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Hometalk is where people share and help with everything home & garden

Sondra A

Janesville, WI
25 Followers 225Likes
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My Recent Boards

  • Cool Projects

About Me:

Enjoy Glass fusing, watercolor painting, reading, 4H volunteer, crafts, fixing up the house, family.

Favorite area of home improvement:

Everything. Working on my patio and garden right now. Will be redoing kitchen soon - floor, countertops, strip cabinets and refinish. Need to sand and finish hardwood floors.


Recent Activity


  • The schip laurels with the privacy tarp (that got shredded by wind). 2
  • My home's backyard patio -- pretty, but no privacy!

Outdoor Living: Privacy for Chain Link Fence and Patio

Hi! A chain link fence separates my home's backyard from a busy playground. I've planted schip laurels for privacy, but my home's backyard still has next to no privacy. I used to have a ...»
Lauren
Lauren Hightstown, NJ
56 Comments | Post Comment | 3134 Views
  • Sondra A
    Commented 13 hours ago
    If they are ok with the fence slats I would go with those! Once the slats are in you can do ...»
    decorative things on your side of the fence. And I would still consider plants for interest and added privacy. Depends on what you like and grows well in your area - lilac bushes get good sized and smell wonderful or go the green non-flowering bushes for simplicity. There are also some really cute ideas on here for plant stands/shelves/partial sheds.

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  • Creative Garden/Yards...
  • Thryallis (Galphimia glauca) provides an almost non-stop show of sunny yellow blooms.
  • African iris (Dietes iridioides) has flushes of bloom from early spring through late summer. 2
  • Salvia gregii "Lipstick" loves the sun, combines well with other perennials and is a great attractor of beneficial insects.

Celebrate your garden's all-stars

Last week we asked you to share your invasive plant horror stories and, boy, did we strike a nerve. Gardeners everywhere are seemingly under siege from all manner of invader. As gardens ...»
Douglas Hunt
Douglas Hunt New Smyrna Beach, FL
30 Comments | Post Comment | 5828 Views
  • Sondra A
    Commented 21 hours ago
    Zone 4 I don't know if I could state a favorite! lol There are so many. I've always loved ...»
    roses with their fragrance and beauty. The smell of lilacs and verbena and their delicate purple color. Also have several lavender bushes I cannot imagine going without. Gardenias with their fragrance and elegance. Carefree daisies (of all colors). Bleeding hearts of which I have a large bushy 4 footer. Various lilies, irises, hollyhocks, dahlias have all had a wonderful spot in my garden. In California I had a poinsettia that was over 10 feet tall, gorgeous! I also have some beautiful columbine and clematis I cannot imagine not having in my yard. I had a hibiscus once that was beautiful but it did not make it through the winter. Flowers have a way of lighting up my life and make everything so beautiful. My backyard is my oasis.

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  • Garden inspiration
  • Great plants
  • 2

Outdoor Living: Want to know the source to purchase garden path stones that look like

one of the pictures on web was of an Old Woman's Garden path with fabulous garden stones. Where can we buy these?
Betsy Bodrero
Betsy Bodrero Tooele, UT
21 Comments | Post Comment | 11555 Views
  • Sondra A
    Commented 2 days ago
    Very beautiful walkway.
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  • garden
  • Garden
  • All you need are some rocks and some glow in the dark paint. 1
  • You'll need about three coats of paint.
  • See 2 more photos

Make Glow-In-The-Dark Garden Rocks

Add a little glow to your garden or potted plants at night!
The Thriftiness Miss
The Thriftiness Miss Jackson, MI
19 Comments | Post Comment | 10723 Views
  • Sondra A
    Commented 3 days ago
    The look so pretty with your flowers. This would be cool for a little fairy garden. Like your ...»
    idea.

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  • Like 118
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  • For the Garden
  • For the Garden
  • Epsom salts aren't really salt at all 1
  • Sprinkle a line around base of plants plants to keep slugs away 3
  • Kill lawn pests without chemicals 2

Epsom Salts for the Home, Garden AND Natural Beauty!

Epsom salts aren't really salt, but rather a naturally occurring pure mineral compound of magnesium and sulfate. This combination has a multitude of benefits for health, gardening and ...»
Anne @ DesignDreams by Anne
Anne @ DesignDreams by An... Canada
105 Comments | Post Comment | 57934 Views
  • Sondra A
    Clipped 3 days ago to Cool Projects
  • Share 9.4K
  • Like 325
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  • Epsom Salt
  • Home ideas
  • 2

Outdoor Living: Advice on beautifying a metal garden shed.

I need suggestions on improving the exterior look of a metal garden shed that we use to store tools, pottery, soil and such.
Usha Sundar
Usha Sundar Mesa, AZ
32 Comments | Post Comment | 2465 Views
  • Sondra A
    Commented 4 days ago
    Since you live in Arizona I like the idea of painting it blue because it is a pleasing and ...»
    cool color. The trim can be as contrasting or compatible as you like. Then after cleaning up the outside you can put some plants in large pots along the side. You can also paint little vines and flowers up the trim.

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  • Backyard Escapes
  • It looks harmless enough! (Photo via Bluestone Perennials.) 1

Invasive plant horror stories

Hometalk member and gardener extraordinaire Barb Rosen recently wrote of her nightmare experience with chameleon plant, Houttuynia cordata, and what may be her life-long project of getting rid of it. But Barb surely isn't alone in having planted something she regretted. For me, my biggest mistake was planting gooseneck loosestrife, Lysimachia clethroides. I'd heard how "rambunctious" the plant could be, but I had a dry, ...»
Douglas Hunt
Douglas Hunt New Smyrna Beach, FL
165 Comments | Post Comment | 18178 Views
  • Sondra A
    Commented on Jun 09, 2013
    A house we moved into in California had Japanese Rice Paper Plant. It has large leaves and was ...»
    pretty back then. It sends out little runners and multiplied quickly. When we took it out the powder all over the trunk got all over me and I had blisters on my lips and face. I kept mowing it over and pulling it out for the next 4 years when we moved.

    The house I am living in now has what the neighbors call "creeping charlie" but someone else said was "creeping jenny". I haven't looked it up but it has little blue flowers. It is pretty but it grows all winter when everything else is dormant and invades everything. We've lived her 7 years so far and it has been an ongoing problem the entire time. One time I made a mistake and as I pulled it, set it in a pile. As I was doing a variety of work in the yard I forgot about it for almost a week. Well, all the pulled pieces rooted where they were tossed!

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  • Clip 9
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  • In the Flower Bed
  • flowers
  • Meconopsis Grandis or Blue Asiatic Poppy can be difficult to site, It needs loose, well drained fertile soil in part shade. Once established it will bloom like gangbusters for you every June/July. 2
  • Hellebore are a wonderful winter/early spring perennial in the shade garden. This one is particularly beautiful. I ran across it at VanDusen Botanical gardens and have been unable to identify the variety of this double bloom. 1
  • Tricyrtus Toad Lily is a unique perennial in the shade garden. It blooms from late summer to fall with spectacular orchid like blooms.
  • See 7 more photos

Starlette's of the Shade Garden

Think those sunny gardens have all the fun? That big drama can only be accomplished in full sun? Not true! Here are a few of the Drama Queens kicking up a fuss in my shade/pt shade garden.
Laura Thomas
Laura Thomas Canada
20 Comments | Post Comment | 18259 Views
  • Sondra A
    Commented on Jun 07, 2013
    Just love that blue poppy ! A few years ago when my youngest was graduating from high school I ...»
    did my potted plants in blues and whites as well as several around the yard as they were his school colors (as well as my favorite color). It turned out beautiful for his grad party. But it is just a tad hard finding very many blue flowers. I have grown cylamens and coleus (love all the colors of the leaves) and appreciate all the comments/hints you made on the various plants.

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  • Clip 149
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  • Gardening In the Shade
  • In the garden...
  • beautiful framed pressed flower art
  • 1/Make a microwave flower press from a cheap notepad..
  • 2/Prepare your flowers and fold them into some absorbent paper
  • See 2 more photos

DIY Tutorial: Microwave Flower Pressing

....waiting 4 weeks or more for your flowers to be pressed, can be a bit discouraging...with this method it'll only take minutes, and it has the benefit of preserving the hues and colours ...»
1 Hour 2 Easy
Juneolsen
Juneolsen United Kingdom
12 Comments | Post Comment | 4653 Views
  • Sondra A
    Commented on Jun 03, 2013
    Thanks for the idea of using the microwave! Love it. I have a dried floral picture that is ...»
    dated late 1800's and it is still beautiful. My thought is that as long as you keep it from bright lights and sun and have adequate framing (matte board to keep it from touching the glass) as well as no moisture, it should last a very long time.

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  • I <3 DIY
  • DIY
  • I use baking soda, salt and cream of tartar to clean my drains.
  • Mix 1 cup soda with 1 cup salt.
  • Add 1/4 cup cream of tartar.
  • See 3 more photos

DIY Drain Cleaner

I love this easy all natural drain cleaner recipe! All you need is baking soda, salt and cream of tartar!
10 Minutes 2.00 Easy
Jessica Cramer
Jessica Cramer Mc Farland, WI
30 Comments | Post Comment | 14544 Views
  • Sondra A
    Commented on Jun 03, 2013
    Never thought about using cream of tartar. Will have to try this sometime. Because I use the ...»
    vinegar/baking soda on a fairly regular basis, I do not use very much, perhaps 1/8 cup or less of the baking soda and then pour just enough vinegar to create foam. If there is still some baking soda left when the "volcano" dies down I add a little more vinegar. Wait awhile and rinse down with boiling water.

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  • Like 100
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  • DIY to Try
  • DIY useful items
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