The calendar has come full circle again and we find ourselves back in the winter months. While many days may keep us stuck inside, there is much ahead for us and we can be planning for future warmer days outdoors as we work on things indoors.

Here are some things you can be doing:

 

1. Decorate! Decorate! Decorate! Granted, we aren't usually as enthusiastic for decorating at this time of year in comparison to November and December, but there's certainly still occasion to bring a smile on a smaller scale. There are several February holidays to decorate for. Do them all if you have time, or simply focus on one: Valentine's Day Feb. 14th, President's Day Feb. 15th, and Mardi Gras.

 

2. If you're planting from seed, now's the time to be starting plants indoors if you are in the southern part of the US. Northerners will want to wait a bit, but do follow the guidelines for your area. What I do know is that the time to plant will quickly come upon you and you will want to be ready. For those who are using nursery plants, you should be thinking about placement and what you want to grow this year.

 

3. Pot preparation. Many of the garden centers already have their spring pots out. For the best choices, get them now if available. It also helps to spread out the cost when the time comes. Now is a great time to paint pots also if you plan to go that route. Being stuck inside doesn't have to be boring! Have a pot painting party with your gardening buddies.....and don't forget to take pictures!

 

Also, as you plan to plant your Incredible Plant Stand this year, I wanted to let you know that the "Instruction Sheets" section is now open to all in case you have misplaced your instructions that you received when you made your purchase originally. You might want to take a few minutes to review what you need here.

 

So......let's get with it so we're ready when the time comes!

 

I always enjoy visiting my local craft store early in the year to see what's new for the coming holidays. I also keep in mind what I have that can be reused multiple times in the year. Here I recycled a gold pot I had used for Christmas. It was already put together with a patio stand and Christmas ornaments, so I just removed the ornaments and replaced them with Valentine's items. The red sparkley heart is styrofoam (easy to slide onto the stand). The bow is handmade and has two white doves glued on top. There are twelve single silk roses, 6 red, 6 white, along with 5 ivy picks for some green, and a red feather boa wrapped around the top of the pot. It's finished off with an "I Love You" pick. At my store, all of these items were 30-50% off. Because I reused my pot and plant stand, the cost was kept to a low $23.00 and a little time. The pot could move on into March as a "pot of gold" for St. Patricks day, but we'll see how that goes!

 

Members may print the instructions for this project here.

You can purchase your Incredible Patio Plant Stand here.

 

When I think of Mardi Gras New Orleans comes to mind. While I personally don't celebrate this occasion, there are many who do. Over the past few years we have seen this celebration spread far beyond New Orleans, so here's another opportunity to decorate. I do love the color combinations! This decoration is done on a large plant stand. I decided to check out a local party store to see what was available and found the masks, boa, sprays and beads there. The masks were a very flimsy plastic, so I had to be careful making the holes for the plant stand and the finished display will have to be carefully placed where weather or pets won't disturb it. The ornament on the side is a tear drop shape...not the right colors, so I painted it the colors I wanted.

This project can be done on a smaller scale on the Patio or TableTop Plant Stand, too. I did find some much smaller plaster masks at my craft store that could be painted. There were beads and feathers there, too. If I get a chance, I'll try out some of those things and add them to the Decorating Instructions on the web site. 

 

Members may get detailed instructions here.

Purchase your plant stands here.

Not a Member yet? Join here.

Our homes and gardens are in an ever changing state. Just moving things around can oftentimes create a whole new look! Try featuring something different each month or quarterly if monthly is too much for your schedule. You will be surprised at how rewarding this can be and you won't be bored!  

 

Next time we'll talk about spring planting and the next fun holiday that will come our way!

 

Until then.....keep planning, painting, and growing!