Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Grow A Beautiful Garden

Before sharing tips on how to grow a beautiful garden one should know 'Why to grow a garden'.

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"_Marcus
"A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness, it teaches industry and thrift, above all it teaches TRUST"_Gertrude Jeky
"Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years" _ Anon




Now you know the benefits of growing a garden. Here are some tips I am sharing to grow a healthy and beautiful garden.

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1. Soil: 
First and most important step involve in growing a garden is to maintain good soil. Soil should be fertile and healthy. You can improve quality of your soil by adding compost/manure every year if you are growing flower and vegetable garden. No need to add compost if you are growing herbs. 
Check soil pH if it is too acidic then add some lime to control the pH. Healthy soil pH is considered between 5 to 8. That is neither very acidic nor very alkaline. Though it varies from plant to plant.
Add mulch (protective layer of material like bark, wood, plastic on the soil) to the top layer of soil, it will maintain soil temperature, maintains soil moisture, control weeds, organic mulch increases soil fertility and it reduces soil splash while watering or during rains.

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2. Environment:
Environmental factors also play an important role in gardening. Main factors are water and air temperature.
Watering directly depends on weather. If it rains then you can skip watering plants, though in summers you have to make sure to water your plants regularly. Nutrients available in soil get dissolved in water and are taken up by porous roots of the plants.
When temperature is very low then plants go into dormant state and metabolism slows down. While in very hot temperature plants stop functioning properly. So its always a best idea to take good care of your plants during extreme temperature conditions. Bring your plants inside home when there is too cold and keep them in partial shady  area in very hot weather.

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3.Choose right plants:
Select your plants according to the space available and how much sunlight your space gets where you are planning to grow a garden.
If you have very limited space then going vertical is the best option. Choose plants those are dense and leafy.
If your garden space receives less or no sunlight then choosing shade loving plants like hydrangea, hostas, begonia, fern, bamboo, camellia, coral bells and fox gloves are some good options.
If your garden area receives ample amount of sunlight then choose day lily, black-eyed susan, coleus, chlorophytum, juniperus, daisy, salvia, hibiscus, petunia, verbena these are sun loving plants and thrive in sun.


4. Pots:
You can add a lot of drama to your garden by choosing some fancy and eye catching beautiful planters for your garden. You can simply paint your existing pots and can see the difference. Make a beautiful arrangement by placing pots of different color and size in cluster. Try using some unconventional pots like tree stump, plastic bottles, mugs, tyre, boots, pitcher or even an old bath tub too.

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5. Garden Accessories:
Accessorizing your garden is as important as any other space in your home. Lots of  garden accessories are available in market these days. Choose right one for your garden according to space available. Bird house and bird bath not only enhances the beauty of garden but gives shelter to thirsty and tired birds also. Gnomes, fairy, by-cycle, wagon, terracotta or sand stone figures and fountain are few to name.

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Hope you have found way to brighten up your garden and are ready for a makeover.


Sunday, 9 June 2013

Tea Time



Lately I have been in a lamp making mode. 



Here is another (if you are not to tired of lighting). 



I got this cute little silver teapot at a garage sale for only 25¢! I drilled a hole in the top of the lid after taking off the round wood knob. I then drilled a hole in the back side for the wiring to come out. I used one like this...






To simply wire it. Add a bulb and shade and it's

Tuesday, 4 June 2013

Charming One-of-a-Kind Teapot Floor Lamp!






This is one of those transformations that turns out so fantastic, that it pains me to sell the piece!









Are you curious to find out what you are looking at?










Well, let's take a look...starting with the before!






I purchased a vintage heavy floor lamp table at our local thrift store several months ago. It looked like this...



I knew it needed some work, but thought if I

Monday, 3 June 2013

A Little Playroom Grows Up Just a Bit ...

Once upon a time, a precious little boy used to have fun in this space ... banging on his little drums ... playing at his little table ... pretending he could read his little picture books.  

And, theeen, without our approval, he started to grow up!  Sadly, it was time to let go of his "little, little" boy playroom.  *Sniff, sniff.*

As much as I wasn't ready ... it was time for a change for our then 6 year old.

BEFORE:


AFTER!  Here's his "big, little boy" hang out room today!  


One thing I didn't want to let go of was the primary color scheme ... wanted this space to still feel "alive."


We traded his light blue sofa for a brown microfiber one and threw on a couple of pillows from Pottery Barn that used to be in our great room.


The British flag pillow is from a local fabric shop (Fabric Showcase) and adds a great punch of color.  The blue lamps are from a local furniture shop, and the side tables are from none other than Home Goods.

I then ordered this piece of art from "art.com."  I loved it the minute I spotted it because it's a bit vintage, full of great colors, annnnd my husband is from "Joisey":


It was then on to the curtains!  I wanted something "vintagey-nautical," full of primary colors.  When I spotted the below fabric at Fabric Showcase, I knew it just might work!  I chose to do only the upper 1/4 of the panels in the patterned fabric and opted for a solid navy blue fabric below ....


Simple cording that resembles nautical rope seperates the two:


BEFORE: Bye bye cubicles that housed bins full of trains, dinosaurs and little characters (sigh):


AFTER:  We traded the open cubicles for a console that hides his electronics, along with his video games and DVDs.



Simple colorful canvases from Bed, Bath and Beyond were added to the wall on one side of the TV ...


And, fun subway art from Hobby Lobby was added to the other:


And, for those who are wondering where we store all of his toys ... let's just say the closet full of shelves and clear bins hides a LOT ... here's a peek at one side of it.


ONE day, we'll add "regular" accent chairs in here.  For now, these "Big Joe" bean bag chairs fit the bill.  They're pretty comfy ... 


AND great for kids to jump into ... see?!  My airborne "Ninja Turtle" landed safely in the chair!  LOL


Here's hoping he enjoys his playroom like this for a few years ... NOT ready for "tween" room decorating anytime soon!

Thanks a bunch for stopping by!

Come play here:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures

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Saturday, 1 June 2013

How to Easily Clean a Granite Sink




Have you ever wondered how to keep your granite sink looking new? I can show you how to easily accomplish this, but let's start with the ugly...




We have a lot of minerals in our water and it doesn't take long for our granite sinks to look like this!
All you need to do first is to clean the sink with a non-abrasive cleaner. I use this...


After it is clean, then wipe the sinks dry. With a

Friday, 31 May 2013

Sunitha Murthy's Happiest Moment!!

I have been away from blogging these days and I have lots of reason for that and will be away for few more days. Just popped in to share a sweet moment that my blog reader Sunitha Murthy mailed me as an entry for 'Mother's Day Party & Giveaway' .  I have extended the last date of the giveaway to 20th June as I'll be away from blogging, please bear with me :) Read on what Sunitha has shared about proud Mommy moment.

'We will generally buy Bisleri 20lt can for drinking and my husband will keep the can in my kitchen as we don't feel like allowing strangers inside. My husband was out of station, so I was trying to lift the can and place it in my kitchen. Suddenly my son who is 4 yrs old told me to move and started rolling the can on the floor and kept it in the kitchen. It was my most happiest moment and I realized that my son was growing older.'

That's indeed a proud moment and sweet memory to cherish. Thank you so much Sunitha for sharing such a sweet moment with us.

Dear readers if you also want to share such lovely memories then simply write me at designdecoranddisha@gmail.com or just blog about it and link it here.

Linking this to 'Mother's Day Party & Giveaway' on behalf of Sunitha.





Thursday, 30 May 2013

The Traveling Chairs ...

Not too long ago, I scooped up these awesome chairs from World Market, knowing that they'd be perfect in our SITTING room! 


TA DAAAAAA!  Don't they look great in our DINING room?  LOL ... oops, sitting room ... please don't be too upset!


You know you've been there ... buying a piece you know would be perfect in a certain spot, only to get it/them home and place it/them somewhere else instead!  

They really are rather fun in here ... love the texture they add:


They're super comfy, especially with added pillows perched on them that match our new curtains!  


While you're in here, you can see our buffet with its simple vignette:




To tie in with the mustard yellow in the print on the sideboard, I added a yellow plate (had on hand) to two of our floating shelves:


Chunky candlesticks that used to be bronze were painted with both Old White (Annie Sloane) and Smoky Mountain (CeCe):


There, that's better!


I also pulled a couple of platters I had tucked away and placed them on the wall in the corner:


While I LOVE our new chairs in the dining room, I have a feeling they'll be traveling all over our house, including our sitting room someday!


Don't you just love your pieces that travel, too?

Thanks for stopping by,

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