Dogs & Flowers

We have lived in our house on two acres for the past 5 years.  When we first bought the property, I would daydream and make lists of all of the beautiful flowers and bushes I wanted to plant.  So the first Spring we were here, we started in on the list. 

It was a disaster.

It seems that Bailey, our Golden Retriever, has some sort of vitamin deficiency that makes her crave greenery of all kinds (don't worry, I did my research beforehand and planted non-poisonous to animals plants).  So we decided to forgo the Hydrangeas and Rhododendrons that I had envisioned for a few years and just stick with hanging baskets.  As far as I knew, Bailey couldn't fly or scale buildings.

After a couple of years, we decided to try again thinking that maybe she had outgrown it.  We were wrong.  Dead wrong. By this time, not only did we have Bailey to deal with, but we also had Brewski, our German Shepherd puppy. Let me tell you, Bailey had quite the time teaching him all the fun it was to tear plants out of the ground and pluck flowers out of pots.  Yum!

Don't get me wrong...I love hanging baskets.  We don't just buy them ready planted from the store and hang them.  Oh no.  Brian plants them himself and then he and his mom have a competition to see who has the best ones by the end of the Summer.  But really, how many hanging baskets can one house have?

So we decided to try again.  The weekend before last, we bought some cheap color spots and planted them in pots out front just to test the dogs.  Bullet, our newest puppy, had never been around flowers before (well, unless you count the Daffodils he ate at Sisters house the last time we visited), so we needed to see how he would react.  Well, you know what happened?  A whole week went by and there was not one plant fatality.  We couldn't believe it.  Want to know what happened next?  I went a little crazy at the nursery and decided that I was going to make up for lost time.

Old galvanized bucket re purposed into a hanging planter

 

Metal wash bin I found at a garage sale a few years ago

 

My grandparents old Maytag washing machine

 

Chippy plant stand from a garage sale last Summer

 

I got this idea off of Pinterest

 

This one too

 

I spotted this grass seed spreader leaning up against a tree in our backyard and thought it would make an amazing planter!

 

A couple more chippy plant stands I found last Summer

 

 

Pretty pink flowers in McCoy pots

 

My flea market finds from last weekend.  Don't you think they make the perfect plant stands?

 

So far so good.  The dogs have shown zero interest in any of these beauties.  I think this weekend we are going to do some more flower planting.  I have a few more things I would like to re purpose into planters.  If all goes well, we may even try to plant some things in the ground!  I think I need to mention that all of this planting has definitely been a team mission.  I am the brains behind the operation and Brian is definitely the muscle.  A green thumb I do not have.  I'm not even allowed to water them!

 

Linking up with:

 

Share Your Cup Thursday with Jann

Vintage Thingie Thursday with Suzanne

Thrifty Things Friday with Diann

 

Until next time....

 

Erica