Bunk Bed Ladder Turned Outdoor Planter

 

One of the greatest things about having adult children is that they tend to use your garage as a storage facility.  Well, my husband wouldn't consider that one of the greatest things, he loves his children dearly but grimaces every time they move out of an apartment or dorm room.  He knows our garage will be filled again with extra bed frames, tables and boxes of unknown goodies.  I, on the other hand, welcome all the new (or should I say old and second hand) treasures.  Now, just to be fair, I always ask the kiddos if I can saw, sand or rip apart their belongings before I start my transformations.  They usually say yes, after all their father and I purchased most of what returns to the garage.  So, when I asked my almost college grad daughter if I could have the ladder to her former loft bed, after looking at me like I was crazy, she said yes!

Tuesday's Treasury List ~ Beautiful Succulents

'Succulents' by hartleyrowe

I love succulents! These tender plants look so vulnerable, yet are stronger than most of us. I never realized how creative so many people could be in designing planters and vases for these special plants.

Pictures From My Garden

                  

Three day weekends bring us the extra time to do special projects around the house.  This three day weekend did just that ~ a full day in the garden.  While I love having the extra day, I try very hard not to forget why we're having such a wonderful weekend.  I'll have a post to honor our brave service members of the military who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and those still serving, on Memorial Day.

For today's post, I thought I would post  a few pictures that I took on this glorious day here in sunny San Diego...from my very own backyard.  I thought I would have some fun and show some more of the wonderful tools Picasa 3 has to offer.  Take a look at the before and after photos below.  I've also added the Picasa 3 tool that was used to edit each one.  If you have any questions about the program or want to read more, you can check out my earlier post, Picasa 3, Meet San Francisco.

                 

                     

 For the picture above, I chose the "Vignette" tool. 

                                       

   

The tool above was the "Focal Zoom"

The tool used for this picture is "Holga-ish".  I love the vintage feel it gives to the setting.

                    

   The tool used for the jasmine picture above is "Boost". I like      how it clarifies the petals and leaves.

This fun tool is called "Pencil Sketch"!

  

I used two tools for the picture above.  First I added text with the "text" tool. 

Then I applied the "Boost" feature.  My husband and I thought this little succulent looked like

an alien calling out for help :)

                      

For the beautiful rose above, I added the "Focal Black & White" 

tool as well as the "Glow" feature.

I love it!

         

        The tool above is the "Polaroid" tool.  You can even choose your background color!

For the roses here, I used the "Lomo-ish" tool.  It's another

vintage inspired feature.

                      

The lighting was very poor for the picture of the perfect peach above.  I used the "1960's" tool first, 

followed by the "Cross Process" feature.  I think it sharpened the picture and brought it into

focus.  Now the perfect peach looks ripe enough for tonight's dessert :)

I hope you enjoyed the pictures of our garden.  They were made even better by the addition of all the great Picasa 3 tools.  If you've read many of my posts you know I'm a Google nut.  Picasa 3 is just one of the reasons why I love Google so much!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

~ Alison

Giant Asparagus or Agave Americana?

I took this picture of our alien-like, asparagus-looking plant while standing on our front stoop.  Can you see the shoot that is "shooting" straight out of the agave?  It's quite a sight actually.  We can't decide whether to be proud of this once in a century occurrence or embarrassed.  I'm sure we're the talk of the neighborhood.  Just last week, the taller of the two shoots seen here was the size of the shorter one.  Yes, it has grown that much in just one week.  So how much taller is this asparagus looking being going to grow, you ask?  According to my research into the wee hours of the morning, our special, once in a lifetime (sometimes called good luck charm) flowers from the Agave Americana can grow to a height of 40 feet each!  Imagine our surprise when we discovered this wasn't some sort of anomaly that I wanted to take the hacksaw to, but a very rare and special flowering showpiece.  I guess I'll have to put the hacksaw back in the garage.

I've posted more pictures below so you can get a better look at our special plants.  Actually, now that I know what I do, they're starting to grown on me.  We have gone from being embarrassed to be seen out front, to waving to our neighbors as they drive and walk by while pointing proudly to our beautiful flowering agave.

                                                                                                       

      

  

  

I found a great website at the link below that describes this beautiful plant.  It's hard to believe that our plants in our small front yard, may look like the majestic flowering (it really looks like a tree) agave below.

T.E.R.R.A.I.N.

Read more about the Agave Americana at the link above.

I'll try my best to keep you posted on the development of our majestic Agave Americanas.  At the rate of five to six inches of growth per day, it won't be long 'til they reach the stars!

Have a wonderful day,

~ Alison