mulch madness

the plant scientist in me gets a little bugged out each spring, just as much as my graphic designer friend gets bugged out by people who use comic sans ms.

why, you ask?!?

mulch. madness.  get it.  march madness, but with mulch. bahaha. (yes, there is one more hour left in march...i gotta type fast.)

alright.  someone get me a paper bag, i'm about to have myself a panic attack.

pleeeease someone make it stop!!  it hurts to look at them.

if you read this and you are guilty of this terrible horticultural crime, turn yourself in.

just don't tell me you are using red mulch.  i'll really lose it.

as part of your intervention, you need to know what happens when you add a ridiculous amount of mulch to a tree trunk.

it will kill your tree...eventually.

would you like some shrub with your mulch?

it is a leading cause of death of azalea, rhododendron, dogwood, boxwood, mountain laurel, hollies, cherry trees, ash, birch, linden, spruce, and many other landscape plants.

oxygen starvation.  roots need oxygen.  if oxygen level dips under 10%, roots will die.  foliage will show chlorosis (yellowing), minimal new growth, dieback of older branches.

inner bark death.  you know those roots that grow stems separate from the rest of the tree?  the tissue is much different from that of roots.  it does not do well when moisture is present for a lengthy amount of time.  same with the tissue of the inner bark.  the phloem (c'mon folks, dust off those ol' biology textbooks) of the inner bark dies.  not immediately, but over years.  

disease and insects.  the bark of a tree is there to protect against invaders.  flies are to poop, as casual agents are to weak plants.  fungus, bacteria, and insects will gain foothold of a moist, decaying bark.  

excess heat.  moist mulch will have the same effect as composting during the warmer months.  if the temperature reaches between 120 and 140 F, it may kill the inner phloem of trees, especially young trees.  during the hardening-off period, in the fall, when trees get ready for winter, the warm mulch may prevent the roots from becoming adjusted to the colder weather.  resulting in root death.  

have i turned you into a mulch snob, yet?  i hope so, we need more of me in the horticultural world.  (not to toot my own horn or anything:)

we've got the what and why...here's the how.

rule of thumb says:

mulch should not exceed 3 inches deep.

3 to 5 inches away from young plants.

8 to 12 inches away from mature tree trunks.

when they say "volcano," you say "donut."  "volcano"  "donut" "volcano" "donut."

here's the fact sheet from my alma mater.  it goes into more detail. knowledge is power, my friends.  

if your trees have fallen victim to mulch volcanoes and i have just scared the bejesus out of you, don't worry, there is still hope for your trees.  take a rake a gently pull back excess mulch.  be sure not to damage roots.  you may do this a few times during the few growing seasons.  just don't go crazy.  digging out the old, excess mulch may do more harm than good.  

hope this helps...or humors you.

g'night.

jill

puppy fever

i feel like i'm getting the baby bug, again.  so funny how when you've already had a baby you quickly forget what is included in the "baby package."

here's a quick reminder:

varicose veins.

daylong sickness.

permanent muffin top.

sleepless months.

diaper blow outs.

boogers.

peeing a little when you sneeze, laugh, and cough....

the more i think about having another baby, the more i remind myself why i need to wait.

this time i'm on the hunt for a puppy.

to be honest, i have never had a puppy in my adult life.  when we had dogs growing up, mom and dad did the brunt work.  this even included pulling socks out of my dog's butt on a regular basis.  true story.

i really had no idea what kinda damage dogs are really capable of.

until i googled.

chewed couches?

peeing on the rug?

chewed shoes.  good thing is that i'm not a shoe person, i can get over that.

waking up in the middle of the night to take care of business.  been there, done that.

really how bad can they be?!?

 

oooh, that bad.

oddly enough, i still want to get one.

the other challenge.  no one let's you buy or adopt a dog when you have children under the age of five.

i get why they do that.  my daughter was bit in the face this past summer by a family member's dog...which was adopted about six months prior.  you never really know the dog's history, better to be safe.

breeders are waaaaay too expensive.  pet shops are shady.  it seems like my only option is to buy one from a puppy place that has local breeders...not from puppy mills.

i stopped at one of the puppy shops yesterday to get my puppy fix.

these guys are beagle x king charles cavalier spaniel.  or a "beaglier".  this was the only pic that came out.

every since sex and the city, i have always wanted a cavalier spaniel. don't mean to hate, but those dogs were the only thing i liked about that show.  

not sure how hubby would feel walking one of those "designer dogs," though.

i absolutely love goldens.  i grew up with them.  hubby grew up with them.  they're gentle and most importantly, they are smart.

i hate dumb dogs.  

and yappy dogs.

and jumpers.

am i being picky?!?

after all the crap we have gone through with our cats, i wanna do this dog thing right.  it's a decision i'll have to live with until my kids are teenagers.  yikes.  

what are your puppy stories?  advice?  anything you can help me think about in the decision making process would be great.

and for anyone who was wondering where i was for the past week...my sis-in-law had her bridal shower.  glad that is over!!  last shower i will ever do..well, second to last.  

i missed you all and hope you had a great week.

jill

spring psych-out

what is this foolishness?!?

i was almost positive that we were on the home stretch towards spring.  last thing i expected to see outside my window was snow.  

but, who am i to complain.  i get to stay inside all day.  hubby drove to work and my neighbor brought my daughter to school...and brought her home.  i'm a lucky girl.

a few days ago i realized the only decorations i have for spring/easter are window stickers...and i just bought them.  

i have nothing.  i think i'm from that school of buy your decorations a year ahead of time to get those end of season discounts.  but...i always forget to buy them.  and i am not one to buy decorations at full retail.  sooo....my option right now is to make a few decorations at home.  

project one:  spring moss wreath

estimated finish time:  30 minutes.

materials needed:

you can nix this part.  not sure how i feel about them on the wreath.

i used two bags for a 12 inch wreath.

yellow, baby blue, or pink would look nice, too.

baby not included.

you can buy the styrofoam wreaths, but the straw ones are cheaper.  a lot cheaper.  bring your coupons with you.

you'll also need a glue gun and glue sticks.  i used the mini gun and used half bag of mini sticks.

i could drown you with all the pics i took, but i know you are all smart people.  just glue and press the moss.  simple, right?

i left the back alone.  

for a more natural look, don't trim.  here's the difference.

glue on your eggs.

hang up your ribbon.  if you have a nice wreath hook.  use it. 

mine is ugly, so i cheated.

you could probably use one of those removable hooks on the back of your door if you want to have the ribbon piggy-back over the door.

i'm pleased with my results.  it was seriously quick, not to mention much cheaper than the ones they sell in the stores. 

happy crafting!

jill

one down, four to go

yup, our bathroom is finally done!  i say finally as lovingly as i can, as hubby spent hours in there working on it each day after he got home from work.

i love it.

it was a great learning experience for him and i'm hoping that in the next few weeks we can get a babysitter to watch the kiddos, so i can help him conquer the master bedroom bathroom.

i felt so helpless watching him do the bathroom alone, but someone's gotta watch the kids...remember, chicken nugget eats batteries so we gotto keep a real close eye on that one;)

before:

 

after:

magazine rack look familiar?!?!

it was one of my thrift shop finds a few weeks ago:)

i've said it before, and i'm going to say it again....

my hubby rocks!!

we had to keep the design pretty simple since we will be renting out the condo in a few months.  i think it looks like something out of restoration hardware.  

the paint is called stony path from valspar 5007-1b.

the vanity is from home depot, st. paul wyoming 30." came with mirror.

towel rack, target.

shower curtain, thomas o'brien at target.

we are just taking a breather right now.  even doing a small bathroom like the one we just did can really affect the rest of your home.  laundry wasn't done for a week at one point, kitchen was a disaster, vacuuming neglected.

and by four to go...i was also including the home we're moving into.  we do not live in a home with 5 bathrooms...i wouldn't wish that on anyone.  i can barely keep up with cleaning the two that i have right now.  

i know i said in my last post that i'll be posting up a simple sewing project, but i gotto nix that until i can clear off the-never-ending-junk-that-accumulates-to-the-point-of-me-wanting-to-get-rid-of-my-table table.

thanks for stopping by...

jill

measure once, cut once

i went through my quilting phase last year right before chicken nugget was born.  

let's just say it was short lived.  

i realized i have no patience for ornate designs.  i hate cutting and measuring.  i like to do things by eye.  and if i must, i will only measure once and cut once.  who has time for measuring twice, anyway?!?!  there are toilet bowls to be cleaned and children to be fed!

i made a quilt for dd and a matching pillowcase.  

i also made a quilt, matching burp clothes, and onsies for another friend with a newborn.  just need to get around to finishing hers.  i'm such a slacker.

one of my favorite places to visit (besides wegmans, tj's, thrift shops, and candyland) is pennington quilt works.  the website doesn't give the shop enough credit.  it is a fabric addict's dream!!

this laminated cotton (much nicer than oilcloth) will be turned into a table protector for dd's arts and crafts.

ahhhhh.  amy butler.  love her.  

for anyone who loves amy butler...are you aware that her designs are also available as wallpaper?

(i asked hubby what he thought about wallpaper.  telling by his response, i will be putting up wallpaper by myself.)

they have pre-cut fat quarters all over the store.

such cute projects.

displays of their work are all over the store.  love this quilt!

glad he's too young to whine about going to the  quilt shop.  my time will come, i know;(

every time i go to pennington quilt works i get the sewing bug. maybe before i start another project, i should finish some of the ones i started.  last year.

sigh.  

do you have a stash of some sort of craft you do?  knitting, scrapbooking...

when i have a free moment, i'll put up a tutorial on a simple, one day sewing project. 

stay posted!!

thanks for stopping by,

jill