It’s that time of year when we maybe get a little introspective and start to take stock of how the last year has gone. Did we lose that weight we wanted? Read all those books? Finally get on board with this whole Twitter thing we’ve been hearing about?

Since home is, for many people, an important extension of self, Apartment Therapy recently featured five home resolutions they’ll be keeping in the next year. Great ideas, and it inspired us to think about what resolutions we want to do, home-wise. Here goes:

• Organizing: We’re going to rid ourselves of extraneous paper and shred old bills, as appropriate. We’ll also be organizing our closets and not just shoving the mess into there. New closet organizers, boxes and bins may also be pressed into use.
• Cooking: Eating out and supporting local restaurants is great, but cooking at home not only saves money, but allows you unprecedented control of the food you put into your body. Plus, you can flex your culinary muscles and become known for sparkling hosting and fabulous dinner parties.
• Curb appealing: With all the zeal over interior decorating, it’s easy to forget the home’s exterior. No more! This year, we will be painting, repairing, refreshing and landscaping to make our houses the envy of the neighborhood. New walkway? Flowerbeds? Our only limit is our imaginations!
• Greening: We want to make this year the greenest ever. So we’ll be looking at ways to make our homes — and our lives — more energy efficient. We’re going to try to re-use stuff more, evaluate whether we really need something and think of ways to buy locally as needed.
• Learning: We’re going to attempt to pick up some sort of DIY skill this year. Whether that means something like learning some home repair basics, or a softer skill like making our own throw pillows, we’ll be doing it for ourselves.

New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep, but we believe that if you start small and have a purpose, it can be done. What are your home resolutions? Let us know in the comments.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece Ideas: Poppies and Posies
Design*Sponge
If you are looking for a beautiful DIY autumn centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table, check out this step-by-step guide and prepare to wow your guests.

Consider This! A Multi-Course Plated Thanksgiving Dinner
The Kitchn
“Sure, it’s traditional to pass huge platters around the table in one merry food frenzy at Thanksgiving. And, yes, we’ll be busy enough just getting all the food prepared, so why throw in the extra step of multiple courses and plating food individually? We’ll give you two big reasons why we’re thinking about doing this.”

Thanksgiving Specials Across the U.S.
Open Table
If you’d like to be giving thanks for not having to cook, check out Open Table’s guide for where to eat on Thanksgiving Day.

101 Head Starts on the Day
New York Times
“For cooks, most Thanksgiving problems are brought about by the sheer number of dishes competing for the stove: It’s not easy to roast a turkey and sweet potatoes for 20 at the same time. The best solution is to make food in advance, like one of the dishes that follow.”

It’s Thanksgiving; We’re Doomed
City Room Blog (New York Times)
If you feel like Turkey Day might make you crazy, you’ll like these Thanksgiving stories from psychiatrists. Don’t forget to check out the numerous comments for tales of Thanksgiving disasters, which might make you give thanks for a relatively normal celebration.

We like to think of our gardens as an extension of our home. And just like any room in the house, sometimes you just want a few new things to brighten it up. For your reading pleasure, here are some fun products and ideas that can liven up any outdoor abode.

The Lluna planter by Serralunga is a cool modern planter as you can see:

But if you find yourself needing a cold drink instead of more greenery, this planter obliges. It would work well for a large backyard soiree!

Speaking of that garden party, if you are looking for a use for the empty beer bottles you stashed in the planter/ice bucket, look no further than Design*Sponge’s bottle garden idea.  It’s an easy idea for a really cool garden…and it’s a great way to re-use without recycling!

If the bottle garden inspires you to find a way to re-use objects in your garden, then consider Re-Nest’s idea to turn your chandelier into a planter. Where the bulbs would be, you put small pots of flowers instead. It’s unique, funky, and classically quirky.

What are some fun ideas you’ve tried for “re-decorating” your garden?

All images are from blogs linked to above

Apartment Therapy recently featured some self watering planters — perfect for those of us with irregular schedules or who can’t quite remember that all living things need water! Now, they’re not completely maintenance free — you will have to put water in every so often. But once the water is in, you can sit back and watch your plants grow.

There are quite a few options out there, but our favorite is the Grobal Self-Watering Planter designed by Karim Rashid (see some of his work for the myMarvin project here). The Grobal comes in enough colors to satisfy any decorating scheme and features Rashid’s signature curvy lines. With something as easy as this, there’s no excuse not to try growing something this summer!

Photo courtesy of A + R

Late spring is one of my favorite times of year to have visitors to my garden because there’s so much in bloom. The roses are spectacular, such as the ‘Lamarque,’ which I have growing over my tool shed. It’s just one of about 25 or 30 old-fashioned roses I grow in my garden. Technically, an old-fashioned rose is one that was introduced before 1867; that’s when the hybrid teas were first introduced. Now, I have a lot of rose varieties in my garden that were introduced before that date, and a lot afterward.

I use old-fashioned roses in a variety of ways. One of my favorites is to use them to punctuate an entry as I’ve done with climbing ‘White American Beauty.’ This rose has filled the entire bonnet of an arbor. Now this rose is also known as ‘Frau Karl Druschki,’ it was introduced in 1901.

Another one of my favorites is ‘Iceberg.’ I grow it three different ways in my garden. One way is in a tree or standard form where ‘Iceberg,’ is grafted onto the stock of a different type rose. This makes a beautiful presentation. The climbing form of ‘Iceberg’ is yet another way I grow it. It is beautiful supported by twig trellises and it can grow to quite an impressive height. And the last way I grow it is as a shrub in my flowerbeds. It’s a beautiful rose that will bloom right until frost.

Russell’s Cottage rose only blooms once a year, but it is a real showstopper. I grow it because of its incredible fragrance. Now, it’s an exuberant climber and it has literally grown up into the branches of an overhead elm tree.

‘Russell’s Cottage’ isn’t the only rose I grow in trees. I also grow ‘Madame Alfred Carriere.’ She actually blooms just as the foliage is beginning to appear in the tree.

Of course, anyone can appreciate the beauty of a rose. But from a garden design standpoint, I think that the thing I enjoy most about these old-fashioned roses is that they make such dramatic statements in the landscape.

When I chose rose varieties for my garden, I wanted to maximize the bloom potential. I chose varieties that bloom early in the season and roses that bloom right on through the fall. There are so many different varieties to choose from, there’s a rose for every situation. Some will grow beautifully in containers, others will even take some shade.

‘New Dawn’ is one of the most prolific and carefree roses that I grow. I tell people that it is a must have for their garden. Technically, it isn’t considered an old-fashioned or heritage rose, it was introduced in the early 20th century, but it has the same beauty that many of these old fashioned roses can have.

If you’re looking for a quick way to cover an unattractive fence or perhaps to adorn a trellis or tool shed, an annual vine is the answer. There is outstanding potential packed into the seeds of summer vines such as hyacinth bean vine, cardinal vine, gourds and cypress vine.

Two of my all time favorite annual vines are morning glory and its nocturnal cousin moonflower vine. Their size, growth rate and flower power make them spectacular additions to the summer garden. They can grow twenty to thirty feet in a single season, which makes them ideal for quickly spreading blooms across fences, over arbors, or up simple teepees made of three or four tall poles. They are the perfect solution for covering an area while you wait for a perennial vine or climbing rose to mature.

The morning glory has 6 to 8 inch heart shaped leaves and showy trumpet blooms that open as the sun rises. The varieties ‘Heavenly Blue’, ‘Grandpa Ott’ and ‘Milky Way’ are all worthy of a spot in your garden.

While the morning glory, as its name implies, is perky in the morning the moonflower vine picks up its pace in the evening. By sunset the vine covers itself with large, white, fragrant blossoms. The flowers begin to fade at dawn, but by dusk, they are opening again.

Both morning glories and moonflowers are easy to grow from seed. The outer coating is hard, so soak the seeds overnight in water before planting to help with germination. The seeds can be direct sown in the garden after the last frost date in your area. Choose a site where the soil is not too rich. If it is too fertile, the seeds will produce lots of vines, but few blooms. Give them plenty of sunshine and these vines will reward you with abundant blooms until the first hard freeze in autumn.

With flowers beginning to bloom, it’s time to think about what to do with your garden’s bounty — or the bounty of the florist shop! Design*Sponge has some cute ideas for how to arrange flowers with the aid of a tea pot.

Sarah Brysk Cohen of Blossom and Branch gave Design*Sponge the tips. They’re perfect for spring floral arrangements for bridal and baby showers, Easter brunch or just to add a little flair to your home. Here’s how to go about it:

• Find a teapot! Use what you have, or hit up an antique store for a unique find.
• Clean the flowers.
• Cut the stems at the appropriate angle.
• Start with your main bunch of flowers (Brysk Cohen uses roses), followed by smaller blooms and foliage (mint and jasmine in this case). Let some of the herbs and vines flow over the side of the for a casual springtime look.
• Place your flowery teapot anywhere where your house needs a spot of spring!

Check out Design*Sponge for more floral arranging tips and pictures.

Image courtesy of Design*Sponge and Maggie Harkov Photography

There are many reasons for growing plants. One of the best for me is fragrance. If you are looking for flowers with a heavenly scent, lavender has to be right up there at the top. And there are so many different varieties to choose from. Some are more aromatic than others and the range of bloom shape and cold hardiness is broad.

From a garden design point of view, lavender can find a place in just about any garden scheme because of the silvery gray foliage is compatible with any color. However, certain growing conditions must be met. The soil should be loose and quick to drain.  On the plus side, these plants require very little water and fertilizer, which makes them ideal for growing in containers.

I suppose of all the varieties I’ve tried, lavender Provence (Lavandula x intermedia ‘Provence’) has been the most successful. This is also the lavender most widely used for making sachets because of its long-lasting aroma. So if you are just getting started with lavender you might give this one a try.

Of course the best way to learn about different varieties is to try several and see which ones work best for you.

As with so many herbs, the medicinal qualities of lavender are now being rediscovered. Its essential oil is being used as a remedy for insomnia, nervousness and other health problems.

It will be interesting to see in the future how medical science affirms many of the folk remedies and lessons from history about plants such as this one.

Lavenders to Try

• Lavandula angustifolia (English Lavender), ‘Hidcote’ – silvery grey leaves and deep purple-blue flowers, zones 5 – 9
• Lavandula angustifolia (English Lavender), ‘Munstead’ – blue-purple flowers, compat grower, long bloom time, zones 5 – 9
• Lavandula x intermedia (Lavandin), ‘Provence’ – light purple flowers borne on long wands, zones 5 – 9
• Lavandula x intermedia (Lavandin), ‘Grappenhall’ - dark violet flowers, zones 5 – 9
• Lavandula x intermedia (Lavandin), ‘Grosso’ – purple flowers, very fragrant, zones 5 – 9
• Lavandula dentata (French Lavender) – dark purple, stocky flowers, long bloom time, zones 8 -9, good choice for Southern gardens
• Lavandula stoechas (Spanish Lavender) – dark purple, stocky flowers, zones 8 -9, late spring bloom time, good choice for Southern gardens

It’s interesting how certain flowers evoke a sense of nostalgia: roses, hollyhocks and dahlias to name a few. There’s no question these are beautiful in the garden, but if cared for properly you can also use them inside. Hydrangeas are good flowers to dry for indoor arrangements.

One method of preparing hydrangeas is simply to air dry them. All you do is remove the leaves along the stem and bundle five or six of them together. Hang them in a cool, dry place.

If that’s too much trouble, you can also dry them upright in a vase. Place the stems in a vase with a few inches of water, out of direct sunlight. When the water evaporates add more, repeating the process until you feel the blooms are sufficiently dry.

You can also preserve hydrangeas with glycerin and water. This process makes the bloom more soft and supple to the touch, and it also helps to preserve the shape of the bloom longer.

Materials:

• Hydrangea blooms (Old-fashioned French, PeeGee and Annabelle hydrangeas do well, but I’ve never had much luck with Oakleaf or Tardiva.)
• Glycerin
• Water
• Vase
• Colored dye (optional)

Directions:

Gather the hydrangea blooms. When cutting the blooms, keep in mind that the length of your stems need to be about 18 inches or less. And while it is tempting to try drying those full, lushly colored hydrangea blooms mid-summer, it is best to allow them to mature on the shrub before you cut them. Fresh blooms tend to wilt and turn brown. You can tell that they are ready because as they age, they will turn either green/pink in warm climates or blue/purple in colder areas, and their texture is paper-like rather than soft.

Cut the stems at a right angle and crush the ends with a hammer. This will help with the uptake of the solution.

In a vase prepare a solution of 2 parts water and 1 part glycerin. You can find glycerin at your local pharmacy. The way this works is, the water and glycerin are drawn through the stem of the plant. The water evaporates through the petals, leaving the glycerin. The glycerin will turn the petals a rich, golden brown. I like this natural look, but if you prefer a little color, add a small drop of dye to the solution.

Add your hydrangeas to the vase.

In two to three weeks you will have a beautiful bouquet of summer hydrangeas to enjoy through the fall and winter.