Going potty...

My first terrarium (with moss from the yard - need some more pebbles to fill in the gaps)

Miss E has been asking to pot up some flowers to 'brighten up' our backyard. We are renting and there are heaps of plants but not a huge number of flowers. So, off to the nursery we go and both the kids really love it there. Oh, the possibilities! They take the selection of plants so seriously it takes ages to pick the flowers. A is only 3 but decides he needs a pot for himself as well. So, we finally choose all our plants, some pots and soil and head home for some planting fun. I have been eyeing off all the lovely terrariums around the design world so bought a small succulent for a rose bowl vase that I rarely use. Note to self: measure the actual opening to a terrarium vessel before buying the plants.....I got them in there in the end! This, below, is my terrarium after the kids found it. Obviously a terrarium isn't complete without cats, a giraffe and a dinosaur!

I also planted up an ivy hoop pot (is there a proper name for this??). I just used a wire coathanger bent into a circle and with the hook buried in the soil. I pulled up a bit of ivy from the garden as well (pray for it - it may need that to survive I fear). Considering I used an old pot laying about I don't think this cost anything except the little bit of bought potting mix. Woo hoo! I didn't have anything on hand to use as mulch so I gathered up some fallen autumn leaves and ripped them up into little bits and covered the soil with that. I really like how that looks now.

Here is Miss E's pot of 3 yellow pansies and a gazania in the middle.

Miss E also loved this large lamb's ear. Well, it kind of looks like what we would call lamb's ear because it is beautifully soft to the touch but the leaves are much smaller than any I have seen. Anyway, whatever it is, it is still a tactile delight.

Here is A's pot of 3 purple pansies. I used the autumn leaf mulch here too. I put some in Miss E's pot after the photo as well. All in all, a successful gardening weekend! What did you do on the weekend?