This Little Bucket of Mine

My nephews always want to help me (except when it comes to picking up their toys) do "chores" when they come over to my condo. So when Ty-Ty came over last week, he HAD to help me water my flowers.

The problem was that I only had a large watering can that was way too big for him. That's where my pail from Red Hill General Store come in handy.

It was the perfect size (2 quarts) for this almost 3-year-old; however he thought it was a bit heavy so I only filled it about one-third of the way.

"Look, Mimi, I'm carrying a bucket!"

Once we got to the patio, Ty-Ty decided to water the planter next to the door first...

"Hey, it's all gone. MiMi more water!"

Then he moved on to the other planters before moving on to the landscaping around the fence. It was too cute because each time the bucket was empty, he gently set the bucket on the grounds and then turn to me and say "More water, MiMi!"

It took a bit longer than normal but it was worth watching the concentration on his face as he carefully watered each and every plant!

Interested in getting your very own bucket from Red Hill General Store?

Head on over to the Real Farmwives of America and Friends and look for the giveaway. One lucky reader will win a Galvanized Embossed Tub from Red Hill General Store.

Also, check out the Real Farmwives of America and Friends Facebook page and see how the other gals used their buckets in the home or garden!

Disclaimer: While Red Hill General Store did provide me with a bucket to blog about for this post, the photos, ideas and opinions above are my own, of course.

Newspaper + Nephew = New Landscaping

Almost a month ago I started sprucing up my small outdoor space. Well, it's been a slow process between the rain, my work schedule and, honestly, my laziness!

Recently, I recruited some slave labor help from my eldest nephew (see him enjoying the Dumbo ride during our recent trip to Disney World) to finish up the project.

 

First we tackled the two large pots flanking my front door. Above is my first attempt at filling them - I'm usually very afraid of mixing colors. As you can see I stuck with white and purple at the beginning. 

After seeing the riot of color in other people's landscaping, I decided to be bold and add some other colors. I gave the nephew the spade and told him to dig me some holes and the dirt flew! (I didn't have the camera with me at the time so I have no visual documentation.)

He informed me that he can dig some great holes because of all of his time in the sandbox! I agreed and grabbed a broom.

Here's the final product.

 

We also had to tackle spreading some mulch. It was getting hot so we did one side of the patio that morning and I finished up the other side a few days later.

One trick that my mom taught me is a clever way to control weeds using newspaper! It's such great advice that I recently saw an article in the Indianapolis Star telling folks about it.

If you have large sections of your landscaping that you don't plan on planting and you want to keep the weeds away, layer newspaper on the bare ground, wet them down and then place your mulch on top!

 

I know it's nothing like the landscaping at the folks' farm that I featured at the start of this project, but I'm proud of it and hopefully I can add to it over time.