Category:

plants + gardening

Mom’s daylilies

by Kaylah Stroup July 14, 2021

Some of the very first additions to the beautiful garden I started this year were plants dug up from my late mother’s garden. There was nothing I was wildly excited about at the time. The things I brought home to my garden, I grabbed simply because they had belonged to my mom. I knew no matter what, I’d end up loving them but when the irises bloomed I realized I had underestimated just how important these plants would be to me.

Out of the handful of carloads packed with her flowers, these daylilies were honestly what I was least excited about. I had even considered putting them elsewhere in the yard because I wasn’t sure I’d want them in my flower garden. Once again though, the second they bloomed they moved straight up to the top of my favorites list. Each day more flowers open. It’s a wonderful sight.

I honestly don’t really have much more to say than that. I just wanted to share some photos of this special moment. Hopefully this is the first of many years of blooms. I hope that her plants can continue to grow and multiply in my yard so I can divide them and pass them on to folks I love.

Gardening is magic. ✨

upcycled planter boxes

by Kaylah Stroup July 6, 2021

Shortly after we moved in, we discovered two giant fiberglass tubs (along with a boatload of other trash) behind our garage. The idea popped into my head almost immediately, I wanted to make them into planters!

The plan had been to cover them in wood somehow but soaring lumber prices and the fact that I always have about five hundred other projects going on meant that my beds just kept getting pushed to the back burner.

Recently though, I managed to score some free wood. We set aside some pieces for other things around the house, and the rest went to my little planter project!

I didn’t really have much of a vision for this project, just that it needed to be covered in wood. I didn’t want to see any part of the fiberglass tub. Luckily my dad was a huge help and absolutely nailed the design.

We made two since that’s how many tubs there were. The first was kind of an experiment. He led the way and showed me what to do. The second one though? We cranked it out in record time. It felt really good. DIY projects of this nature and power tools, in general, are still fairly new to me so when things just go hella smooth like this it feels damn good. The feeling of confidence that comes along with actually understanding a project and being able to do huge chunks of it on my own is wonderful.

I’m capable of many, many things. Things that I don’t even realize yet! That being said, it really helps to have such a handy dad to show me the way! I’m sure I could have done this completely on my own but it probably would have taken a heck of a lot longer.

After cutting and assembling, I sanded them down, carried them outside (holy smokes, yes, they are heavy!), and stained them. Before putting the top piece on, I lined the tubs with landscaping fabric to give me a bit of separation from the fiberglass.

Finally, I filled them with dirt and planted! One contains two types of radishes, as well as red onions. In the other, I planted a few of my tomato seedlings, basil and some marigolds.

I have them sitting on a big concrete pad that is in our yard. My plan for this pad has always been, literally since the second I saw it, to build a greenhouse here. Alas, those darn lumber prices have put a hitch in my giddy-up. For now, it’s the perfect spot for a few raised beds and our picnic table. It may not be the greenhouse I’ve been dreaming of but it’s still a cute little spot to grow plants!

Klaus LOVES looking at what’s going in the beds.

Only seems right to include a photo of my first radish!

20+ cute planters (that won’t break the bank!)

by Kaylah Stroup June 29, 2021

this post contains affiliate links.

*black planter (comes in a set of three!) // white planter (comes in a set of five!)*

With over one hundred house plants in my collection, hunting down cute planters has become a sport to me. I am constantly on the lookout for snazzy pots to add to my collection! Here are a handful that are already around my house and some I’ve got on my wishlist. Nothing on this list is over $50.

*butt planter // planters with tiny legs (a set of three!)*

Remember, drainage is essential! Most of the planters shown in this post already have drainage holes but if you end up with one without, it’s super easy to drill your own. Check out my how to drill holes in planters tutorial.

Still not satisfied?

easy seed organization!

by Kaylah Stroup June 17, 2021

this post contains affiliate links.

how to organize seeds — *Teva flatorms for LIFE!*

If you’ve been following me for a while, my head-first dive into gardening this year probably isn’t much of a surprise. Now that I have a yard of my own, gardening basically consumes my every thought! I am HOOKED.

Early in the year, I started purchasing seeds to start indoors. (I bought this little greenhouse. HIGHLY recommended. Makes such a big difference when starting seeds indoors.) At first, just storing the individual seed packets inside a tote bag was fine. The more seeds I collected, the more I realized that organizing them would be essential if I didn’t want to waste fifteen minutes sorting through seed packets every single time I wanted to find one specific thing.

After a quick search, I ended up finding this photo organizer. Sixteen four by six containers that all fit neatly into one larger box. It is PERFECT for organizing my seeds. Half of the containers are for my flower seeds and the other half for my veggies. From there, I have them grouped by other categories such as perennials or tomatoes. (Gosh, I have so many tomato seeds! I can’t help it!)

Knowing exactly where each kind of seed is stored makes it so much easier to see what I have and make sure it gets in the ground at the right time. It helps prevent me from accidentally repurchasing things I own. (Do you know how many times I ordered radish seeds because I kept not being able to find them when I’d look? Too many.) It’s also super easy to store when I don’t need it and tote it out to the garden when I’m ready to plant! Honestly, can’t recommend it enough!

I feel like this organizer plus a couple packets of seeds would make the perfect gift for a budding gardener or new homeowner!

Perfect gardening shirt from RedBubble. Check out some of my faves here + don’t forget to use code ‘RBC-G21-thedaintysquid’ for 15% off.

Happy gardening! xoxo

garden view – june 2021!

by Kaylah Stroup June 16, 2021

Welcome to my garden! It’s very much still a work in progress but I just have to document how beautiful she is in her first spring! I’ve been working my buns off to get this baby in shape. She’s a bit bare in some spots still but I am still so proud. My garden is off to one heck of a wonderful start. Let me tell you a little about it!

My dad and I built the arbor from reclaimed wood from the kitchen… and that kind of started the whole bed. I wanted to build an arbor for clematis to grow on. I figured after we finished it that’s when I’d decide on placement. My dad, on the other hand, had a different idea. We did a tiny bit of assembly before he wanted to get it placed in the ground which meant picking out a spot for it immediately. After we got that finished, I spent the next week or so digging out the massive circle-shaped bed.

My plan for this bed is all flowering perennials. I’m envisioning it packed to the brim with plants. I want this bed to be something that truly takes time to view. Each angle providing you with a peek at different showstoppers!

We met a woman working at a local garden center that recommended going a different garden center every week for a year and buying whatever was flowering at the time so that you’d never be without flowers. While I haven’t committed to the every week thing, I have definitely been inspired by that idea. I want flowers of all shapes and sizes blooming all the time.

Other than continuing to fill the bed up, my other big plan to place flat stones on the inside grassy area of the circle. I don’t want to have to worry about keeping the grass in there mowed. Right now, I still have a space large enough to sneak the lawnmower in but that probably won’t be for much longer. I’m sourcing the rocks from my parent’s creek which has the major positive of being free but it also means spending the time finding them and hauling them. I’d love to get it done before the end of this growing season but honestly, who knows. There are always five hundred other projects going on…

dianthus, iris

I have plans for many different kinds of beds on my property. Obviously, I’m growing veggies. I have my perennials. I’ve been dreaming of a cut-flower bed for literally years. I also really wanted a memorial garden for my mom. After she passed, we planted a tree for her at my parent’s house. I pictured myself doing the same here with maybe a little bench to sit on, some pretty flowers, etc.

Now that I’ve started this bed though? It doesn’t feel necessary. There’s no one tree that I feel represents my mom to me so buying something random for a memorial bed doesn’t feel special. What is special though is replanting flowers from her garden in mine.

My dad has given me free rein of all her flower beds. For the last month or so I’ve been working on digging up her plants and bringing them home. Things I thought weren’t so exciting or that maybe I wouldn’t really want – like iris – have brought me so much joy as they bloom. I didn’t expect flowers to feel so important but here we are!

lavender, clematis

I’m so excited to see how this bed is looking in another few months. Shoot, I’m excited to see it in another few weeks! It’s been so exciting to watch some of the plants I got in the bed first lose their nursery pot shape and start to spread a bit. This is truly the most satisfying hobby! xoxo

Stapelia grandiflora bloom!

by Kaylah Stroup September 3, 2020

this post contains affiliate links.

My last blog post was a plant unboxing from Nova Plantae. (Watch the video here + read the post here.) By the time I actually got around to editing and posting that video some of the information was kind of out of date. Namely the fact that the flowers that were on the plants when I received them but had died in transit had started to come back. The unboxing blog post showed photos of the brand new buds I had but I most certainly was not expecting a bloom so soon.

I’ve been so terrible about blogging lately but the fact that I am literally writing this post the same day this is happening should clue you in on just how excited I am.

First thing in the morning. I posted a photo on instagram that said “Would you hurry up already?!” around 8am.

Two hours later, I had this!

My Stapelia grandiflora has bloomed! Ahhhh! The whole reason I got into these succulents, Stapelias, is because the flowers that most produce. Large, colorful blooms… that smell like death.

No, seriously. This flower smells horrible. It has stunk up my kitchen and my living room. I actually realized it was starting to bloom because I smelled something off in the kitchen. It’s so bad I moved it close to an open window and lit incense. I bought this knowing it was produced these ‘carrion flowers’ but didn’t think it’d be something I could smell other than when up close. Noooope. This one small flower is quite odorous.

I truly wish I had smell-o-vision for you. There was a fly buzzing around it before it was even all the way open. Within ten minutes of moving it near the open window there were four flies up against the screen trying their darndest to get inside.

Still, I am so excited about this stinky flower that I keep walking near it and taking big deep breaths. I’ve examined it about five billion times. It’ll most likely be the last thing I think of before I fall asleep tonight and one of the first things in the morning. I am just totally in awe.

Consider me officially hooked. I cannot wait to get more plants that produce smelly flowers. I want a whole dang greenhouse full of them. Someday!

As previously mentioned, I bought this Stapelia grandiflora from Nova Plantae. Mine lives in a south-facing window that receives direct sunlight all afternoon. I have it planted in regular potting soil mixed with perlite and small stones to help with drainage. The pot I am using has a drainage hole drilled in the bottom. (A definite necessity for cacti and succulents! I have a tutorial on drilling here!)

Updating a mere ten minutes after hitting publish to add that I’m not quite sure this is Stapelia grandiflora. I’m leaning more toward Stapelia leendertziae at this point.

plant unboxing – nova plantae

by Kaylah Stroup August 27, 2020

this post contains affiliate links.

Up until last week, I hadn’t been to a store – any store – for over four months. Jeff had been doing our grocery runs. I thought that sending one representative from our family to do all the shopping was the smartest pandemic move. I have missed going out though. Not going to TJ Maxx? I can handle that. No Target? Eh. But no garden centers? Gosh, I miss them so much!

Despite not shopping in person, I have still managed to get my hands on quite a few new plants the last few months. I’m still a tiny bit skeptical of buying plants online. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t reeeeally stop me that often. Plants are just so delicate and I truly care for them so I don’t want them damaged in transit or to not even be what I ordered. Watching unboxing videos has been super helpful in figuring out where I feel comfortable ordering from though, especially when it comes to super small online shops.

I shared my first unboxing video back in May (watch that here!) and I’m back today with another from a cute little shop on Etsy, Nova Plantae. Watch below + subscribe on YouTube!

This order was from Nova Plantae. Like I said in the video, the prices were SO great. I still can’t believe what gorgeous plants these are for the price considering what I had paid for much much smaller ones on eBay. I honestly want to seconds of each because I love them that much!

Here’s a list of the plants mentioned in the video;

Stapelia grandiflora
Huernia stapelia
Orbea speciosa

A bloom coming in on the Stapelia grandiflora. August 23rd

August 27th. What a difference four days makes, huh!?

Orbea speciosa has some blooms on the way as well!

I cannot stress enough how stoked I am on this whole purchase. I’m just dying for the flowers to bloom! xoxo

eastern prickly pear time lapse

by Kaylah Stroup August 24, 2020

Another time lapse! This time my newly acquired Eastern Prickly Pear! The Eastern Prickly Pear is exactly what the name suggests – a cactus that grows in the eastern part of the United States including Ohio! That’s right, we have cacti that grow outdoors here and manage to survive the snow. To be honest, I didn’t know this until a few years ago!

The house next door to my apartment has been uninhabited for quite a while now. I noticed shortly after we moved in that there was a massive patch of these cacti on the side of the house. I’ve admired them for years. Each summer beautiful yellow flowers explode from this flower -er, cactus- bed. I finally decided that ‘borrowing’ a couple of pads wouldn’t hurt anything, especially since no one lived there.

I had no idea how quickly they grew! While looking up the proper care, I actually found a video that said during a growing season they can triple in size! Wild! I don’t quite think we’re at three times the starting size yet but I did get a bunch of flowers already and that’s darn exciting.

There are just under 500 photos here condensed down into 38 seconds. I shot them over a period of a day and a half. Based on my other time lapse experiences, I definitely expected this to take much longer but the flowers opened so quickly! Such a beautiful treat!

So much smaller of a plant less than a month prior to flowering!

sources – ▴ shutter release ▴ Canon 35mm 1.4L ▴ Canon 6D ▴ Dolica Proline tripod

monstera leaf time lapse

by Kaylah Stroup June 29, 2020

Last month I made my first real time lapse. Watch it here. In the past I had made some really short ones but that was the first I actually spent a bit of time on. Three and a half days and 644 frames. I was super encouraged by the results and almost immediately set up another.

As luck would have it, my Monstera deliciosa was ready to unfurl a new leaf. The perfect subject! Watch below + subscribe on YouTube!

884 frames.
Starting May 17th at 12:05 pm
Ending May 23rd at 12:19 am

I think it turned out pretty cool, even if Professor did try to steal the show. I love how near the end the leaf kind of goes limp after unfurling before really spreading wiiiiide open.

sources – ▴ plant ( Cleveland // online) ▴ shutter release ▴ Canon 35mm 1.4L ▴ Canon 6D ▴ Dolica Proline tripod

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