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My next chair planter


My aunt snatched this chair out of a junk pile for me! Kind of reminds me of an ice cream parlor chair. It’s white-painted metal with a tasteful hint of rust. Can’t wait to plant the seat.

Plant suggestions?

This chair is fairly segregated from the green chair planter. It’s near fragrant roses and lavender.

Teacup birdfeeder recipe I used

from P. Allen Smith

Materials:
Teacup and saucer
Drill
1/8 inch ceramic tile bit
1/4 inch masonry bit
36 inch long 1/4 inch threaded metal rod
30 inch long copper tubing
1/2 inch wide2 stainless steel nuts with 1/4 inch wide hole
2 stainless steel washers with 1/4 inch wide hole
Safety Glasses
Gloves
Marker
Birdseed

Directions: First collect your cups and saucers. A good place to look is a resale shop or junk store. (That’s what I did)

Next prepare your cup and saucer. Mark the center of each and carefully drill a hole through them one at a time. To reduce breakage and frustration (I gather you’ve tried this yourself, Mr. Allen), first make a starter hole with the 1/8 inch ceramic tile bit and then widen it with a 1/4 inch masonry bit. (Easier said than done if you use a china teacup. Do it with a friend, wear ear and eye protection and take turns when your arm gets tired.)

Now take the 36 inch long, 1/4 inch wide threaded metal rod and screw a nut about 1/2 inch from the top, place a washer on top of the metal nut and then the saucer and cup on top of the washer.

At this point you will have the tea cup and saucer balanced on the metal nut and washer with about 1/2 an inch or less of the threaded rod rising up through the middle of the tea cup.

Take your second washer and slip it over the threaded rod so that it sits flat inside the teacup. Next add a metal nut on top of the washer and screw it down tightly so that the teacup and saucer are secure.

Select the area in your garden where you would like to place the feeder, push the copper tubing into the ground about 2 or 3 inches and then insert the threaded metal rod down into the ground through the copper tubing to give the feeder a finished look. (I recommend drilling an additional hole through the cup and saucer for drainage).

Aw, shucks!

“Best area blog and site”
SacramentoGardening.com
http://www.sacramentogardening.com/

Angela Pratt, a horticulturist, has designed a masterpiece. For area gardeners, this is a must-bookmark Web site. Her blog (personal gardening diary) is fun to read and filled with digital images to illustrate what she’s planted and where she’s visited. Colorful images are showcased throughout the site. Links to Sacramento-area gardening information will lead you to just about anything you desire. There’s advice for planting and maintenance. The message board seems to have vanished (Yep, there wasn’t enough momentum for a Sacramento-only forum to make it worth my time, but you can still access GardenWeb and Dave’s Garden California forums on my home page), but there’s now a list of Northern California gardening blogs.

Dan Vierria: Online gardening is almost as good as the real thing.

Most entertaining Web site
Renegade Gardener www.renegadegardener.com

Best nursery Web site
Annie’s Annuals & Perennials www.anniesannuals.com

Honorable mention: Golden Gecko Garden Center www.thegoldengecko.com

Best regional blog
Dirt http://dirtbyamystewart. blogspot.com

Best area hobbyist site
Baldo’s SactoRose Web Site www.sactorose.org

Congrats, Trey, Amy, Annie, Baldo, and Don!

Squash and tomatoes in a barrel


One of my half-barrels contains yellow crookneck squash and a sprawling cherry tomato… my only remaining unstaked tomato. My bad. I’m behind, as usual. The reason some of my veggies are in barrels is because a) I ran out of ground and b) I wanted to grow some things in fluffy potting soil and above the snailosphere. The plants are lovin’ it.

Baby crookneck squash are just the cutest things.