Window Box Lettuce

I planted lettuce in my kitchen window box again this year.  However, this year I actually get to enjoy it right out of my kitchen window.  You see, last year my husband made me some window boxes.  He made three:  two for the front windows on our house and then one for the back window by the kitchen.  The third window box was never completed last year.  I don't even remember why!  It sat unfinished and unpainted in the garage all year long.  I planted lettuce in the liner in spring and eventually planted some flowers later in the summer, but the liner just sat on the ground underneath the window.  It was so sad!  This spring, I filled nail holes, caulked, sanded, and painted it.  Then, Jason set to work hanging it up.

Here is the kitchen window before the installation of the window box.

I'll save you the details of how the window boxes were made and installed since I already posted about them last year.  If you are interested in how they were made and installed, I invite you to check it out here.

Finally getting that window box hung up under the kitchen window was so exciting!  It looks so clean and bright and detracts from the window and trim, which obviously need some work.  All in due time, right?

To give the planter a little bit of color, I did add an Aloha Tiki Soft Pink Calibrachoa.

Along with the Calibrachoa, I planted two Arugula plants, four Raisa plants, and four Buttercrunch plants.  After the lettuce dies out in a couple of weeks, I plan on planting some herbs in their place.

Have you done any planting outdoors yet?  Have you ever planted lettuce or herbs right out of your kitchen window?  I'd love to see your work or get any tips!

I'm linking up to:

Centsational Girl

Our Front Door For Spring

My plan for our front door began last fall, particularly in the month of October.  I knew that I wanted some color by our front door and decided to plant some tulip bulbs in two pots that would sit on either side of our front porch.  The boys and I set to work and planted some pink tulips in preparation for some spring weather after a long, cold Wisconsin winter.  I kept the pots in the garage all winter long so that they would not freeze too hard.  Once things began to bloom in the yard, I brought the pots outside.

These are the tulips we planted.  They are called Mistress Triumph Tulips.  However, as you will see in the following pictures, the tulips are not quite the color shown on the bag.

Here are the tulips in full bloom.  They aren't quite the pale pink I imagined, but they are still pretty.

Strangely enough, there seem to be a combination of a light red and a bright pink in both pots.  I have no idea how that happened as the package shows pale pink tulips.

Next year, I'll plant some tulips in the window boxes my husband made for me as well.  The planning has begun already!

Do you have any spring flowers welcoming visitors to your home?  I would love to see them!  Does anyone know why my pretty pink tulips morphed into red and hot pink ones?  Because seriously, I have no clue...

Have a great evening!

I'm linking up to:

Home Stories A to Z

Nesting Place

Fall Window Boxes

Hello!

We're having quite the busy week around our house.  I did manage to squeeze in some time to put together my window boxes for fall.  Jason made me these beautiful window boxes for Mother's Day earlier on in the summer.  I love them.  I can't wait to decorate them for every season.  I'm thinking pine boughs, winter berries, and lights this winter and tulips this spring.  Now, I'll show you what I did for fall.  I went to my favorite local nursery and bought some bronze colored mums, flowering white kale, pie pumpkins, green fairy tale pumpkins, and some gourds.  The white and orange (which you'll see later) pumpkins were ones that we already owned.  They are the carvable pumpkins you can buy from Michaels.  Jason filled those with sand so that they wouldn't blow away!  We've had them for about four years now.  My husband is a genius, I must say.

Like most projects around here, I had this little cutie to help me out.  Oliver was inside the house, napping away!

To begin, I cut out the white salvia which was looking a bit neglected from my lack of watering...  Oops.

I planted the kale in each of the four corners of the window boxes.

I then planted the mums in the middle.  The smaller window box got one plant and the larger got two.

I then filled in the empty spaces with my gourds and pie pumpkins.

I'm not sure how the plants I left in the box will weather in the cold, but I didn't have the heart to give them the boot.  If we get some frost and they die, I'll just pull them out.  I do like how they fill things in a little until the mums and kale get a little bigger.

This is the smaller box under our dining room window.

This is the larger box under our living room window.

Here's a full house shot.  I love our Cape Cod house!  Oh, and the orange pumpkins on the steps are the pumpkins I was talking about earlier in this post.  I'm not sure if they're staying or not.  They look a little bland compared to the vibrant orange pumpkins.  Maybe it is because they're not real!  :)

The rest of the pumpkins and gourds I used in the the planters on the porch.  I'm thinking the pots need a little height, so we're planning on taking a hike this weekend with the boys to gather some sticks.  We'll see what we can find!

I'll let you know if anything changes with these window boxes.  I'm sure I'll post about them again when the mums bloom a little bit more.  Also, what say you?  Should the bland, fake pumpkins stay or be booted to the backyard planters?

Night, all!  Have a great Wednesday!

Garden Bounty

Lately I've been busy with this:

I'm so thankful for it!  I don't even want to think about how much it would cost to purchase this in a grocery store right now.

We're on our third batch of pickle making.

I've been freezing tomatoes and beans for use in the winter.  They taste so wonderful when our garden is buried under mounds and mounds of snow!

Our little freezer is getting very full!

What have you been up to lately?

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Our garden is overflowing with these beauties.  They are threatening to take over...
I don't mind.  They're quite delicious!

I've made salads, three batches of pickles, sliced them for snacks and had almost ran out of ideas for them.  Then I stumbled across this recipe.  To make this refreshing soup you will need:

4-5 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sour cream or plain yogurt

1 green onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

4 1/2 teaspoons fresh dill

Place the cucumbers in a colander over a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and toss.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  Discard the liquid from the bowl.  Rinse the cucumbers under cold water, drain, and pat dry.

Chop your herbs and garlic.

Combine all of the ingredients into a food processor.  Cover and process until smooth.

Serve immediately.  Garnish with the dill and onions.


This soup is best served as an appetizer.  It is delightful on a hot day and has a wonderful, fresh taste.
When I made this soup, I substituted chives for the green onions.  It still tasted great!

I hope you're all enjoying these last days of summer!