Dana Marie's Country Living Blog

Gardening is one of my favorite things to do. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to plant seeds and watch them grow into pretty flowers and yummy vegetables. When I moved into this home, it was quite a job to make the gardens beautiful. They were overgrown with weeds and just yuk! I worked very hard to make my back yard into a special sanctuary, and now I love to sit out there and just relax. I hope you enjoy the pictures from this journey. ~ Dana Plant stand from a repurposed chair   Sunflower Zinnias Zinnnia Coneflower Galliardia Miss Ellie Veggie sign Watermelon Bell pepper Squash vine Pumpkins White pumpkin Zucchini, peppers, cucumbers   copyright 2025, Dana Meier, My Olde Country Home Dana Meier is a caterer, cookbook author, online content creator and purveyor of historic crafts in Washington state. Her first cookbook was published in 2023. My Olde Country Home cookbook series: Vol. 1 - Olde Fashioned Christmas Desserts Vol. 2 - Vintage Cookie Recipes  av...

Here's a repurposing idea for you - plant flowers in an old firepit.   I have had this firepit for about 13 years now. There is nothing I love more than an outdoor fire on summer evenings. But a few years ago, my son the firefighter said, "No fires this year, Mom. It's not worth it."  Even here in Washington, summers can be very hot! So I took his advice. I don't want a spark to go up and catch a neighbor's tree on fire. Yikes!! That would be very bad. Definitely don't need that in my life. It got me thinking about what to do with my cute little fire pit. Sell it? Well no, I really do love it and I might be able to use it again someday. Then a light bulb went off in my head. Until the day I can use it again, why not make it a planter? So that's what I did, and it turned out pretty cute! Since the firepit didn't have holes in the bottom, I filled it about 1/4 of the way up with rocks to provide drainage for the plants. If you want to drill holes in ...

I made these adorable Spring planters out of my dogs' food cans, some paint, some instant coffee and cinnamon to make them look rusted and old, Mod Podge® and some printables I found on the Internet. I placed rocks in the bottoms of the cans for drainage, dug up some pansies from my garden, then added potting soil to plant the pansies in. Now I have these sweet little planters for just pennies. Once the cans are made, you can use them for whatever you wish. I made mine Spring themed because of what time of year it is, but you can make them for all the seasons. My next project is to come up with some herb labels and plant herbs to go on my kitchen window sill.     Tin Can Planters Supplies used tin cans acrylic paint sandpaper (optional) Elmer's® glue instant coffee powder ground cinnamon vintage labels Mod Podge® pebbles potting soil Instructions 1 . First, remove the original labels from the cans and wash them thoroughly. Dog food cans are a nice size, but you can use whateve...