Living Well

Five Tips For Prepping Your Garden For Spring

With spring right around the corner, I am ready for my garden to be filled with color and fragrance.

 

Before I go any further, let me assure you that I am no expert when it comes to gardening. I have been doing my homework, though, as I am trying to learn more about what I can do now to make it as pretty as it can be.

 

Below is a picture of my garden last spring.   It’s this time of year mine looks the best, and while I love it, life gets in the way so I do not always nurture it as I should.

 

Dana Wolter Interiors Blog | Thoughts, Tips, and Trends for Today's Design Dana Wolter Interiors
My garden last year. Image from Dana Wolter Interiors

 

I am trying to do better, hence the reading and researching.   Here are a few tips that stood out to me that I thought might be helpful to you as well:

 

1. Create a composting area

This is something I really want to begin doing.    The compost can be a ready-made compost bin or we can build a compost bin using spare bits of wood. Not only will we have somewhere to put  garden waste, but the plants will benefit from the rich compost created when it all breaks down! Make sure you have a good mixture of grass clippings, vegetable peelings, paper and woody prunings. To help the process along, we will have to turn the compost with a garden fork each month to keep it aerated.

 

How To Start a Compost Heap ~ it's really easy, affordable, useful, and sustainable.  Composting recycles kitchen and yard waste, diverting up to 30% from the trash and consequently reducing landfill waste. Compost adds nutrients and introduces beneficial organisms to the soil, and helps promote plant growth.
Image from apartmenttherapy.com

 

2. Prep the beds.
Remove winter mulch, leaves and any other debris from your beds. Cut back the old dead growth of deciduous grasses and perennials to make room for the new growth. Any weeds that appear in your garden will be easiest to pull now, as the roots are shallow.  I have done this and am making one more go around this weekend.

 

Gardening Tips for beginners
Image from grit.com

 

3. Fertilize the soil

Now’s the time to make sure your soil is properly balanced and ready for new plants. Once the beds are all cleaned out, it’s time to till the ground. This will help aerate and loosen up soil that has compacted over the winter, which will encourage the soil to absorb nutrients better. It will also make it easier to plant.

 

4. Prune

It’s time to prune back tree or shrub branches have been damaged by the cold, snow, and wind. Make sure to do so before buds begin to break into bloom or you’ll stress the tree and get a tiny crop, if any. Use a handsaw for any tree or hedge larger than ½ inch in diameter. Shaping hedges with hand pruners, rather than electric shears, prevents a thick outer layer of growth that keeps sunlight and air from reaching the shrub’s center.

 

veggie garden with formal hedge edges
Image from paradiseexpress.blogspot.com

 

5. Order bulbs and seeds

Decide now what flowers and plants you want in your summer garden. Order the seeds or the bulbs from a local plant shop like my local favorite Leaf and Petal or online. Hold onto the seeds and bulbs until the warmer weather arrives, but make sure that the seeds and bulbs will not deteriorate or lose quality if they sit for some time.

 

flower garden
Image from howardrice.co.uk

 

 

Let me know how it goes for you, and if my efforts pay off, I will share my progress as well.

 

Happy Gardening,

dana

 

PS If anyone feels extra inspired and wants to come to use these tips on my garden, I will happily welcome you, and I know my garden will too.

 

Connect with us….

Facebook- Dana Wolter Interiors

Twitter- DWolterinterior

Instagram- DANAWOLTER

Pinterest- dwolterinterior

 

Living Well

5 Ways This Southern Girl Cures The Winter Blues

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for spring. This past weekend was beautiful and I am ready for every day to be filled with sunshine and warmth.  There is a reason this southern girl lives in the South!

 

While traveling to a warmer climate for the extended winter isn’t in the plan for me, I am trying a few things to cure the winter blues.  Here goes:

 

1. Exercise

I exercise on a regular basis, but I have been trying to be a little more consistent these days.   Even a brief workout makes me feel better and gives me a positive, energized feeling. Lately I’ve been doing yoga at The Yoga Circle, and I am loving it.  It makes me breathe, really breathe, which is something that is instantly calming to me.

 

2. Eat Healthy

Nothing makes me feel better than when I am taking care of myself.  Along with exercising, I try to eat well most of the time. I recently read that omega-3s affect the brain chemicals that are linked with stabilizing mood, particularly dopamine and serotonin, so I have been trying to eats lots of salmon and flax and chia seeds. Another thing I have added to my diet recently are the juices from Whole Foods, Sprout and Pour, and The Pantry. I highly recommend them, as they are an easy way to add vegetables, and they are delicious and refreshing.

 

juices
Image from Whole Foods

 

3.  Brighten up your space

The winter months can feel like they drag on since the sun sets early and the days are much shorter. While the sun may not be shining outside, you can bring some of those warm hues into your home by incorporating them into your décor. Add a bright throw over a chair, or a rug with some color or maybe a pillow that adds a pop to your sofa or bed. You’ll be surprised how much these small changes can really affect your mood.

 

Image from Briggs Edward Solomon

 

4.  Buy some fresh flowers

My garden looks a little “blah” this time of year, but I try to bring the garden indoors by purchasing some fresh flowers.   It’s not expensive and not only does it brighten my mood, I swear flowers make my house look a little cleaner.

Parrot tulips are some of my favorite. (Will someone let my husband know?!)

 

Stunningly Simple Parrot Tulips
Image from Gabriela Wakeham

 

 5. Read

I shared on Instagram earlier this week that I am reading The 15 Invaluable Laws Of Growth. It is a great book that not only discusses how to grow your business, but how to do it in a way that upholds your character, morals, and values.  My only regret in reading it is that I have not underlined as I have gone through it.

Getting cozy under a blanket in my bed or next to a roaring fire and unwinding by reading a book or magazine helps me pass the season time.

 

 

How do you cure the winter blues? I would love to hear from you,

 

dana

 

 

Connect with us….

Facebook- Dana Wolter Interiors

Twitter- DWolterinterior

Instagram- DANAWOLTER

Pinterest- dwolterinterior

Living Well

Friday Favorite: Go Pink

In case you live under a rock did not realize, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

 

 

 

 

While most people are aware of breast cancer,  many forget to take the necessary steps to detect the disease in its early stages.

 

Early detection saves thousands of lives every year, and what better time than now to schedule a mammogram.

 

 

For today’s Friday Favorite, I want to share some pink images that caught my eye.

 

 

Image from Happily Grey

 

 

Cynthia Brooks Design :: chair detail
Image from Cynthia Brooks Design

 

 

kate long stevenson
Image from Kate Long Stevenson

 

 

Dana_Francis_03
Teen room we installed a few years back- Dana Wolter Interiors

 

 

pink2
Image from Dana Wolter Interiors

 

Have a good one,

 

dana

 

Like what you see?  Follow us….

Facebook- Dana Wolter Interiors

Twitter- DWolterinterior

Instagram- DANAWOLTER

Pinterest- dwolterinterior

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living Well

A Friday Favorite

Who doesn’t love a Friday?!

 

It’s one of the best days of the week, and to mark my favorite day, I am starting a new series.

 

Friday Favorite begins today, and to kick it off I have chosen an image from a TV segment that I taped a few years ago.

 

Know all of those pumpkins and gourds you see at the farmer’s market and grocery?  Well here are a few ways to implement them into your fall decor.

 

 

Friday Favorite1

 

 

Both of these arrangements are super easy, so anyone , yes, anyone (I mean you!) can pull them together.   Choose your flowers and gourds and let your creativity do the rest.

 

I always love having fresh flowers in my house, especially when they are in beautiful colors and add a touch of fall.

 

Enjoy your day and have a great weekend,

 

dana

 

Please connect with us…

Facebook- Dana Wolter Interiors

Twitter- DWolterinterior

Instagram- DANAWOLTER

Pinterest- dwolterinterior

Living Well

Decorating For The Holidays

I think I am finally ready for Christmas as my house is decorated and my to-do list is ALMOST complete.  I guess that is a good thing since Christmas is only two days away!

While I love all of the pretty things you see this time of year, I am really trying to simplify my life to remember why I am celebrating.   Less is more in my book these days.

Here are some pictures of a few of the decorations found around my home:

 
ann is busy making a moss wreath
this year's christmas tree after it fell over TWICE!
keeping it simple-
boxwood wreaths decorate the front door

And for my three favorite decorations of all……

Merry Christmas from our family to yours

 

I am taking a few days off after Christmas, so this will be my last post until 2012.   Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy your family.   

Dana

Living Well

Falling for Gourds

Summer is to flowers as fall is to…gourds!  Take inspiration from the colors and shapes of the season’s harvest to add that extra something to your home.

I love the grays, blues, and creamy white color of the season’s mix.    Here are a few arrangements I’ve been playing with recently:

For a few tips on how to create these arrangements, watch my segment on NBC – 13 Daytime Alabama:

Dana Wolter, Floral Arrangements….