A Growing Insole

My mother's favorite thing was shoes. She was a sweet, kind woman who never complained and really never asked for anything. But when she had the opportunity - she loved new shoes. My father on the other hand did not really care for shoes all that much, but was a die-hard gardener. Put them together and you get a wonderfully whimsical shoe planter!

Garden Walk Garden Talk had a fun photo of a shoe planted with sempervivums...

All of Donna's pictures are beautiful.  This one adds a touch of whimsy!

...in her last post In the Greenhouse with GWGT. 

There is another blog called Shoe Planter Crafts that is dedicated to gardeners on a budget - what fun!

How to Make Shoe Planters from Children's Shoes

And Shoe Metro has Weird Shoe Wednesdays...



Blackberry Creek Home Arts has some wonderful pictures of unusual planters...

Including this boot bragging these beautiful pansies.

So, next time you are about to recycle those Reeboks or shed your Skechers - just remember, they could provide a humorous habitation for some grateful greenery.  (It gives a whole new meaning to Nunn Bush!)

Get your hands dirty!

Fall Planting is for Pansies

Every gardener is excited and full of vim and vigor in the spring, but it is only the true garden stalwarts who are still planting in the fall.

Fall can be very picturesque with it's transformation from the humble green to rich, lively yellows, brazen oranges and raucous reds.  But, often these colors are missing from our own yards leaving our landscape feeling a little blasé and mundane.

I know you've been nose-to-the-grindstone since spring, but don't give up the ship just yet!  Planting fall flowers can be the difference between a vibrant, exciting landscape and a big yawn. (yawn not lawn)

Plants that like the cool weather are the best candidates:  Pansies, Mums (Chrysanthemums), Ornamental Kale, Johnny Jumpups...  There are so many to choose from!  Just try to remember those cold snowy days last winter when you couldn't play in the garden even if you wanted to and go out and enjoy one last round of planting that you will be able to enjoy for a few more weeks (to months) before the snow starts to fly.

Don't be a Pansy - Get your hands dirty!