Category: Archives

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Primroses are Coffee Drinkers

But, tender blossom, why so pale?
Dost hear stern Winter in the gale?
And didst thou tempt the ungentle sky
To catch one vernal glance and die?
– Excerpt from The Primrose by Samuel Coleridge

I love primroses.

Apparently, primroses love coffee.

After a four months at home and on a water diet, my once-brilliant primroses were producing pale blossoms.

(Wouldn’t it be nice if plants came with owner’s manuals and trouble-shooting guides? If I ever start a gardening company, I’m going to include said manual, complete with the history of the species. For edibles, this guide will also include health benefits, food pairing ideas and a recipe or two.)

With research, I learned that primroses like slightly alkaline soil.

Three weeks ago, I started hydrating them with cold leftover coffee.

With each new bloom, since being fed coffee, the intensity of color has increased with each bloom. Today’s bloom – the one on the far right – is the same vibrant red as when I originally purchased the plant.

Even for acid-loving plants, however, too much acidity can be harmful.

According to The Garden Helper, primroses thrive in soil with a pH of 6.5. My soil pH meter is packed somewhere in a box in our garage. If I find it, I’m definitely going to take a reading of the soil in my primrose pots.

Happy plant, happy Sarah.

Here are some of my favorite gardening links :

  • You Grow Girl
  • You Bet Your Garden
  • Moosey’s Country Garden
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    Spring Cleaning? 5 Tips for Managing Toys

    With five children, we have plenty of toys in our house. I know first-hand how overwhelming the toy mess can be!

    In my post at RealZest, I share five of my best tried-and-true toy tips we’ve been using for years that will help keep your home clean and keep kids from flitting endlessly from one toy to the next!

    Speaking of messes, I also offer an accountability challenge for parents.

    Here’s an excerpt:

    Toys are not fun when they’re all over the house. If you’re stepping on green army men, threatening to sell wayward dolls on eBay and are using items like daddy’s lighter as a body doubles for game pieces, the toys have taken over.

    Your children’s toys aren’t evil, they’re just a little misguided.

    Here are five ways to manage toys in your home so that they feed your children’s imaginations and not your trash cans.

    What are your best toy-management tips? Be sure to leave them in the comments over at RealZest. I look forward to interacting with you there!