Who Says Cats and Plants Can't Get Along?

I have cats....two of them. I have always heard that if you have cats, you can't have plants. Over a year ago, I decided to challenge that notion. Over time, one plant turned into many. I started with a pothos, whichI hung from the ceiling over my bed in a plant hanger that I made myself from macrame cording. The hanging plant seemed like a perfect solution to keep it away from the cats. Once I realized that the cats could live in harmony with even plants that were not necessarily safe for them to consume, I decided to try my hand at other plants. Mostly, I have easy to grow houseplants which don't require a lot of light or attention. I also have some succulents. Bringing more plants into the Tiny House meant finding more places to put them that the cats could not get to them. Several of my plants hang from the ceiling- which is a great way to keep them from the cats and display them. You have to keep them away from heating/AC vents, and watering and care necessitates a step ladder, but it definitely works!

 The other solution that I have come to rely on for safe plant placement is shelving. I have plants on the top of bookcases, as well as upper shelves, and I also have mounted shelves high on one wall for even more shelf space. The other way that I have found to keep the plants away from the cats is to mount some sort of container directly to a wall, as I have done in my bedroom. I have mounted my planter quite high because of artwork that was already in place, but these could be mounted much lower depending on your cat's level of curiosity and ability to climb.

Deal of the Day- Planters from Ross

Today, I stopped by my local Ross store on the hunt for summer tops. Instead, I found this great trio of planter pots. The larger pots have a 10" opening and were $7.99 each, and the smaller one has a 5" opening and cost $3.99. My store had a pretty large assortment of pots from different makers, in different colors, patterns, and materials- all for about half of what I would have paid at the hardware store or nursery. These three were all stuck with a label that said "Hand made in Thailand". These will go well with the neutral color palette that I want for my patio- and the existing terra cotta and white planters already out there. I am a stickler for drainage holes in my plant pots, and these three all had them! If you're on the hunt for some plant post for either inside or out, check out your local Ross store to see what they have. Now I will have to get some more plants to fill them.....Oh darn!

Patio Before and After

When I moved into my place over a year ago, I knew that I wanted to do a little makeover to the patio area. One half of the area is dirt (now dirt and weeds!), and the other half is a cement pad. There was a woefully mismatched fence surrounding it, and nothing else. I started out thinking that I would just put some plants in/on items that I already had from my antique dealing days, but changed my plan somewhere down the line. The privacy/sound/ugly factor made covering and unifying the fence my priority. I am happy and proud to say that the cement pad end of the patio is now "done". I will be adding to my potted succulent garden, but the fencing issue has been solved, I added decorative rock to the border of the cement pad, painted a dining set and put that out there, and planted a little bowl of succulents to dress it up. For as little as I spent (under $150), it made a HUGE difference. I now enjoy looking out my slider, and I know that I will be spending more time outside in the nice weather...because the cats demand it!

I posted about the rocks I used in an earlier post. The rattan fencing that I used was also from Lowe's ($4.47 for a 6" by 15' roll), as was the terra cotta bowl ($9.99). I think the next step for this space is just to till up the dirt, weed, and plant grass seed.

As Much Fun as a Bag of Rocks

I have been thinking about the bags of river rock since I saw my local Lowe's putting them by the store entrance a while back. At one point, I thought about doing rock in the whole dirt portion of my patio, but now that some grass is going I think it might be nice to have grass. I decided to use the rock to fill in the small border between the cement pad and the fence, since it is really too narrow to use for planting. I finally picked up a bag today, and one 0.5 cubic foot bag stretched across one whole side of this border. The other side is twice as wide, so will require two bags, but at $5 a bag it is still a relatively cheap fix. The rocks aren't as deep as I'd like, so I will probably buy an extra bag to fill in, but I love the difference they have made. It looks so much more finished than just the dirt did. The fence is shabby, and will be covered by some reed fencing eventually. It will look nice, fill in the cracks between boards, and also help to muffle sounds from neighbors. Like most renters, I struggle with spending money on something that I may not be able to take with me, but I get so much pleasure from my outdoor space (even just looking at it from inside), that it is worth it to me.

Deal of the Day- Concrete Planters

It's time to start thinking about springtime, planting, and gardens! This week, Target has their Threshold line of concrete planters on sale. These planters come in many sizes and shapes, from a hanging pot, to large rectangular versions (not shown on the website, but available in stores). They are not as heavy as you might imagine, which is good. Most of them have a drainage hole at the bottom. One of my main complaints about planters is no drainage hole, so thank you Target! I especially love the little round planter. It would look adorable planted with a succulent garden and placed on a table.....for people who do not have cats that eat plants ;-). Get yourself to Target before the ad changes Sunday and pick up a few.
You're Welcome

Natural Weed Abatement

Along with my Tiny House, I have a tiny garden. Half of my garden area is covered with a concrete slab. There is a tiny border of planter space next to the fence on two sides of this concrete slab. The other half of the garden area is just.....dirt. I live in the desert, so dirt is really the norm here. Even though it is still winter, I have been preparing my little garden area to be of full use as soon as we hit sunny days. We are already having sunny afternoons, and I can't wait to use my garden space. Last year, the neighbor right behind me (who shares the fence) had a very large and aggressive dog which make it impossible to use my outdoor space. This year, I plan to give it full use! 

Even though I don't have anything  planted in the ground out there, weeds have been a big issue for me. My cats are inside cats, but when I am in the garden they like to come with me. I have been trying to tame the weeds with just a hoe, but recent rain has made them grow like crazy and I can't get to all of them with my tool. I did some investigating into weed control products, and decided to go with an organic herbicide from Eco-Smart. I wasn't sure what to expect from this product, but I decided it was worth a try.

First off, the smell was quite pleasant. It was strong, for sure, but I quite enjoy the Eucalyptus order. It was easy to use. There was no dripping from the spray hose, or any mess involved. The instructions say to use on a sunny day, and after checking up I can see why. Any of the weeds I sprayed that were in an area which gets direct light were decimated. You can see from the photo above that they almost look beached out from the sun's reaction with the herbicide. The weeds which were in shady areas still reacted to the spray, but not in as extreme a way. I had just done the planters last time, so I hit the rest of the yard today. If your weeds lie in a sunny area, one spray will probably be all you will need. Weeds in the shade may need a second application, but for me having a safe and pleasant smelling product is worth using twice. I will definitely be keeping this in stock at Chateau du Jour!

Welcome Home!

This is the view at my front door. It's a simple set up. I live in a very small apartment complex, a four-plex actually. I'm the only tenant that has anything decorative outside at all, so it feels very showy to have both a door mat (which was necessary since there is a puddle right in front of my door each time it rains), AND a plant! This is a Rosemary plant. It's doing well where it is, and I love that I can use it when I'm cooking, too. Today I added this little rock that says 'Welcome'. Now my front doorstep is feeling extravagant compared to my neighbors.

 I also have a bird feeder hanging in front of my living room window. I say that I bought it for the cats entertainment, but it's really just as much for me. I enjoy watching and listening to the birds, and I enjoy watching my cats watching the birds.

So here it is, my little slice of Home. I think it very fitting that my first post is about my front doorstep. I have lived in this little 900 square foot, two bedroom/two bath apartment for a year now. I've made great progress on the place, in general, and I'm ready to show you as I make my finishing touches.

Welcome to my Tiny Home!

K.