Summer Laziness aka I Hate Watering
Summer is officially in full swing. Bringing with it lazy afternoons, lemonade, relaxation. And a brand new air conditioner that stopped working, multiple service visits, four nights sleeping the basement, an electrician and a new hole in the basement ceiling. But that is a story for another day. This is a happy summer post.
Anyway one of the things I love about summer is enjoying the garden and landscaping on maintenance mode and not planting/tons of work mode.
Ahhhh….pretty flowers and delicious vegetables. But for the past couple of years I have struggled with keeping all the potted plants hydrated. Every afternoon when I come home they look wilted. And so I then had to water them everyday. This gets really old and honestly makes me wish for a hard freeze in the beginning of September.
If was really dedicated I could install a drip irrigation system for all the plants. But that takes too much work and planning. Next idea please.
Mulch helps with water conservation….but- while perfect for all the landscaping, a little boring for the pots. Being on the deck they needed some pizzazz. I thought about polished river rock you can buy in the mesh bags in the craft stores. But for a couple bucks for a small bag, it could get expensive.
So we bought two bags of marble chips at Home Depot. Under $7 total and I think they bring a modern aspect to all the potted plants while conserving water. Observe-
Before:
After:
When we bought the rock, it was covered in dust and grit. So I rinsed it in a shallow pot with drainage holes like I was panning for gold. The rock looked so much better with a bath, and then I set it on the top of all the dirt. Helpful hint- if you are going to work with landscape rock, wear gloves. I did not and it really scratched up my natural nails.
Since adding the layer of rock, the soil has not been completely parched on a daily basis and I have been able to reduce my watering. It was the a trifecta project of cheap, easy and quick but hopefully will have a positive impact on my plants and my sanity. Unless someone wants to install drip irrigation on the deck. Any takers?