Seed Sowing Saturday and Saturday Cuttings.

Saturday.  A day of rest.  Or a day to work in the garden.  Today it was the garden.  Finally got the energy to rake up the dogs winter bathroom area.  Got tired of watching where I walk to go see my flowers.  Not upset with the dog mind you as I wouldn't want to walk all over the yard in 2 feet of snow to do my business.  It just happens that right outside the kitchen door is where some of my gardens are.

Anyways.  On to todays special topics.  First for Saturday Cuttings a little something from a new gardening book I just got Your Backyard Herb Garden by Miranda Smith - "Herb Gardens are a delight in every possible way". Not a big thing but so important to me.  I love herbs.  I love growing them and cooking with them.  I love to just run my hand over the mounds of an herb and smell the sweet scents fill the air.  They are usually very pretty to look at as well.  And many are perennials so plant once and forget it....sorta.

Anyways the reason for that particular saying today also has to do with Seed Sowing Saturday.  Today I started my herbs.  I had started some in the greenhouse already but I stupidly started messing around and turned them all over.  So since none have started and or are now buried too deep to grow I started some inside this time.  Here is a list of what I started today.
Thyme
Sage
Savory - Summer
Basil
Cinnamon Basil
Lemon Basil
Echinacea
Rosemary
Marjoram
Marshmallow
Lavender
Parsley

So not a big informative post today but thats ok.  Stop by The Sundial Garden and read other Saturday Cuttings, and then over to The Home Garden to see other Seed Sowing Saturday posts.

PS
My daughter looked at me today and told me I have too many gardening books.  And asked me why so many, when a couple of them all have the same plants in them.

My answer - Because each book tells me something about a plant that another may not.  That and if I want to grow the best vegetables and herbs I want to know as much as I can

Shannon - But can't you just look it all up on the internet anyways?

Me - Yes but I can't take the internet out to the greenhouse with me.

Shannon - Sure you can...your iTouch has the internet on it.  And that fits in your pocket.

Me - True but how can I let you learn about gardening if I only have the internet...books are better.

Am I on the computer too much?  Or am I in the garden too much?

Water bottles

I have had a lot of comments about the coke bottles and the uses.  But most said that they hadn't seen them.  So it got me thinking.  What else can we use that more would have access too?

What I came up with was water bottles.  These also come in various sizes.  Pictured is a small 8oz bottle.  Almost like the Coke bottle's just slimmer.  Given the similar characteristic of the coke bottle these should work quite well.  I would just take the label off first.

So until next time I am off.  Have a good one and look for more idea's soon.

Coke bottle fun

Have you ever gone into Walmart right before a holiday or big event?  Seen the Odd Shaped Coke Bottles?  Like around Super Bowl time....Football shapes, or Ball shaped in December.  Well here is a cool thing you can do.  It combines your garden and crafts.

Potpourri in a bottle:

Make a gift for that special football lover, or an ornament for the tree.  Here is how.

Step 1 - Drink the coke.  Very important step.
Step 0.5 - Buy the bottle - Guess we should do that first huh
Step 2 - Rinse the bottle well and dry out as best as you can
Step 2.5 - Remove lable
Step 3 - ADULTS ONLY FOR THIS STEP PLEASE!!!! Using a knife/scissors/utility knife cut small holes around the bottle.  I did 4 around the middle.  This step allows the smell of what we put in to come out.
Step 4 - Chose the scent - Any nice smelling Herb is good, rose peddles....etc be creative
Step 5 - Add scent to bottle - best to have dried herbs but fresh cut is fine
Step 6 - Replace the cap on top - keeps the mess down...
Step 7 - Add colorful yarn around the neck of the bottle....making sure that it is tight enough to hold the bottle if hung.
Step 8 - Give to recipient....or self

Here are the 2 that I have in th house.  The Snowball Coke Bottles.

Have some lavender?  Add it to a bottle.  Add yarn if you please.  Or like me I just have it sitting on my desk.  Every so often I like to give it a little shake to let a fresh burst of Lavender into the air.

Here we have Cedar Shavings.  They smell great and again shake for a fresh burst of scent.

For the hanging ones I added a ziptie around the neck first and tied the year to that.  But each bottle has 4 hold around it's middle .  I chose the middle because with Herbs after a while shaking will also crush the dried herbs....and you may make a mess.  I am sure that there is a far better way to allow the smells escape but as of yet I don't have one.  

I don't recommend glueing the top onto the bottle so that you can change the herbs out or just change scents. Or add more.  

Granted the guys in your life may not like this but the ladies will.  And it can make for an interesting conversation piece.