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Window Sill Gardening

You can start your green thumb this year by beginning your garden in the window! There are a few important benefits to growing some plants indoors. The main one is that your garden is almost completely protected against pests and bad weather. It can also brighten up any room if you add colorful plants along your window in any room.

Ideally, you should have your plants in the south-facing windows to get the most light. Plants that prefer shade will do fine in any window, or even on a table in the middle of the room. Light that comes in through window glass gets magnified, so a plant can get very hot even though it’s indoors. Make sure you rotate your plants to prevent the leaves and stems leaning towards one side.

Water your plant when the soil is dry to the touch, and make sure you use containers that have a drainage hole in the bottom or side of the planter. You can use natural fertilizer or compost a few times throughout the season to help keep the nutrients up. The best plants for gardening indoors in the window are herbs and other leafy vegetables. Basil, mint, and thyme will do very well. Lettuce or fresh greens will also grow well sitting in the window. With indoor herbs, it’s not always enough to simply water when the soil is dry. For best results, mimic rainfall by spraying down the leaves in the kitchen sink once a week. Alternatively, spritz the foliage with a misting bottle every few days. Feed every few weeks with a natural liquid fertilizer; products intended for houseplants are generally sufficient. If insects like aphids or whiteflies appear, spray them with diluted soapy water.

You can try out some larger vegetables, but choose smaller plants whenever possible, particularly dwarf or mini versions. Not only do they take up less space, they will require less light and energy to produce for you. Cherry tomatoes and mini cucumbers are great examples!

You can visit Flymeawaycreations Etsy shop to find many indoor planters that would work great in any window sill with herbs, succulents, or air plants!

www.flymeawaycreations.com

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Do’s & Don’ts for Growing Succulents

Here are a few tips for those who’ve never even considered developing a green thumb until this very moment. It’s likely your indoor greenery will find you when you are least prepared: given as gifts, or perhaps grabbing your attention while strolling through a local market. It’s important to know how to care for these eye catching plants, so practice these Do’s & Don’ts on how to care for succulents will start you on your gardening way!

Do’s for taking care of your succulents

Plant your succulents in an area that will receive at least a half day of sunshine. For more vibrant colors, plant them in an area with more sun. Make sure your succulents receive some level afternoon shade if you live in a warmer environment. You don’t want them to shrivel in the sun and they can if exposed for a long period of time.

Plant your succulent plant in well-draining soil! If planting your succulent in a container instead of in a garden bed, you should always line the bottom of your container with a layer of gravel. It’s absolutely terrific for drainage. Sometimes, it’s best if you use a cactus potting mix (sand & soil mixture) instead of a normal potting soil. It’s all about water retention with succulents! Try finding these types of succulents; Hawthoria, Jade, or Gasteria variety. My favorite is Jade. They’re great for beginners and they provide your garden or terrarium with interesting colors and textures.

Place your succulents in containers medium size planters for growth. Make sure your container has holes for water to drain. Succulents don’t like to sit in waterlogged soil, so drainage is important to prevent rot.

Don’ts for taking care of your succulents

Over water your succulents! Really! I know you’ll be tempted because this was always my problem at first, I insisted they needed to be watered all the time! Succulents store water in their stems, so over watering is the fastest way to kill your succulents. Plants only need to be watered once weekly or Bi-weekly by doing this you will see little does go a long way!

Don’t spray with a spray bottle, regardless of what that one pin on Pinterest said. Succulents hate to be misted. When watering, you’ll want to water the soil directly. This is best for your little succulents to grow! Fertilize your succulent plants too much. Succulent plants only need to be fertilized once a month, if that much. Apply sparingly when you do feed them and then water thoroughly.

Don’t keep your little succulent in the same spot. Succulents love direct sun, but if yours is sitting in the same exact spot day after day, it’s likely that only one side is getting enough light. Rotating the plant often will help them stand up straight instead of leaning towards one side.

By following these do’s and don’ts should help you kick start your green-thumb for succulents! Flymeawaycreations Etsy shop creates unique planters that work great with succulents , each planter that is listed will note if it works well with succulents or air plants. You can follow the link below to see over 20 different style planters!

www.flymeawaycreations.com

Growing Herbs in Water

No garden? No Space? No Problem! You can grow your own indoor herb garden without a pinch of soil! Even if you live in an apartment with nothing more than a tiny back porch or balcony, there is still room to grow some fragrant herbs. All you need is water, sunlight, and a place for your plants to spread their roots. There are several fresh herbs that will grow well in water such as; Oregano, Basil, Sage, and Peppermint.

You can take cutting right off the fresh herbs that you buy in the store. Wash them and cut them to about 6 inches and put them into the water filled containers. Make sure to remove the leaves from any part of the stem that will be under water. If the stems are not 6 inches long to start with, you still need to cut the end off, so that they will start to root. Most herbs will root fairly quickly if you start them this way. If the herb has a woodier stem, such as rosemary, they are a little more time consuming to start. The water must be changed once a week without removing the plant from the container. It can take as long as six weeks for the roots to start growing. Once they do, the water does not need to be changed that often.

Now that you have your favorite herb, the container is the next element that you will need! Using colored glass works best, since herb roots do not like direct sunlight. The easiest way to stop this problem is to put them in a container that blocks direct sunlight. If you don’t have any dark containers, you can use clear glass just don’t’ place the glass directly in the sunlight (like a window sill). This is where your imagination can come into play by displaying and growing your herbs! Flymeawaycreations Etsy shop has a cute vintage set of bottles that would work great with this DIY project. You can find these cute bottles by following the link below the post.

The water that you will use is important as well. You can use tap water, but you need to let it sit for 24 hours before using it. You can also use bottled water, but I still recommend that you let it sit out for at least 8 hours before using. The best water to use is rain water that you can catch by sitting out a bucket or jug. For myself I use rainwater to water all my indoor plants by sitting out a bucket outside to collect large amounts of water.

So if you don’t have a green thumb or garden space don’t worry! Just grab your favorite herb clipping and place it into a little glass container with water and in little time you will have your own little fresh herb garden!

Vintage bottles

https://www.etsy.com/listing/592501834/vintage-mini-bottles-set-with-cork

Meet The Maker

#MarchMeetTheMaker is a great challenge for many creative makers to showcase the social media world their creativity! For this year the month long challenge and strives are bigger and better than before! You can see for yourself a month of creative posting on Instagram and discovering an incredible amount of new talent to follow. As an Etsy shop owner I am participating along with this challenge and couple of my friends are too. I wanted to share along in this blog post a little bit about myself the “face”behind the shop’s name Flymeawaycreations and highlighting two Etsy shop’s!

I’m Angela the owner of Flymeawaycreations, and I was born and raised in NC. I love gardening, art, and especially nature. I wanted to create a shop blending my passions into one, so when you visit the shop you will see the shop inspired by my art, nature, and gardening! I’m a southern girl at heart! I love sweet tea, being outdoors, spending time with my family, and I love being creative! I love using the 3D printer for my designs, which it plays a huge part in the making many of the planters that are listed in the shop. Technology is growing so why not blend it with art and creativity! The idea name behind Flymeawaycreations was helped by my kids and the love of butterflies since I was a little girl.

To see and follow the shop on Instagram and on Etsy visits the links below:

http://www.instagram.com/Flymeawaycreations/

Etsy shop: http://www.Flymeawaycreations.com

Lucy Katze, is a small business owner known as, obsessedwithorganics, and a native of Los Angeles, California and currently lives in Michigan. She’s a solo mom of 6 and DIY addict. This vegan hippy animal lover is literally obsessed with organics. Her strange obsessions with all things organic lead her to her Etsy store where you can find vegan organic salve (multipurpose moisturizer) that is available.

A core value that she has always had and now incorporates into her business is the golden rule. Treat others as you wish to be treated. Salve is a definite must in your natural pharmacy. It’s perfect for relieving skin irritations, inflammations and wounds. There is minimal risk of negative skin reaction or allergy because salve contains few and simple ingredients. Plus it’s vegan and cruelty free. Her salve is available at Rare Earth Goods in Ishpeming, Michigan and Madgoodies in Marquette, Michigan.

You can visit her Etsy store, Instagram, and email by following the links below

http://www.etsy.com/shop/obsessedwithorganics

http://www.instagram.com/obsessedwithorganics/

email is: owithorganics@gmail.com

Jodie, owner of Ornamental by J Phelan, which you can find on Etsy, Facebook, and Instagram, has a unique shop with very cute hand-sewn ornaments! Many years ago she began making animal figurines and other momentous for family and friends. They have either symbolized an event in her life, such as an amazing travel memory, or just been inspired by the world around her. She notes, “I’m always amazed when the picture in my head comes to life in my hands”. Traditionally, she would give these as Christmas gifts, always left as a big surprise until that day. Many people have told her that they love them so much that the figurines are left out year round to enjoy. With their encouragement she opened an Etsy Shop sharing the joy with others by capturing the essence of one moment in time in a small figurine that she created. I hope you too come to enjoy seeing the world thru her eyes and the love of these handmade figurines as much as I do! Jodie has also adopted the reduce/reuse/recycle attitude and started to make decor items by up cycling and re purposing whenever she can.

You can visit her Etsy store, Instagram, and Pinterest by following the links below

http://www.etsy.com/shop/OrnamentalByJPhelan

http://www.Instagram.com/ ornamentalgal/

https://www.facebook.com/ornamentalbyjphelan/

https://Pinterest.com/ ornamentalgal/

Container Gardening for Beginners

Everyone has the time and the space to have a garden. No matter how busy you are or how small your yard or even if you don’t have a yard at all, you surely have room for a plant-filled container or two. Container gardening is quickly becoming one of the most popular growing techniques.

How do I start a container garden?

GARDENING in containers is a fascinating way of growing plants. It has expanded the horizons of gardening for homeowners and often has provided the only way to garden for apartment and condominium dwellers. Planting in containers has also provided a contemporary aspect to gardening. The use of unusual plants in unusual pots and containers provides interest and color to surroundings that were once considered drab. Containers bring plants up close and personal. You can choose the plant, the container, and the location. And when you put them all together, you can stand back and marvel at what you’ve created.

Interesting containers often make plants more picturesque, and the varieties available are almost endless. Color, size and texture are important, but the most important consideration when choosing a container is whether it has adequate drainage holes. Flymeawaycreations Etsy shop has over 20 different style planter containers that have drainage holes to help water flow for any plant!

Most people fill their containers with plants that grow for a single season; at the end of the season they toss the plants and start with fresh plants for the next round of growing. This is the easiest way to grow plants in containers because you don’t have to worry about the temperature extremes that challenge many plants, especially in regions with cold winters. Fear not: Choosing this option doesn’t mean you sacrifice anything. Some of the biggest, brightest, and longest-blooming flowers are ideal for single-season containers, as are most vegetables. For example, petunias, impatiens, beans, and tomatoes are grown as annuals and enjoyed for a single growing season. They require just a few months of commitment from you.

Helping Your Container Plants Thrive:

Plants in containers need a little more ongoing attention than plants in the ground. Container plants depend on you for their water and nutrients. Poorly drained potting mixture can lead to root problems. Under conditions of excess moisture and poor aeration, roots become stressed and are easily invaded by root rotting fungi. Under these circumstances, plants fail to grow properly or even die. Commercial potting mixtures are ideal for container plants. These are referred to as “soil less mixtures” because they do not contain soil but rather various combinations of minerals and peat moss as well as either per-lite or ground pine bark. The latter two components are used to improve drainage and aeration. The better commercial mixes are also fortified with fertilizer and lime as well as a wetting agent. These mixtures can be found at any local gardening shop, known as “potting soil.” Some plants need full sun to thrive, but any place that has sufficient light to read by is a suitable location for some type of potted plant. The key is choosing the right plant for the spot. The corner of your desk or any sun lit room may be a perfect spot for a small plant. The great thing about growing plants in containers is that you’re not limited by climate, how much space you have, or the plants commonly available at most garden centers.

If you would like to try planting Herbs in the container you will need at least a couple hours of good sun per day. Fill the container with 2-4 inches of compost soil. If you’re planting sprouts, make sure to give them a few inches of space around the roots. If you’re planting seeds, scatter the seeds evenly across the planter. Planting succulents make sure you use a container with a drainage hole in the bottom, and use a sandy and soil mixture. Stay tuned for a new blog regarding Planting succulents!

You can follow the link to Flymeawaycreations shop to see all the different style container planters for any small plant!

www.flymeawaycreations.com

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