Fun Fall Succulent Project

 Here's a fun project you can do with extra succulents! I've always seen people glue sheet moss, then glue the succulents,  but if you use these Cinderella type pumpkins you can just place them and they stay just fine. 🍂🍁🎃

Basement Rose "Nursery"

 

Just because Winter is on the way, doesn't mean the growing stops around here! A room in the basement will serve as a rose Nursery for the next several months. Several hundred roses should be ready next Spring! From rooted cuttings, to plugs, and even some trade one gallons. Iceberg,  New Dawn, The Fairy, Orchid Masterpiece,  Golden Showers,  Eden and more! I have another Barrina grow light on the way. This is a room that we're already heating and lighting, so that helps avoid extra cost to set them up outdoors.
It got colder quicker than the weatherman predicted, (imagine that!), so yesterday evening was a run mad race to get succulents inside until the little greenhouse is better buttoned up. What a mess lol! 
I still have quite a bit of work to do before those 20's roll in. I hate to see all of my beautiful flowers going to sleep for the winter, but such is life. Gives us something to look forward to each Spring, right? Just fill up your house with plants, like someone I know very well, and you'll have plenty of growing to do and enjoy this Winter! 😇😄🌱

Cheryl 

Lots of Succulents to Move!

 

Have moved tender plants indoors yet? I love this succulent combination.  It reminds me of roses and their green foliage. I still have alot of succulents available,  and they all have to come in before next week! We're expecting some nights in the up 20's next week, and it was 80 today. Crazy weather! 

Are the chicks hatching?

 

Overwintering Shrubs In Pots

 

With cooler temps just around the corner, I thought I'd mention a word about growing and overwintering in pots. (This is my and my grandson's snowman silkie from a couple of winters ago 😄)
If you want to keep things like boxwood, smalller hydrangeas and roses in pots year round, a rule of thumb is that only those plants which are hardy to two zones below your growing zone, are safe in pots. If not, the roots could be damaged during extremely cold periods. When plants are in the ground,  the roots are protected, instead of having that cold air all the way around the root system. So for our zone 6b, zone 4 and lower varieties should be totally fine. Make sure that your potted plants are getting enough moisture during dry periods. Even with rain, potted plants don't get the same amount of water as those in the ground. Especially with evergreens like boxwood, if a super cold blast is due to come in, make sure the roots have moisture so the leaves are hydrated. Cold wind is desicating to the leaves. It dries the moisture out, and those leaves die from "cold burn." There's a product called Wilt Proof, that some people and nurseries use to protect broad leaf evergreens. I've used it on topiaries. It's a natural product that is a protective coating which helps prevent moisture loss.
Enjoy the cooler temps and relief from that awful heat!

Cheryl

Pugs And The Po Po!

 Just messing around with my pug pack again! 😄

Oakleaf Hydrangeas in Autumn

 Beautiful colors!

Using Plants To Decorate In Each Season!

 

Use your plants to get creative in each season! I found this little pumpkin cup at a thrift store for 50 cents, and planted Ogon Makinoi sedum in it for top "vines." ☺️🍁🍂

I have some of this sedum and much more available in my etsy shop. Adding more as I can! 

Visit My Shop 

Cheryl's Henhouse Etsy

Colder Weather Is A Comin'!

 

So we're finally seeing an end to the sweltering Missouri Summer temps! I'm always a little relieved to see Fall arrive. Now begins the task of getting tender plants moved to protected areas. I've become a topiary nut, and many of my topiaries are not winter hardy in zone 6b. Some are marginal. So it's time to find winter homes for them! We should be getting the little green house buttoned up soon, but I need green things in my life during the winter, so in comes a "topiary garden!" 

Rosemary, Eugenia. Myrtle, lavender, coleus, succulents and angel vine are some of my favorites.  I'm training many, also, that will be available to sell. Have you found winter homes for your tender plants? Don't wait too long! 

Dried Flowers For Decorating

 

Did you all dry plenty of hydrangeas and other flowers yet for decorating? Soon we'll have a frost so if you haven't, get out there and gather some! Our kitchen has red, white and blue, and I thought these hydrangeas and zinnias looked pretty together. 😊 I sort of did a freeze dry method for the zinnias. Dip them in water, then put on a piece of parchment paper and lay in the freezer. I left them for a few weeks. Enjoy these amazing cool temps that have finally moved in! 🍁🍂🍁