Miss MoneyPenny Stretches a Buck: Garden Center Orgy

Yesterday my friend The Bradster and I cruised by the garden center after chowing down on a Silverwater lunch of yummy fish and chips. You might remember that the world's best co-workers had pitched in for a $100 gift card to the garden center in honor of my retirement and it has been burning a hole in my pocket. I spent $40 on two new sprinklers and one of those scary looking grim reaper weeders (picture below) so I have $60 left, plus $5 in bonus bucks to be used in July.

When I got back home I decided to run up to the local garden center here in town. I picked up four zucchini plants, 2 patio salsa peppers and 3 scented geraniums (above picture.) I'm in love with the geraniums and every year I plant them next to my favorite spot out on the deck so that I can smell them. They are not cheap. These three babies set me back $15 but worth it, in my humble opinion.

After I potted up the peppers, I realized that it was only 60 degrees!! so I moved them into my garden shed which doubles as a pinch greenhouse. It has a south facing window along one side and gets pretty toasty in there, so I will try to remember to move those little guys in and out as they need it, before they get to live on the deck, if it ever gets to be summer, after July 4th. I'm determined to have peppers this year. It will be a first.

Shane, my cute handyman in a tool belt, finished replacing 20 boards in the fence and rebuilding my deck. There was wood left so he made me a 3 X 5 raised bed which I think will house strawberries, but I'm not entirely sure about that. Including the wood, this cost me $240 plus a $10 tip and a frozen organic chicken. Beat that with a stick!!

I want to make sure that everybody knows about these cool hose connectors. I was going crazy with my wrist issues before a friend told me about these. Actually, I think she even went out and bought them for me. The deal is you put them on your hoses, sprinklers, sprayers and water wands and they snap on and off. No more twisting and turning. As you can see, over the years I have acquired at least three sets. They are not expensive but will break if you drive on them, etc. They get the MoneyPenny Seal of Approval.

This is the grim reaper weeder that I've been wanting. Now I just need to be careful not to cut off a finger with this thing, but it is just the ticket for that space between the brickwork and sidewalk. It is such a skinny little area but the weeds don't care and it just looks unsightly in front of my flowerbeds.