Smart Succulent (or any plant) Purchasing

Are you here because of those totally dreamy succulents I posted on Instagram?

Whether you are or not, you're gonna want to hear this if you like a good deal. Now, first a little disclaimer: I am not a professional; in fact, I am a reformed black thumb. The only thing that's important though, is that I am working on being a true blue gardener slowly but surely...AND that there is a less expensive way to purchase plants.

Some of the succulents I purchased and re-potted today.

You may remember from this post how I said that I started a tree seedling business for/with my dad. Well, since then, I've kinda gained a newfound interest in plant life! Seeing my garden grow from seeds might have helped as well. Secretly, I've always loved succulents, but was too afraid to try growing my own. Since a few months ago when I bought an aloe plant-which has been thriving-I became convinced that I can indeed grow them.

Agh, get to it already Elisabeth! Okay, so today I went with Momma (the true gardener) to buy some succulents, and as I veered in that direction she said, "Wait, first we need a buggy, and then we're going to the specials."

Woe.

What?

Around my house, that means something. Dirt cheap. Saving money. Pinchin' pennies. Deals. Extra ice cream money y'all! So, at Lowe's (and other places like it-so I've heard) there are shelves with plants that are not doing well. They're significantly marked down in the hopes that they will sell quickly and not be a total loss. Big stores don't have time for one-on-one plant-sitting. Usually these will be in a less obvious place, so that IF you know about the specials you'll pass all the beautiful blossoming flowers first and find them irresistible. Today, lots of plants were marked down to a dollar!

So what are you waiting for? Oh, more tips! You know me well. If you have a specific plant in mind, find out when it is going out of season, or finished blooming. They become significantly less attractive and much more difficult to sell, and will likely be marked down. If you're a succulent hunter, look for plants that have had "babies" or spread; it is fairly common, and you're basically getting 2+ for the price of one-you can separate them at home like I did. Lastly, late fall is when stores are in a hurry to get rid of their live plants. During the winter, the people that rush in to beautify their yards in the spring (inexperienced) don't even bother the garden section, so the plants will be marked down like crazy.

Did that help you any at all? I hope so. I like to pass on anything that I learn, and I would love to hear any bits of knowledge you can add to this! Lemme know in the comments! 

How My Garden Grows

Here in the South especially, so much is said through tone and facial expression. One word can hold the meaning of a sentence. With all that being said:

Y'all...

Seriously, I had no idea that things would take off as they did where my garden is concerned. Also, did I mention the business of selling tree seedlings? Yeah, well running that business turned out to be work, because things were selling really well!

Potato plant grown from an old potato

 Dad left me completely in charge of replying to inquiries because he was at his 9-5 and didn't have time to research the answers. I've spent almost as much time on the computer as I've spent shipping plants from Monday through Thursday. I didn't realize that I could be obsessive until now. I checked and rechecked tracking to be sure the plants arrived quickly, researched several different sources before answering questions, and looked up different plants I was considering selling.
Then the first person with a complaint emailed; he said that he thought his persimmon seedling was dead. It had only taken two days to reach him so I was skeptical, but then I researched it and realized that if the plant sat on his porch for a couple hours it could easily wilt. Reading further I found that it's just now a good idea to ship through summer, so from June 1st through September 1st I get a break! I'm using this time to reorder, and also to reconsider.
I hope that through diligent planning, I can start sewing and begin my own business before the year is over. Perhaps if I set up my schedule early, I can be prepared in advance to have time-even just a couple hours a day! As you can see, by my garden I also meant my life in general! I've just joined an Instagram challenge that starts next week. Most of the time I just feel too worn out to take "perfect" pictures and I'm hoping that the challenge will actually help me out because I would like to use Instagram effectively for my business as well!

Anyway, I'll leave you with this picture of my squash. Look over here to see what they started out looking like...And no, I haven't stopped being awestruck by them or talking to them to "help them grow". 

Iced in and okay

Icy trees are so beautiful!

I'm sure you've heard about all the complaints you care to about Georgia weather huh? My family has a lot to be thankful for. Our power didn't go out for the first (a couple weeks ago) or second (yesterday) storm! We were holed up here in the house "enjoying" each other's company. I just wanted to show a few little pictures of what the outdoors looks like.

The deck looked so pretty, I didn't step out on it though.

Monnie enjoying the outdoors

Monnie and Nece made dinner last night-chili-and as usual managed to argue and/or sing the whole entire time. They definitely get props for multitasking. Dad has worm beds downstairs, yes, it's basically what it sounds like. He has containers of dirt with worms in them, he feeds them and hangs out with them. "Bonding with the worms" is the phrase I use when anyone asks where he's at. Mom spent a lot of our "iced-in" time cross-stitching and reading when she wasn't on her cleaning spree. I managed to alter a pattern that I hope to have available soon and did some piano practicing. Hey, please check out IG to keep up with me (link below.) 

Enjoy the weather y'all!

Elisabeth Arona

Pinterest, instagram, and me.

How is your day going? My mom just made me breakfast (for which I was super grateful, these things don't happen often since I became a "big girl") and she is now sitting eating herself. It's pretty dreary out, which makes those plans to go to the library today seem pretty dumb. Since I stayed up last night until after 2 am reading a mystery, I'm looking through somewhat bleary eyes. It's too bad I don't drink coffee. 

The girls are doing their school work, the younger complaining about having to put her spelling words in alphabetical order, and the older wanting to take bathroom breaks and open the blinds every few minutes. Why is it that weather like this makes a person feel so lazy? Far be it from me to fight it...Juuuust kidding. I am still planning to sew today. I have a great knit with hearts on it that I think is pretty cute.

So have you gotten around to finding me on Pinterest?

I'm right HERE.

Since I'm a Pinterest addict now (never thought I would say that) I have made it a daily necessity to find something too cute for words on there to pin. 

I have also decided *drum roll* to start a IG account for Arona Designs. You can now find me there under the username aronadesigns. Pretty cool!

Also, regarding those fashion sketches that I was going to do...I'm gonna revise that plan. As long as it's a fashion illustration it will qualify...every week I will put on up.

Elisabeth Arona

Insta-wha??

InstaGRAM! Instagram!

It seems that there is always something new that comes along and makes us lose our senses. For me, that new thing is instagram. I could ramble on, but in case you somehow -is that even possible??-didn't click the link that you saw up there ^^ I will explain what it's all about.

Instagram is a program/app that is on iphones and androids that allow you to share pictures on social networks. If that were all it was I know we'd be like *yawn*, but one tiny detail somehow has made everyone fall in love: You can make all these pictures look like they were taken years ago like in the 70s almost polaroid-ish (I know it's not a word.)

ANYWAYZ, I have taken to sharing things on my instagram (lizzisays) that you won't see on my other pages and online hangout spots--like works in progress among other things! It may seem petty (yeah right), but everyone is doing it now. You should too! If you would like to follow me, feel free...I will walk slowly hehe. I figure that those people who spend all of their online time on either twitter/tweetdeck or instagram may check out what's going on with me too!

The picture in this post is one I posted on instagram but without the cool effects, and it has a cute little story attached. I'll be brief. The kiddos broke the screen in the bathroom window, then they left the inside window up. Little birdies came along and made a nest and hatched some eggs and the babies put up a lively racket until they flew away about a week later. I believe these are our state birds (GA.)

Elisabeth Arona