Roots and Leaves - the eggs hatched!

Remember last week when I was talking about the amazing nursery I went to and I saw those gorgeous four perfect eggs? Well guess what? The eggs hatched, as eggs are want to do. 

I haven't seen the hatchlings yet but my dad sent me these photos. Life sure is amazing, is it not? Hello new life. Hello new birds. Hello spring!

1 - 2 - 3 - Counting my violets! - Roots and Leaves - Home Charm

My African Violets are loving their spot in the sun, right by the balcony door. The robins egg blue pots I got at the dollar store (yay!) look fab, and to top it off I found these fantastic glass numbers yesterday! I stuck them in the soil using old chopsticks so they could hang down. Reminds me a bit of Dr. Seuss, thing1, thing2 and thing3. lol. 

If you have trouble caring for your African Violets or think they may be too hard to handle, it's not so! The Canadian Gardening site tells us that they like bright sun for most of the day, with full sun for a few hours in the afternoon. You can see the easy growing guide here. 

Roots and Leaves - Russell Nursery

My mom and I went to this lovely new nursery this weekend named Russell Nursery. I love nurseries and always walk out with way more than I should. This nursery was right in the middle of tall pine trees and it smelled like the west coast and green air and just lovely. The nursery had an open air feel but the roof was made of thick corrugated plastic. About half way thru our visit it started to rain and the sound was amazing. I could have stood there for a long time. 

On one of the benches amidst some ferns there was a sign that said 'birds nest'. For a second I thought that the plant was named 'birds nest' but then we heard a flutter and realized there was a real birds nest with four gorgeous pale blue eggs with brown stripes. What a surprise! I was super enchanted about it. 

I bought some lovely succulent hens and chicks and black mondo grass. The potted tulips called my name but I resisted and only snapped a quick photo. I replanted the hens and chicks Sunday morning and found this lovely little snail friend. My cat also wanted to be friends with this snail of course. 

I can't wait to go back to Russell Nursery. Next time I'm definitely going to buy some more succulents. What are your favorite things to buy in a nursery?

DIY - Happy Plant - Succulent Glass Jar Planter - Roots and Leaves

I am enamoured by plants in glass jars, especially succulents. There's something about the light shining through the glass, and being able to see all the soil and rocks. Today I'm posting a DIY so that you can share in these beautiful planters.

You need soil, jars and rocks...oh and a plant of course! Any small plant will generally work, except cacti which can't abide the humidity.

Do a layer of rocks at the bottom of the jar, for drainage. Then the soil and plant. Because these are succulents (which don't like to get wet) I added a layer of rocks just below the leaf level. Not only does it help with the plant's health, but it also cleans up the top layer and makes it look nicer. 

Succulents don't like their leaves to be wet, or they rot, so make sure that the jar is big enough that the plant isn't touching the sides. This way condensation won't hurt your plant. You can keep the lid on sometimes, but make sure to take it off sometimes too to air the plant out. 

Place it in indirect sunlight, because of the glass direct sunlight will be amplified and you may end up frying your plant! Sunlight is good, but not for more than an hour or two a day. 

Roots and Leaves - Sunflower Status

The best thing that ever happened this last week was looking at where I'd planted my sunflower seeds and seeing that they were sprouting. What?! 

So far I have ten out of twelve growing. And growing fast too! Who knew?

I bought some lovely yellow pots to put my seedlings in once they've grown a bit more. And hopefully I'll have some to give away to family and friends! What good is it to grow plants if you can't share?

The best thing ever is watching plants grow from a little seed. It's such a miracle! Anyone else feel this way?

Roots and Leaves - Strawberry Love

So it's Spring now and Spring means gardening! I have wanted to do strawberries for awhile but didn't want to take up precious garden box space. Then my mom suggested doing hanging baskets and I was sold. 

Do you know how hard it is to find a good hanging basket that's pretty but also fairly inexpensive? Don't go to the gardening stores that's for sure. I finally went to Canadian Tire and found these lovely metal and fiber liner. Shop around-that's the moral of the story. 

I don't know much about growing strawberries. Everything I've learned is from my mom, a few gardening books and the back of the strawberry container. And of course the internet. Here's hoping they grow!

Did you know strawberries aren't considered 'true' fruit since their seeds are on the outside? Weird. Also did you know that there is such a thing as white strawberries? Uber weird! And the strawberry is actually part of the rose family which probably explains why both Crystal and I think roses smell like strawberries!

What's your favorite way to eat strawberries? I love them fresh with a bit of whip cream but apparently you can eat them stewed or even pickled. 

Roots and Leaves - Sunflowers from Seed

At work we had a show and share where the children had to bring something about Spring and one of the little boys brought some seeds he'd planted with his mom. I loved this-so cute!

I bought some seeds last night and got out my gardening supplies. Planted them in a seedling container and placed them by my window and heater. Here's hoping they sprout soon!

Interesting facts about sunflowers:

-the Netherlands grew the tallest sunflower ever

-the scientific name for the act of the sunflower following the sun is heliotropism 

-one sunflower head has over 2000 seeds

-the sunflower originated in North America 

Sunflowers represent warmth, happiness and positivity. Who doesn't want some of that in their life?

You can make it Beautiful - Painted Fork Plant Stakes DIY

I want to say this came to me in a dream but it actually came to me during a night when I couldn't sleep so I guess it came to me in a not-dream? Anyways I was excited to try it out. 

Crystal and I bought these lovely forks at a thrift shop but didn't have a use for them right away so I commandeered five. In my vision I wanted the paint to be a light turquoise/mint color which I ended up having to mix. 

I painted them with two coats in a kind of half hazard way. I didn't want them to look super perfect, more whimsy and charming. I left enough room to write the plant names. 

I embassingly actually had to look up a couple of my plants. Who knew I had a goosefoot? Definitely not me! At least this is the last time I have to look it up since now I can refer to my handy dandy plant stakes. 

Stick them tongs down into the dirt. Gotta warn you that they shouldn't get wet as the paint may come off, depending on what you use. But they add a little bit of fun to any plant and what a great gift!

What color would you paint yours? A dark red would offset the green of the plant. Or maybe a blue. What's your favorite?

Roots and Leaves - Basil-opia - Growing Basil from Seeds

Crystal and I found this adorable little basil kit at Target the other week and decided to finally plant it. Who doesn't love basil? It was quite easy really - everything was included in the kit. We added water to the 'earth', made holes for the seeds, poured in way too many and then put it on the window sill where hopefully it will sprout and grow and become yummy! 

I was looking up some information on basil to share and came across this awesome info-graphic on propagating basil. (Not sure what the actual link is, since it just went to the image-so if it's yours, let us know!) Also this lovely blog (Garden Therapy) which has more detailed instructions. 

Pitchfork Diaries has a great post about different basil types. Someday I want to have that gorgeous purple kind-isn't it divine? What kind would you want to grow? 

When this basil finally grows, we are going to make a big pot of fresh basil pesto pasta. Nothing better in the world, am I right? 

St Patricks Day Two Part Post - Lucky Clover - Planting Day!

Found this cute clover planting kit at Target the other day, and had to get it! Comes with a little pot, some planting medium (soil? possibly?), and the seeds! Super tiny seeds! It said only use 4-5 seeds in the pot....ahem...I may have used more. But I want LOTS of clover. It's supposed to be four leaf clover too, so lots of wishes.

Stay tuned for the second part of this post documenting the emerging clover!! (Hopefully in time for the holiday!) 

Cheers!! Crystal

Roots and Leaves - Air Plant Love

Crystal has been loving air plants for years but I'm slightly new to them. Still, I got on the band wagon a couple of weeks ago and bought these three beautiful specimens from a local florist. 

I'm still figuring out how to take care of them. (This lovely post on A Beautiful Mess is a great source.)  And of course my sister has years of knowledge. 

One thing I'm still working on is watering. I'm finding I water them twice a week and then leave them in the sink to dry upside down for a couple of hours. I need to buy a spray bottle so I can mist them as well. 

I have them in an area that doesn't get a ton of sun so we'll see how it goes. I'll give an update soon. If you have any questions on how to take care of them then post them here and we'll do our best to answer. 

I want to get a few more little ones. Definitely one thing I've found with all kinds of plants is that they're