Poetry in Planters

Nearly 1000 people from 5 countries waxed poetic about life in Tucson, Arizona, when the city put out a call for haiku submissions in its first annual Old Pueblo Poems literary competition.

Tucson’s poet laureate, TC Tolbert, selected 20 winning entries.

You can find the poems on signs nestled among desert plants along Congress Street and Stone Avenue in Downtown Tucson.

Phillip and I spotted a few – which you can see photos of below – while we were headed to The Screening Room for the Arizona International Film Festival (AZIFF).

Several of the selections for this year’s AZIFF featured poetry in some form, and there were poetry readings almost daily. So having haiku sprinkled down the street in front of the Screening Room was a perfect complement.

‪Waiting for the buzz
Of late-summer cicadas
Yellow flowers fall.
–Alanna Mejia

El Presidio
Layers of time not of past
Sun warmed adobe
–Philip Dean Brown

late night dance party
confetti spills down Congress
monsoon washes clean
–Lisa Periale Martin
‪

Now the day goes still
Letting Tucson catch its breath
While the sky burns red
–Judi Molina

– More info on Old Pueblo Poems –

On display during daylight hours, now through June 1.
Take the 1/2-mile “haiku hike” to see them all.
The Old Pueblo Poems project is a collaboration of the Downtown Tucson Partnership and U of A Poetry Center.

December 4, 2018

October 2018: Terra Cotta Pots

On our anniversary this year, we took Quijote for a picnic at The Farm at South Mountain.

We saw herbs in terra cotta pots on these stepped shelves that looked like little plant bleachers. Maybe they were cheering on the good weather!

July 19, 2018July 17, 2018

A Dozen DIY Planters

Part of the fun of container gardening is actually the containers themselves! There are lots of ways to form, fold, build, stitch, tie, repurpose, and personalize new homes for your plants.

Here are a twelve pots and planters that you can make!

1. String Garden

Create a hanging garden in the Japanese kokedama style with low-light houseplants, moss, peat soil and bonsai soil. / via Design*Sponge

2. Clay Pots

These little succulent pots are fashioned out of oven-baked clay. I think the small ones are super cute, but you could probably enlarge the plans if you wanted to make them for bigger plants. Tutorial and templates are on sayyes.com.

3. Mason Jar Wall Planter

This would be a great way to put an herb garden in your kitchen without taking up counter space! / via Not Just a Housewife

5. Kitchen Garden Colander

You can also repurpose flea market finds, like kitchen items, by planting a small garden in them. This lettuce-filled colander could double as a centerpiece on an outdoor table. / via House of Hawthornes

6. Newspaper Seedling Pots

With a few folds, you can make your own biodegradable pots for starting seedlings! I first saw these at Phoenix Chile Fest and later got to make my own at CraftHack.

7. Paint Can Planters

Dress up any old can with some colorful fabric for a cheery place for a houseplant to live. / via Design*Sponge

8. Coconut Plant Pot

This is actually carved from a coconut! There’s also another coconut planter project in the same post on the Jungalow.

9. Square Hanging Planter

This is a project that’s simple to make with a chic result! / via Fall for DIY

10. IKEA Hack Planter

We actually have more of these IKEA Gorm shelf units than we are currently using, and I’d love to turn one into a planter or garden storage box. / via IKEA Hackers

11. Flower Pot Cozy

These folded fabric covers are like coffee koozies for your plants! / via Sotak Handmade

12. Address Number Planter

A sign with your house numbers and a little planter is such a welcoming touch for an entryway! To keep costs down, you can use succulent cuttings and scrap wood. / via Shanty 2 Chic

April 19, 2018April 19, 2018

Craft More, Waste Less!

With Earth Day coming up, here are some DIY ways to make things you might normally throw out into things you can use!

Plastic bottles into planters

Cat planters via BruDIY
Cactus planters via A Beautiful Mess

Glass bottles into…

…lamps

…birdseed or hummingbird feeders

The bird seed feeder tutorial also has detailed instructions in how to cut a hole in the glass using a diamond bit drill, while the lamp project recommends using a dremel with a tungsten carbide head to make a hole for the cord.

Also, make sure you’re making safe hummingbird nectar without red dye or food coloring.

More glass bottle DIYs on Redbook.

Envelopes into journals

You don’t even need to use new envelopes for this – even the ones that arrive with junk mail inside work great!

Tins into…

…craft supply storage

…tiered trays

…travel embroidery kit

Depending on what size tin(s) you have, you can store yarn or beads or fancy scissors. Also, check out the craft organization ideas I shared in a previous post.

Greeting cards into gift tags

Even though my example is holiday-themed, you can use any kind of card with art you like on it to make gift tags to use year round.

Plastic bags into a lunch bag

You can make “plastic yarn” or “plarn” from shopping bags and crochet it into all sorts of things, like a floor mat, tote, jump rope or shower shoes.

Coffee sleeve into a flower press

Of course, it’s great if you can opt for reusable coffee cups or sleeves, but, when you can’t, you can at least make the cardboard sleeve part of a craft project.

Rotisserie chicken container into a mini greenhouse

This will help hold the moisture in when you’re starting seeds.

Bicycle tubes into bracelets

The rubber from bicycle inner tubes can be used as a vegan alternative to black leather.

More bicycle inner tube crafts.

Melted chapstick into into lip gloss

If you live in a hot climate (***waves from Arizona***), you’ve probably ended up with melted chapstick or lipstick at some point. And noticed it does not go back to its original state after it cools off. This is a way to salvage it instead of leaving it stuck inside the tube.

Vintage appliances into Little Libraries

How cute is this vintage bread warmer?!

You can find more ideas for setting up a Little Free Library on their site.

What are your favorite ways of reusing things instead of throwing them out?

March 26, 2018January 11, 2021

Poppy

The poppy on our patio bloomed over the weekend, so I thought I’d send out this burst of color, in case you could use some extra warmth in your day.

You’ll just have to imagine the chorus of bird songs that go along with it. They’ve really decided to sing their little hearts out these last few days!