Mr. McGregor was right to be upset

Bunnies (or possibly squirrels) invaded my garden. I got some chicken wire from my sister-in-law but it wasn't enough for the entire perimeter of the garden. I'm going to get more today. But, while I waited for the chance to finish the fence, I tried out something I learned on the Gardenerd Tip of the Week Podcast.

She recommended putting bits of bar soap in drawstring bags around your garden. I don't know if this would work for in-ground gardens but it's been great for my container garden! Making the little bags was so easy. I sat outside sewing while my kids played in the pool. It took me all of 30 minutes to finish the sachets.

I cut two bars of Dial into 3 - 4 pieces each. Then, using small scraps of fabric, I sewed little pouches. To make the pouches I just basted around the edges sewing the soap right into the "bag". I scattered the soap around my garden two days ago. Even though I only have half a fence up, I haven't lost any plants since I soaped the garden!

One of the things that has kept me away from blogging...My garden!

My sister-in-law helped me to create a little container garden in the back corner of my yard. This area had been a pile of overgrown grasses and vines for 5 years. Plus, we'd just been throwing our sticks back there. It was a brambly mess. I had originally thought to just clean it out and plant grass seed and when my SIL suggested a garden my original thought was, "No way! Who has time for that?" Then she told me about Square Foot Gardening. I was on board!

Our first job was to make the containers. The main container is made from last year's kiddie pool that was left out over the winter. It no longer inflated and instead of throwing it away, it became a liner for my garden. The walls of the garden are made from the bricks we've had stacked behind our garage for years.

The other containers were made from plastic bins that were broken or simply no longer useful.

The wooden edging was made from a warped and discarded wooden edge (from the front yard) and a broken 2 by 4. All I did was dig a trench, drop the wood in and back fill it. Then I stamped around for awhile packing the dirt down. I wonder what the neighbors thought of that dance.

Then, came the grass seed. It took more than a week to sprout but sprout it did! It is looking so good back there!

Do you have things laying around your house that could be upcycled into a garden?

Cabled Beret by Ashley Hasse

A teacher at my school asked me to knit this for her. She bought the yarn and had started knitting it but soon decided it was beyond her current skill set. I offered to teach her how to do it but she knew she'd get frustrated. I had a lot of fun knitting this beret. I highly recommend it! The pattern is available for free on Ravelry or on Ashley's blog.

I got nervous as I was knitting the beret because it wasn't matching the finished dimensions (even though I swatched it). Have no fear! Cables stretch during blocking and this beret turned out even bigger than I had intended. I think the recipient will like the added slouchiness.

In other news, I know I haven't been blogging lately. I've been working on gardening and painting my bedroom. I'll get some posts up soon. I have some tips to share, too!