Marypause50 ~10 years later still a blog about gardens, simplicity, friendships, gratitude, health,

Bird Bath Dripper

   Pictured below is a cute idea that was in an illustration in a garden magazine I had. How easy this was to do! All you need is a planter hook, a watering can with a wider mouth & a birdbath. Freeze some blocks of ice in containers small enough to accommodate the opening to your can. Position the can by the handle on the hook overhanging the birdbath. Pop the ice blocks out of the containers & place a few in the watering can. The slow melt of the large ice blocks will create a slow drip into the birdbath. It was a real conversation piece at a recent party here & the birds love moving water. It may attract a few species you’ve never seen in your backyard before! My watering can came from a garage sale & I spray painted it with leftover ‘Key Lime’ paint. The plant hook has been in my garage for years not being used. Total cost of water feature $1.00!


New Product Alert - Moisturizers, Hair & Sunscreen

   I always love passing along an awesome product or two. At the drug store price point, the greatest products are there just waiting to be discovered (by myself & my teenage tester)!
   So I keep coming back to the Organix line of products. They have now branched into the skincare line & yay for us! The Moroccan argan creamy oil body lotion & dry body oil are two of the best. With the same delicate fragrance of the sensational hair products, they are wonderful to use. The body oil is used in the shower on wet skin or very damp & gives your skin a great sheen. The body lotion is ultra moisturizing & can be used anytime for a great glow. These products are at the $8.99 price point but go on sale. (This week CVS is offering $5.00 in bonus bucks for $10.00 spent – this includes hair care) The skincare line offers other scents that I am anxious to try. I also bought their Moroccan curling perfection defining cream. I have slightly wavy hair & thought I’d give it a try. What I got was an awesome ‘beach’ wavy look that is very popular now. I hope this company keeps up the good work!!
    In the sunscreen blog of last week I recommended the L’Oreal Sublime Sun line of sunscreens. Again, you can never use enough sunscreen & these are wonderful for women. Often on sale & at the $9.99 price not on sale, it’s worth it!!

Stress Less!

   Face it, stress sucks! Yes, and the more we learn about stress and its negative effects on our bodies (and lifespan), the more we realize that having simple tools that will help are actually less stressful overall! No wonder billions of us are gardeners & bird watchers! Works for me!! Below is a link to enable you to sign up for a free booklet sent right to your e-mail that will simply help you conquer stress in your life. ‘Easy’ to do things like being grateful (not always easy ~ keep that gratitude journal going), doing less, eating certain foods (ie. cherries) & getting exercise are all listed. They suggest trying the yoga posture legs-up-a-wall (see January’s Insomniacs Yoga blog). Spontaneous kissing made the list too! Tips for a better night’s sleep & conquering clutter are all listed. So many things in the course of a day can contribute to an intolerable stress level by 10 pm. No wonder we have trouble catching all the zzzzzs we need! Download & enjoy this today!
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/user-share/7yy-stress

Summer Solstice 2012

    The Summer Solstice is officially upon us at 7:09 pm EDT today. This is the official first day of summer and the longest day (most daylight) of the year. Yes, one might say that the following days begin to get shorter & shorter & that’s sadL. That, however, should not deter the ardent summer lover & aren’t we all!  Here are some summer tips & things to enjoy:
~ First & foremost enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Accept all picnic, party, pool & beach day invites you can. Those come over anytime & use the pool invites from friends are genuine!
~ Continue to wear sunscreen (see previous blog). Do not waste a day being stuck indoors because of too much sunburn from the days before.
~ So many summer reads out there. Pick one, sit in the shade & be swept away. (Janet E. Lover’s alert: Wicked Business, sequel to Wicked Appetite came out yesterday!)
~ Have a water ice, popsicle, Slurpee or Slushie on every hot day. Tastes wonderful & really takes you back. These are NOT just for kids!
~ Fireflies are out in full force now. Try this link to learn more about their blinking & sometimes deadly romance!
~ Those with municipal water need to dechlorinate the water for their pots & planters. (See previous blog). Those with well water will benefit too by filling those watering cans the day before use. This will allow the water to reach air temperature. So much better for these micro environments now that we are watering once sometimes twice a day!
~ Continue to deadhead your blooms throughout the summer. This is your best chance at extended bloom times for most perennials & to keep reseeding in check. Make it a relaxing part of your day.
~ The time is now to cut back mums, obedient plant, asters & any late summer, early fall bloomers that tend to get too tall or leggy. You have until about the 4th of July before any blooms start to form.
~ Check out the (useful with a certain degree of humor) Old Farmer’s Almanac link below for some fun summer lore & info.

http://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-summer-summer-solstice

Sunscreens - Best of Blog

    With the official start of summer this week, I would be remiss if the subject of sunscreens didn’t come up. Of course, we know that wearing sunscreens year-round is a must for us. We luckily have them built into our moisturizers & foundations so there isn’t much extra effort needed in the morning. This time of year when we spend extended time outdoors I wanted to suggest the best & take into consideration the hotter weather, the extended garden, beach & pool time we enjoy.
    The ‘foundations’ I have mentioned in a previous blog still get ‘A’ ratings this time of year. For the everyday, out the door, going to work or running errands there are still two standouts. They are Bare Minerals mineral foundation ($27-28) & Garnier’s B.B. Cream ($12). Both are very wearable in the more humid weather & have a lighter feeling type coverage.
    For the higher SPF of 50 (which is the max you will ever need), the first recommendation is Physician’s Formula Healthy Wear tinted sunscreen. ($15.00) This is a liquid, mineral based sunscreen that blends beautifully on the skin. So if you are spending extended hours outside & still need to even out the skin tone, this is a wonderful choice.
    Neutrogena’s Clear Face sunscreen ($12.00) is another award-winning choice. A sunscreen in the traditional sense, this beats putting the ‘body’ sunscreen on the face. We need to take special care here & no eye stinging found with this one. My teenage tester also gives it an ‘A’ rating.
    The final suggestions are the L’Oreal Sublime series of SPF 50 suncare. ($10.00) Why use your kids sunscreens when they have created these wonderful products just for us? Buy your own & use these for yourself. Applying sunscreen should be a treat & not a chore! You deserve it!
    All the pricing above is before any sales or coupons! See the link below for more helpful info. The most important sunscreen tips are to:
~ Apply at least a half an hour before sun exposure.
~ Apply liberally – don’t skimp by any means!
~ Reapply frequently (we sweat more than we realize!) when you are out in the sun all day, or get wet. Reapplying a half hour after you are in the sun is most effective. It helps in the event you did not apply enough the first go-round.

http://dermatology.about.com/cs/skincareproducts/l/blsunscreen.htm

Get Inspired! Stay Inspired!

   With the official start of summer just next week, I wanted to write you a little pep talk. I’d like you all to continue to get inspired about your garden & when the lazy, hazy, summer days hit to stay inspired. I know this isn’t always easy to do especially when the hot, humid air hits. We don’t all lead lives where the cooler mornings are available to us. And for most, the cooler evenings are often a battle with mosquitoes & not our favorite time to be outside. That being said, watering still needs to get done & deadheading & pinching & enjoying…
    So, my suggestion to you all is to visit someone else’s garden or visit a garden center (not a chain store). These garden centers often have beautiful displays & inspiring ideas themselves. I was fortunate enough last week to visit the home & garden of one of the many talented women gardeners that I spend once a month with at our garden club meetings. Every June, one of the ladies offers up her garden for our final luncheon meeting of the year. Every year it is a very inspiring day & this year was no exception. Mary (love the name) is a true master gardener who transformed her ash tree & brush-shrubbed yard into a shade garden masterpiece. (Photos at left). She has created paths and destinations & focal points. When you see a garden so masterfully & intimately created over many years, you get happy, re-energized & inspired to tackle your own daunting project areas. Face it, we all have them. A garden is never truly complete. I mean, what fun would that be really. (What dreams would we have to keep us going over those chilly winter nights!) So get visiting. Whether it be a friend or a friend of a friend’s garden you’ve heard about, or a creative garden center, just a few hours there will charge your battery & get you ready for the summer solstice & a summer full of gardening pleasure!

Hydrangea

   There are a handful of shrubs with standout blooms. Lilac is the beauty for spring. The hydrangea is spectacular for summer. I can’t even begin to cover all the topics about varieties, color change & pruning for bloom. I have a link below that will cover all the questions. I still have a mophead that I can’t get to bloom. (It is now a personal challenge! Now after reading the link below I feel we need to part ways. It is taking up valuable real estate. It was an Easter ‘tin foil’ plant & not for my zone apparently) I now have an ‘Endless Summer’ variety that I LOVE. (Pictured at left). It will have these delicate, multi-colored blooms late summer through fall. It makes up for the other guy! They make great cut flowers & dried flowers. You will need a lot of room for hydrangea & consider that they are not evergreen. You will have an empty space with sticks come wintertime. Alas, it is so worth it!

Summer Perennial Favorites ~ Honorable Mention

   The last of my suggestions I have as honorable mentions. These are truly beautiful perennials to add to your gardens too!
~ Black-Eyed Susan/Rudbeckia – This beautiful, long-lived perennial has an extended bloom time also. You can expect blooms from summer through early fall. It likes full sun and will take light shade. It also tolerates the heat well & is drought tolerant. It blends nicely with coneflowers, phlox, yarrow, bee balm & sedum.
 ~ Asiatic Lilies – These beauties are in your garden stores now in full blooming glory. There are so many colors & varieties to choose from. When I picked my first ones years ago I just when with my ‘this is soooo beautiful gut’. Many years later some are still blooming in my cottage garden. For a medium – tall pop of color these are a great way to mix it up!
~ Cranesbill/Hardy Geranium – With many varieties, these easy to grow, low mounding perennials are a great late spring/summer bloomer. They are long-lived, tolerate heat & come in lovely shades of pinks, purples & white.
~ Hosta/Plantain Lily – With so many varieties that love the shade, these beautiful foliage plants (the flowers are really not their strength) can’t be beat. Really pay attention to the ‘spread’ on the plant tags. You really may not one the will be almost 3 feet in 3 years!
~ Campion/Lychnis – The rose campion is my favorite with its soft, silver foliage and simple magenta flowers that are a standout on these 18”-24” stems. Keep deadheading for summer-long blooms and to keep the volunteers in check. They reseed easily. I have used the first year ‘babies’ as a silver annual filler. They don’t mind being transplanted & the next year they are ready to wow you with blooms.