Home Grown Flower Power

First things first, my back injury is finally healed, so I’m no longer hobbling around the house like a crippled old lady.  I am oh-so-thankful that it only took a week to heal, vs. the 5-6 weeks that the doctor said I should expect.

Needless to say, no DIY projects got done last week while I was out of commission.  The muscle relaxers put me to sleep, and when I was awake I got as much work done as possible from home so that I didn’t waste my precious vacation days. However, by Saturday I was well enough to make some cupcakes for my boyfriend’s brother’s birthday, and on Sunday I managed to take on Lauren’s flower-power challenge over at Pure Style Home.

The challenge?  Bring a fresh dose of cheer into your home, using flowers and greenery from your yard.    Eep.  Unless I wanted to use tree branches and green weeks, my options were quite limited.

Since we moved into our rented home this May I’ve been busy working on decor projects, sewing, and traveling, and consequently haven’t had that much time to devote to the care and weeding of our front gardens.   The beautiful hydrangea bushes and other annuals I planted upon move-in died within weeks.  After that I kind of gave up, focusing my time and money on indoor projects.  I finally dug the sad, shriveled little carcasses out and threw in some random plants that I purchased on mid-summer clearance at the local nursery.  I also added a few succulent plants – on a whim – because the sun beats down all day long, and underneath the mulch the soil is so rocky and crappy that only the most tenacious plants will thrive in it.  (Oh, and when I dig up the soil it smells like sewage.  Gross!!!)

It’s by far one of the least elegant flower gardens I’ve ever created.  I absolutely love landscape design, but good perennials cost a pretty penny – and right now I’ve got other priorities.

For the flower challenge, my only option was from my front garden.  The gorgeous fluorescent blooms of the succulents would be fun, but they wilt as soon as they’re cut.

That left me with these bright fuchsia flowers, whose name I don’t even know,

and these yellow daisy-like flowers, who are currently struggling for their life in the rough soil:

So yellow and pink it is!  I cut a handful and plopped them in an old glass bottle for a perfect pint-sized display in my bland (and not-yet-decorated) master bathroom.  Four days later, it’s still going strong.

What’s growing in your garden right now?