Pressed Azalea Flower Jar

I tried propagating some azaleas a few weeks ago. I can't take the plant with me to the new house but it was one of my favorites because it was a gift. Unfortunately, all the stems ended up dying and all the leaves fell off.

I didn't want to throw away the flowers I had cut off so I pressed them instead. I didn't really have a plan for them at the time but later I thought of all the pressed flower jars on Instagram and Pinterest and decided to try it.

The flowers dried into a purple color. Not their original vibrant pink but still very pretty. I arranged the flowers around a glass jar and sealed them with a couple of layers of Mod Podge. I tried to clean up the extra glue in between them so you can still see inside of the jar.

I painted the lid a light purple, a mix of mostly white paint and some Craft Smart Bright Pink & Folk Art Lavender. I also tied some jute around the jar and put in some fairy lights.

Even if I can't take the plant with me, I'll still have this little reminder of it. I might get a new plant someday.

Violet's Pride Roses

My first splurge is Violet’s Pride. I've loved this rose ever since I saw it at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden years ago. I ordered it from Heirloom Roses. It took about a week to get shipped and then just a few days to get delivered. 

It did look sad all defoliated so I gave it a lot of water and kept it on the porch for a couple of days before moving it out in the sun.

10 days later, more leaves!

My yard gets partial sun so I’m not how well it will bloom yet. I’m going to keep it in a container so I can move it around and find the best spot. 

There are a few other roses I want but I’m waiting to see how much space I actually have and whether they will actually thrive in these light conditions or not.

New Succulents

I got a few of my favorite succulents again. Graptoveria Moonglow, Graptopetalum Amethystinum, and Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg. 

I used to have similar ones years ago in my vintage planters and it just feels a little strange having them again. Over the past years, I lost a lot of my plants from succulents to flowers. Some of it was from people trying to "help" and overwatering them or thinking something was a weed and throwing it away. 

I'm just not used to the idea that these new plants may actually stick around this time. That I'll actually get to keep them and watch them grow.

I still have my String of Hearts though. I've had it for years. I got to watch the flowers bloom once. At one point, all the vines died but I left the tubers in the soil and they eventually started growing back. It even has like one variegated string in there. It never really thrived because I couldn't place it in a good spot but I'm hoping by moving it to the new house, it will be able to grow long again.

The Thrifted Cow Planter: A Pink Mushroom Makeover

I found this cow planter at the thrift store! It was hidden in the toys section and I almost missed it. Wooden animal planters have been on my wishlist for years, but I never had space for them before getting my own home.

I couldn't find any info on this one so I'm assuming it's handmade. It looked cute as is, just a little dirty but I prefer my garden finds like that rather than looking brand new. 

I really wanted to turn it into a strawberry or pink mushroom cow, but since I already had some wooden mushrooms from the dollar store that I had already painted pink... It seemed like the best choice!

After a quick wipe down, I painted over the black spots with pink. I originally planned on painting the eyes but decided to just give it new googly eyes to keep the derpiness.

I glued on the wooden mushrooms on the head and some smaller foam mushrooms around. I traded the old blue ribbon for purple lace and leaf ribbon, added a wire butterfly, and gave it a new tail from leftover pink & purple yarns. 

I sealed it all afterwards and you can see that it left a bit of color on the face but I think it just adds to the weathered look.

Now it's in the backyard holding some mushroom solar lights.