Wednesday, August 21, 2013

My new Dramm Watering Wand

I’m not sure that I have ever done a product review on this blog as a result of being sent a product to try. However, I do often recommend products and local gardening centers that I like. I’m actually thinking about doing a series of posts about products that I use on a regular basis. So, I guess this is my first one.

When I was in San Francisco for the annual Garden Bloggers fling, we had a demonstration by Jessica Reinhardt from Dramm’s Public Relations. I am naturally a very skeptical person, and was dreading the sales presentation. To my surprise, I was intrigued by the Touch N Flow Rain Wand that she demonstrated.

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Backstory: I have to buy a new rain wand every year.

Seriously…every year.

The ones from the big box stores usually start leaking before the end of summer. The other thing that interested me about Dramm products was their lifetime guarantee.

I was at Wabash recently and noticed that they were selling the Dramm Touch N Flow 16” rain wands. A little on the expensive side, but I thought I would take a chance on it.

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OMG! I love this thing! Seriously, I’m not lying! I have been really excited to water my plants with this new wand.

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I do not like to spend my time hand watering plants. I think my favorite part about using this is that it delivers a lot of water, gently, and in a short amount of time. Watering my potted plants is much faster than it used to be. My opinion on this watering wand, is that it is worth the price even if it only lasts me one summer. That’s because it is saving me time. But, my bet is that it will last longer than just one summer, but only time will tell.

My strategies for watering include quick connects on all my hoses, sprinklers, and hand watering tools. I also have timers on every spigot. I also have to replace all of these things every year or two it seems.

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For a while I was going through timers at least once a year. I do have one good timer though. Guess what, it’s a Dramm! I didn’t even realize it until recently when I was looking at the Dramm product catalog. I bought this timer at least 3 years ago from Southwest Fertilizer. I’ve always thought it was by far my best timer.

So, since I like these two products so much, I thought I would ask Dramm to send me a few more things to try.

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So, let the testing begin! They sent me another Touch N Flow, a yellow revolver, and a set of Quick Disconnects to use. I will report back next year to let you know how durable all of these products have been in my garden.

In the meantime, if you are looking for the timer or the Touch N Flow, you can find them locally at Southwest Fertilizer, Buchanan’s, and Wabash (if you are making a special trip, you should call ahead to confirm product availability) or order them online from Amazon.

    

(Just so you know, I don’t get any discounts or freebies at our local garden centers. However, I do get a little from Amazon if you order from the above links.)

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

My Special Garden Gnomes

As you may be able to tell from my homepage, I really like garden gnomes. My banner picture is of gnomes I saw in Heidelberg, Germany while on a hike on the other side of the river.

A couple of years ago I was visiting my grandparents in Kansas and showing my grandma pictures of my garden. I had several gnomes scattered around the flower beds. She was feeling in the mood to clean out a few things and told me she had something for me.

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She brought me a box of 4”-5” tall gnomes that she had painted. My great-grandma, her mother had owned a ceramics studio for many years (before painting ceramics and drinking wine became popular). This is where she had painted the gnomes, probably 30 years ago or more. The poor gnomes have been wrapped in tissue paper for, I guess, this whole time.

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I’ve always been afraid they would get broken if I put them in the yard. At my previous house I had a lawn care service, but now, the dogs and I are pretty much the only people in the yard.

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I’ve decided to let the gnomes free to do as they please.

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I love my new little garden gnomes!

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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Bromeliads, Succulents, and Flora Grubb…oh my

Here’s a few more inspirations from the 2013 Garden Bloggers Fling in San Francisco.

This first one has it roots in my 2005 neighborhood garden tour. These homeowners fashioned their own wire baskets filled with various plants and hung to trees around their pool.

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I was so excited when I saw the wire baskets being sold at Flora Grubb, they seemed perfect to re-create this idea that I had seen so many years earlier. Below is my basket planted with a bromeliad and hanging on a palm next to my pool.

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Below is a close-up of the basket. I was so excited to get it planted, I didn’t take any pictures of it while it was empty.

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My other purchase from Flora Grubb was a couple of these planters.

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I think they are made from palm tree trunks, but I’m not positive about that. Here are my two in their new home.

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And, since I am on a succulent kick. I bought this old metal bowl at Another Place in Time and filled it with some succulents that I bought at Filoli.

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