phew!

In more fun news, my new outdoor living room furniture arrived for the lower deck. We set it up and enjoyed our first fire!

I also stopped by my favorite nursery this week and picked up a few new plant babies. This week, I bought my first monstera, an African violet and a money plant.

What’s Happening at Bricks ‘n Blooms

While we are on the subject of gardening, I shared an amazing garden supply list of everything you’ll need for this year. From seed starting, to weeding, planting, lawn care, and everything in between, I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to read the post.

If you’ve been following along with my thrifting adventures on Instagram, I recapped a month’s worth of thrifting near me in one post. Wait until you see the cool things I got and how I styled them in my home. CLICK HERE to read the post.

And since I’ve been very focused on my gardens and outdoor living spaces lately, I also shared MY FAVORITE outdoor area rugs. I’m on the hunt for an outdoor area rug at the Vermont cabin and shared my list of faves HERE.

Did you catch my latest reel on Instagram? My best gardening friends and I are celebrating spring! You can watch it HERE.

Dahlias from the cutting garden - How to Dry Flowers

The next week is going to be packed full of great content.

For starters, I’ll be sharing my 2021 spring home tour. If you enjoyed last year’s home tour, this one is going to be even better.

I’m also participating in a Pinterest Challenge and celebrating with my virtual dinner group.

Oh and the best thing coming up this week?

I’m going live with my best gardening friends on Instagram this week on Thursday, March 25 at 5 PM EST. We will be taking your questions live so stop by and join our Gardening Happy Hour.

Dahlias are the best fall garden flowers

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.

My favorite thing about blogging is the great friends I’ve made around the globe.

And I want to share some of them with you this week because they are really inspiring me.

I love a great DIY that’s easy to do and makes a big impact don’t you? How adorable are these DIY cement bunnies my friend Jennifer made from Cottage on Bunker Hill?

bricks 'n blooms weekly — Photo by Cottage on Bunker Hill

Here is some more amazing inspo from around the web!

But there was so much more this week that I really enjoyed!

I love my friend Rachel’s perspective on chasing the latest home decor trends. She is truly inspiring!

You’ve got to check out this podcast about cabin life!

I’m totally making this black bean salad. It looks so good!

This furniture flip idea.

And how pretty is this gorgeous spring wreath?

I love this DIY bird’s nest too!

And that’s all for this week!

Spring Forward with My Rustic Farmhouse Spring Home Tour

Thank you for following along.

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Enjoy your day! xoxo

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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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10 Comments

Stacy, I hope you find out what’s happening to your trees. That’s so distressing!
Enjoy this spring Sunday.
Oh and my email looked better this am! Lol.

Stacy Ling says:

March 21, 2021 at 5:05 pm

I’m so glad to hear that!!! I hope we can do something about them instead of just taking them down. There are so many ash trees around here! It’s really sad! Hope you had a great weekend! xo

Reply

I hate that you have the Emerald Ash Borer invading your yard. It is distressing to think that you might lose large and established trees. A virus that kills Boxwood is sweeping through Virginia and my Boxwoods have it. I am sick thinking about how many Boxwood will need to be dug up and then replaced with something else.

Stacy Ling says:

March 21, 2021 at 5:07 pm

It’s terrible when something like that invades your plants and trees! This is pretty bad Paula – they’ve been ripping through NJ and taking trees out. I’ll see what the arborist says – I can’t tell how extensive the damage is but driving around town…there are so many trees that have this! Maybe the mild winter didn’t help. UGH. xoxo

Reply

We had to have a 65 foot Poplar taken down last summer. It was the victim of both a disease and an insect infestation that attacked the Poplars in our neighborhood a few years back. There was nothing we could to to make it better. We hung on to it as long as we could but it became a safety issue so down it came. Hoping you have better news. Keep us posted.

Stacy Ling says:

March 21, 2021 at 5:09 pm

That’s terrible! Yes, when safety or damage to surrounding structures is an issue what else can you do? I’m really upset about it. It doesn’t look good but hopefully, the arborist will bring some options. Fingers crossed! xoxo

Reply

Hope you find a solution for your trees!! Thanks for sharing our recipe!

Stacy Ling says:

March 22, 2021 at 1:26 pm

I really hope so too! Thank you! xoxo

Reply

I always enjoy reading your weekly post, Stacy! I can’t believe what’s happening with your tree. I’ll be interested to find out what is causing the damage. Thank you so much for sharing my cabinet. Enjoy your week, we have a lot of fun stuff coming up!

Stacy Ling says:

March 23, 2021 at 7:36 am

Isn’t that so sad about the trees? I really hope there’s more we can do than just taking them down, but safety is first priority. Those trees are huge! I love how your cabinet turned out! I want one! Have the best day! xoxo

Reply