DIY Succulent Bowl for Mother's Day

I was flipping through the three hundred catalogues that ended up in my letter box this week thanks to Mother's Day. I was mentally picking out what slippers I'd like until I realized I was now old enough to find slippers an appropriate gift and proceeded to slap myself silly.

I moved on to the homewares section, because being a fan of decor isn't quite as embarrassing as eyeing off the fluffy fox slippers, and saw a gorgeous bowl filled with succulents for a lot of money I don't have.

Because I'm a tight ass (let's say frugal, it sounds better), I thought I could totally make it myself for nowhere near that price, mostly using stuff I had at home.

I walked to the local swapmeet where about half the vendors are selling plants, and bought some little succulents that were seven for $5. I could have got more established plants for more, but this was all on a spare of the moment whim, so I didn't want to over commit!

Running total: $5

At home I grabbed a big, wide bowl that was holding a bunch of pinecones as a centrepiece on our outdoor table. The bowl was, like so much at my house, from the side of the road. Day-um I love me a road side bulk rubbish pickup!

Running total: still $5

Armed with my plants and my free bowl, I grabbed my shovel and dug up some dirt from the back of the garden. At this point I noticed a bigger succulent that had been sitting in a pot in my garden for a good six months or so, and figured it needed a new home, too. The price of the bigger one? Free. The lady, at the same markets I got the new lovelies from, had thrown it in when I bought some herbs.

I had a little helper

Running total: yep, still $5

I popped them all in, not in any particular order as I figure they'll grow and smoosh together eventually. All I really wanted was for the big guy to not be in the centre.

I'm so happy with the result and particularly the price!

Final total: $5 WOOHOO!

Because this bowl doesn't have a drainage hole, and because I kinda couldn't be bothered drilling one in it, this has to be kept in an area where it won't get too wet from sprinklers or rain. Seeing as it's a table centrepiece, it's not an issue. A few drops of water for each plant once a week is usually all these dudes need. Just keep an eye on it and adjust accordingly. You could also cover the soil with rocks to make it look pretty if you wanted to.

So happy Mother's Day to me! 

Bindii is a bitch

I am, without a doubt, a brown thumb. When I love and care for a plant it thrives... it's just that after a few weeks I lose interest and, well, everything dies. Or the weeds take over. Again.

Map Guy and I have this vision of growing our own food, maybe even having some chickens. He's even planted seeds before and enjoyed watching them sprout before becoming distracted and they ended up being strangled by weeds. Turns out the lose-interest-everything-dies thing isn't confined to the women in this house.

I sprayed the yard to kill the weeds a few weeks ago (you can send your angry "you're killing the planet with chemicals" email to me at glow@fuckoffbindiis.com) and then spent this afternoon on my hands and knees pulling them out of our back lawn. Bindii is a bitch. Not to be confused with Bindi, who I'm sure is quite lovely when you get past the unnatural happiness she radiates.

I'd clear an area and move on, only to look back and see five more of those little fuckers that I swear weren't there before. After a few hours my hands covered in vicious Bindii injuries (because I wasn't clever enough to get gloves first) and my back was in spasms. Which I'm convinced means I now have tetanus and will soon die a protracted and rather painful death.

 

I had managed to pull most of the prickles between the pavers and the trampoline - prime bare foot toddler real estate and therefore the top priority lest I spend the whole summer shouting "TRICKY, PUT YOUR DAMN SHOES ON!". But that area is only about one tenth out of our whole gigantic, weed riddled backyard meaning the urge to drink a bottle of weed killer rather than face the rest of those prickly green buggers was rising.

I've heard so many people say that pulling weeds is therapeutic but to me that sounds like complete bollocks (I did however find the glass of chardonnay I skolled afterwards much more therapeutic).

On surveying the rest of the Bindii riddled lawn and it was all I could do to not to put a match to it and watch those bastards burn. I have it on good authority that Bindii is the number one cause of suicide in Australia. I can see why.

Do you enjoy gardening? Do you find weeding therapeutic? You're quite welcome to come to my house for some free therapy. Because I'm giving like that.