poor man's gard{en}

ways to feel good about your

gardening self 

with a little bit of water, some proper soil &

sun you can grow these. even with an

amateur green thumb:

chives

mint

(it will seriously take over your 

yard if you don't plant it in it's own

pot or planting bed)

thyme

oregano

rosemary

sage

lavender

(this plant LOVES the sunshine. loves it)

succulents

these eight types of plants have been

the easiest for us to grow & maintain.

we started them at seed, but you can buy

them mature and transplant them to your own

pot or planting bed. it's honestly that simple.

although,

it is helpful to have an 

organic pesticide handy for little

bugs that like to eat your herbs.

if you are thinking about starting your

own herb garden, or simple garden, 

you should start planting in the next few weeks.

spring is the best time for most plants

(although california does have pretty great weather

for us amateur gardeners)

mr. amazing and i transplanted 

our veggies 

(tomatoes, bell peppers 

& jalapenos, so far)

this past friday.

we are looking forward to 

planting some other kinds of

fruit and veggies in the next month or

so. in addition to painting the outside of the

house and landscaping the front.

i know. i know. 

i hope you have had a fabulous tuesday.

my day has consisted of getting my resale 

license, dba and business license. 

disregard{en} is finally

an official business! woo!!!

              .jessnicole.

poor man's gard{en}

well somehow i managed

to get myself sick (again)

this last weekend.

so i didn't get to work much

but mr. amazing did garden a little

so i thought i would share some of

his hard work with you.

he gets all the credit...

the best pot of succulents
by mr. amazing
(in an old four canister)

and lovely lavender

that used to look like this

(that plant in the middle)

and remember the different stages of the

side of our garage???

stage 1

stage 2

stage 3 

(current)

it is growing like crazy!

 huge huge bush of lavender

 that looked like this when we first planted it

(that plant to the far left. i know.
it went crazy. it LOVES sunlight)


more pots of succulents 
by mr. amazing

we are planning on painting the outside

of our little home

in the next month or so. 

so stay tuned for 

poor man's gard{en}: phase three

[phase three, right? i can't keep track]

and after we paint the outside,

we'll be planting in the front

of the house! finally! then, our neighbors

won't hate us for such a sad and forgotten 

house...

and, not that it has anything
to do with our actual home,
but it is an exciting addition to our little
family 
{not a baby. yet.}
our new little car.
meet parker the prius. 
we love him.

well i hope you have enjoyed your
lovely tuesday!


see you thursday for
lost&found.


love.
                  .jessnicole.

poor man's gard{en}

this week has been 

devoted to

the flea market

{which is this 

upcoming sunday}

but i thought i would

share some photos

of the progress

of our little garden.

last week, mr. amazing

strung wire from the 

edge of the roof to the ground.

this way we can train the small

trees/bushes along our garage

to group up the wire.

it is a much cheaper version

of lattice. just more work.

ask mr. amazing...

here is what the side

of our garage looks like now.

just for fun i thought i would

show you what it looked like 

six months ago.

they went crazy!

i can't wait until the plants

are covering the entire side

of our garage. 

keep in mind we are painting

the outside of the house/garage

sometime this spring. that will definitely

help..

oh, and here are a few photos

of some of the plants we will

be planting in the front yard.

once we prepare the soil...

i cannot wait until spring

finally arrives and it warms up.

but for now, i can enjoy the rain.

hope you are enjoying your tuesday 

friends.

for those of you who can make it,

i am looking forward to seeing you 

this sunday!

                     .jessnicole.

poor man's gard{en}

i love the last end of winter...

it reminds you spring

is just around the corner.

and spring means new flowers, vegetables, 

herbs & plants!

but first 

pruning, trimming, uprooting, 

and tilling need to happen... 

just in the last few days we

{well, mostly mr. amazing} 

have been able to assess our

little garden and give it some

much needed attention.

jonathan planted some succulents

today we found three plants on clearance

at our local hardware store.

they are going to look amazing in the front.

well, once we paint the outside of the house

and uproot the roots from those nasty bushes

and, well, that's a start...

and are going to build lattice for our

growing trees and tomatoes to climb

their way up...

and of course i had to bring

the outside in.

since it is finally starting to feel

like spring. i love california winters.

they are quick and allow for being outdoors...

oh, and they mean cheap flowers at the

downtown flower market.

i cannot wait to start painting and planting.

it will have to wait until after the flea market.

there is just too much to do...

and, i am finally feeling back to normal 

after four solid days of being out with the flu.

ugh.

i hope you are enjoying your tuesday friends.

stay warm 

friends-who-live-outside-sunny-california.

                         .jessnicole.

poor man's gard[en]

i love mornings that follow rain.

and i love that it finally feels

like autumn.

finally.

dear weather, please stay that way.

our little garden survived

the triple digit heat.

and is, of course, loving this weather.

we did not work on our garden

this past weekend 

{since we were in

mexico celebrating our anniversary!}

but the amazing thing about gardens

is you can leave them for a few days

{obviously with someone watering while 

you are gone...}

and they do just fine.

our little garden is going to town.

i thought i'd share some photos 

of our garden with you.

please take note that mr. amazing

has done a majority of the planting

of our new seedlings.

because, well, he is amazing.

thank you jonathan.

if you haven't seen the photos

of our garden when we first planted,

you can go here and here.

it is so fun to see the transformation

and growth.

and here is where our garden is now.

she is beautiful.

 

our basil is going crazy.

we had to transplant the tiny seedlings

into bigger pots. and a lot of them.

   

 chives & mint

salvia

 our dill. 

this is our very

first plant we started from

our own seeds. meaning, our old dill

gave off seeds & we took those seeds

and planted them. 

{& by we, i mean jonathan}

our thyme. it started as seeds buried

beneath the soil. i'm so proud.

and the seedlings jonathan recently planted.

look at them sprouting!

we'll have peppers & tomatoes in no time!!

and jonathan researched natural sweeteners

and purchased this stevia.

it is actually sweet. honestly.

i might not use it for baking 

but putting in smoothies would be refreshing...

amidst the amazing growth in our little

garden, we have come across two

pests: mold & caterpillars.

the mold loves our zinnia, the caterpillars 

love our basil & mint 

{surprisingly not our tomatoes}

so we have had to cut back our zinnia to 

prevent the spreading of mold & captured

caterpillars to prevent them from eating our plants.

but don't worry. the caterpillars are being

loved by the cutest red headed children we know, who, 

are really hoping to have butterflies soon.

what was once a pest, is now a pet.

perfect.

i hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

jonathan and i had the most romantic weekend.

it felt like our honeymoon.

only a year later.

sigh.

mexico was stunning, the ocean breeze was refreshing,

the food was satisfying and our time to recap

our whole first year of marriage & set goals for

the next year was so good.

here are a few photos of our view.

i know.

have an amazing tuesday sweet friends.

it is supposed to rain this afternoon.

hopefully it will.

this weather is perfect.

                .jessnicole.

poor man's gard[en]

today's poor man's gard[en] 

features the inside garden

{our interior details...}

by special request

i have taken a few photos

of what is inside our 

kitchen cabinets

so, here we go...

we decided to stick to an all white

dish palette. our dishes consist

up of multiple white sets. 

all of our dishes are found from

thrift stores. honestly.

mr. amazing is a genius

at finding the best

items. in fact, nothing we 

own have we paid full price for.

{if you want some tips on how to find such amazing items, 

stay tuned. i will soon have a post featuring tips from jonathan himself.} 

oh, and in case you missed my previous kitchen post

our pantry

and, jonathan and i thought it would be

fun to share some gardening tips with my readers

starting a garden is honestly so rewarding

and super simple. you do not have to be 

a gardener or have a super green thumb...

just love for life & fresh herbs/produce.

some tips & things we have learned so far with 

gardening...

1. use craigslist free for perfect finds

{such as discarded or unwanted plants or pots}

2. try & start your plants from seed. it is much

more enjoyable to watch the process.

3. get an idea of the type of lighting your

gardening area gets 

{morning sun, noon sun, afternoon sun}

4. knowing the type of lighting will help

you understand the type of plants you want

5. basil, mint, chives, oregano, sage & parsley

are the best herbs to start with. 

6. composting is ideal once you get the hang

of gardening. perfect for fertilizing your soil

and providing rich nutrients.

7. use an organic pesticide. jonathan has

found that mild organic dish soap

& water works great to keep bugs away.

8. cultivating your soil is key before you 

start planting  

9. find discounted plants & flowers

in the back section at your local

hardware store's garden center

{even if plants look dead, you would be

surprised with how a little water, new

soil & patience can bring something back to life} 

10. do not be afraid to trim plants. 

they love to be trimmed & will grow even faster.

sort of like hair....{right?}

11. make sure you enjoy your outdoor garden.

sit, read, drink wine, eat meals. 

even in the autumn weather.

we have plenty more tips & experiences

but that is a great start.

remember, even a few pots on your porch

can be a great start to a little garden.

i promise.

and then, you can eventually cook with

the herbs & produce you grew.

have a wonderful tuesday.

don't you feel like doing this all day?

i do. it is just one of those days...

                .jessnicole.