Garden Explosion!

My oh my how the plantings of June pay dividends in September?! Pepper and tomato party at Casa de Nenonen.

Note to self...

Find a place in the garden for Button Brush! Can you say “pollinator heaven”?🦋

Hello, Thursday... a peek at my morning.

 The joy of keeping a summer vegetable garden? 

You awake to a treasure hunt every day! Have a terrific day, friends.

In my garden, just because...

Early scenes from my garden, the bee vs the begonia...

Rise and shine, busy as a bee as we buzz into Tuesday.

How does your garden grow?

Exciting things are happening in the garden...

I’ve always heard “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” and how true?! There has been no greater test of my patience, faith, and hope than this fun backyard project. The progress is astounding. What a difference six weeks makes 🥦🥕🥬...

Summer Vibes...

🌊Smell the salt.
🏖Feel the breeze.
👙Sandy toes.
🌴Mind at ease.

If you look carefully enough at the base of the large sidewalk shade trees outside of Casa de Nenonen, you will find a playful dose of Vitamin Sea☀️

Curb Appeal, during COVID

Local St. Louis Homeowners have really stepped up in Spring 2020 to deliver smiles to their neighbors!

I spotted this adorable homage to the Saint Louis Zoo in Glendale last night. 🦒❤️

Peek at my morning, just for fun...

Hello, Sunday.❤️

Pretty food always tastes better for some reason, doesn’t it?! This gorgeous taste of Summer is getting me giddy for our vegetable garden to take off!  Curious about our garden action?  Let's connect on Instagram HERE.  I typically share updates on my Instastories.

Spring shenanigans in Casa de Nenonen...

“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. 

To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.”🌱💚

- Alfred Austin

Spreading Smiles During Quarantine...

Without a doubt, tough times always bring out the best in mankind.  This week, the Internet has been flooded with lovely random acts of neighborhood kindness from across the nation...  

As Americans quarantine and spend extra time outside near home, their neighbors are flooding them with random acts of kindness delivering the smiles!  How are you spreading joy?  The Nenonens gave our whimsical sidewalk surprises an adorable Spring makeover...

Winter Curb Appeal matters!

With Thanksgiving so late this year, I have been admittedly slow to shifting our curb appeal to Winter mode.  I am happy to report that as of this afternoon, Winter has officially kissed the front porch of Casa de Nenonen...

Nothing punches up drab winter curb appeal like the warm touch of birch and pine?! As a member of Team WhyOverComplicate, I prefer to steer clear of holiday-specific themes in lieu of items of longevity that can appropriately remain up throughout the season until we are blessed with Spring.  

Spooky home invasion at Casa de Nenonen! ☠️

When witches go riding and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers...

... “Tis near Halloween”!

Fall is the time to think Spring blooms!

Does the crisp Autumn air already have you daydreaming about tiptoeing through the tulips? Plant bulbs now for pops of perennial Spring color in your garden, friends!  

NOTE: Not all bulbs should be planted in the fall. Dahlias and gladiolus should be planted in the spring, for instance, so do your homework.

Fall Lawn Care "Do's and Don'ts" for the Midwest

Now that Fall is officially here, it's time to pay special attention outside to get your yard prepped for Winter. One of the most difficult aspects of being a novice home gardener is learning the rules of the what and when, as one little mistake can result in the loss of plants.  We have learned a lot from trial and error over 23 years of home ownership, which I have shared here on the blog from time to time.

As things get a tad more spooky around here, and we shift our own focus outside this week at Casa de Nenonen, I figured it is a great time to share my do's and don'ts for Fall. Let's face it, this is a busy time of year and daylight time is limited with the shorter days.  Focus your energy on what you can and should do now, and leave the Fall "don'ts" for when the warm weather returns to the Midwest.
.
Do's

Do aerate, fertilize, and seed your lawn.
As temperatures drop, grasses put their energy into developing roots. If you only aerate, fertilize, and seed your lawn ONCE during the year, Autumn is the time to do it in the

Midwest! It is your best shot at a lush yard throughout the rest of the year.

Steve and I actually hire a lawn service for our Fall care and it is WELL worth the money spent, approximately $175 for their Fall package. If you have bare patches in your lawn from dog play, as WE do, this is also a terrific time to request they overseed.
Tip: Learn from our mistake- it is easy to burn your lawn with fertilizer so apply with caution.

Do divide perennials.
It'a time to divide your perennials, particularly if they've become so crowded that they bloom less. This is also a fantastic time to split a large clump into smaller clumps to plant elsewhere. Generally, in Fall you can divide perennials that bloom in Spring or early Summer.

Do mow like crazy
Leaving leaves on the grass over winter can actually hinder Spring growth. Keep the lawn as clean as possible before the 1st snow. That is what teenagers are fabulous for, at least in our house where they appreciate a little more spending money. 

Do corrective pruning.
After the leaves fall from trees and bushes, branches that are broken or scrape against the house are easier to spot and get to. Make the cut where they meet a larger branch or the trunk. Reminder not to leave a stub, as it won't heal and leaves the plant vulnerable to disease.

Do plant.
Fall is the only time to plant spring-flowering bulbs! Sink the tulips, daffodils, and crocus NOW. You can plant bulbs until the ground is too frozen to dig. Fall is also a solid time to plant trees, shrubs, perennials, and ornamental grasses. Although you can plant them until the ground is frozen, their chances for survival improve if you plant in early fall, giving them more time to develop roots. Remember to water generously if we don't have a rainy Fall.

Do control weeds.
Perennial lawn weeds such as dandelions and violets get their second wind once the weather cools and ironically are most susceptible to attack during this time. In our current house, we have been successful in keeping weeds at bay but fought a continuous violet infestation at our last house. Wage war NOW! If you pay special attention to your weeds in the Fall, they will be less of a burden in the Spring.

Do protect from deer
Got deer? Particularly if you live West of I-270 in St. Louis, I guarantee that you have had a tree trunk annihilated by the Fall scraping of the antlers. Bucks do this seasonally every year- we know this. Buy corrugated tubes and protect your young tree trunks. Just do it.

Don'ts

Don't shear spring flowering shrubs.
Shaping or lopping off length of Spring-flowering shrubs during the Fall removes the buds

that produce next year's flowers. YOU WILL REGRET THIS MISTAKE COME SPRING, I ASSURE YOU FROM EXPERIENCE. If you must control their size, cut off the longest branches at their base - you'll make them more compact and still enjoy flowers next spring.

Don't fertilize trees and shrubs.
Fertilizing stimulates tender new growth that won't have time to toughen up before winter. If your woody plants need fertilizer, wait until the Spring.

Don't cut back ornamental grasses and attractive perennials.
Wait until Spring growth starts before cutting back ornamental grasses and perennials that look decent in winter. Not only do they give you a little something to look at during the cold months, but their stems trap leaves and snow around the base of the plant, which protects the roots from freezing.

A peek in my garden, the Fall edition.

I have mentioned before that Casa de Nenonen is a bus stop corner, and before the school year kicked off, I hid whimsical teeny tiny village scenes at the base of the shade trees lining our sidewalk... 

Most neighbors walk right past them, unnoticed, but littles somehow see them right away!  Just for giggles, I gave the scenes a spooky little Fall makeover this morning over my coffee🎃 ...

Just for Fun: Sweet September!

Tis the season! Farewell begonias, hello pumpkins...

I took advantage of the lovely weekend forecast to acknowledge September with a little touch of Fall curb appeal at Casa de Nenonen.🍁

Beat the crowd and start Fall prep early, Homeowners!

The kids are back to school, pool days are numbered, days are shorter, and evenings are cooler as we draw Summer 2019 to a close. 

In a region with four distinct seasons, most folks have their favorite.   I unapologetically declare mine is FALL. As we begin to bid farewell to the humid, sweltering St Louis summer and welcome the cool, crisp Autumn air... I start to feel alive again.  Crisp evenings, dewy mornings, crimson-painted treetops, cornstalks and gourds, sweaters and jeans, leaves crunching under your feet, hay bales and scarecrows, apple cider, pumpkins on porches, colorful mums. There is really NOTHING about Fall that I don't adore.

Steve and I learned long ago, however, that the key to truly enjoying the coziness of Autumn is proactivity before the weather cools. There is nothing WORSE than switching on the furnace to remove the chill from the house to NOTHING or heading out to build that 1st bonfire to find you are out of wood.  The fact is, most service companies are overwhelmed and inundated with calls once the weather turns.  

This year, take the bull by the horns and beat the crowd.  While the weather is still nice, proactively get your home ready for the cooler days ahead. You will thank yourself in a few short weeks!

• FIREWOOD: Order and stock up on firewood now before the local companies are inundated with requests and the wait becomes lengthy.
• CHIMNEY:  Have your chimney professionally cleaned and inspected.  Check the flue, ensure the safety screen and/or doors are sound, and ensure the integrity of your chimney cap to keep critters and nests out. 
• HVAC SYSTEM: If you didn't do it last Spring, schedule an annual heating system check-up. A professional clean and service ensures your HVAC system is safe and ready to fire up once the weather turns.
• WINDOWS AND DOORS: Inspect your windows and doors for drafts. Check weatherstripping. Re-caulk.  If you have removable window or door screens, now its the time to clean, store, and replace them with storm windows.
• ROOF: Check for loose shingles and ensure your chimney flashing is intact and secure.

Seller Tip: What is your season?

In a perfect world, every garden would be well-planned and balanced to have something lush, pretty, and in bloom throughout the entire growing cycle.  Creating a Midwest flower-filled garden that blooms from Spring through Fall is not as challenging as it may seem, but it does require careful planning and plant selection. 

Realistically, however, most yards evolve over time and over several different owners and their individual taste and dedication. Add in four very distinct Midwest seasons, including harsh winter dormancy, and friends... it is a challenge to maintain a year-round photogenic house.  As a result, most St. Louis yards have their season, or that short window of time when the curb appeal truly sparkles as the plants are in full-bloom beauty.  

Some yards shine during early Spring, with an abundance of bulb perennials like tulips and daffodils and lovely flowering trees like dogwoods. Some yards look best in early Summer, painted with blooms of azalea and peony. Other yards, like mine, look their best at the tail end of summer when the mature flowering bushes like hydrangea and crêpe myrtle are bursting with color and the annuals are in peak mature flowering season.  

As a Homeowner, it is prudent to know your season. When does your curb appeal look its best?  If the answer is NOW and you are considering listing your house over the next year, I am addressing you...  

If you are considering listing your home during our swift late-Winter, early Spring 2020 market (Feb- April), which ironically is one of the worst times to photograph a house in the Midwest, the time to photograph the exterior is NOW.  Even if you plan to list in May, but your best curb appeal season is August, I recommend a few professional exterior photos be taken now.

I cannot speak for other Realtors, however, I happily pay for professional photography for all of my Sellers out of my own pocket.  There is nothing better than the ability to add mature yard and garden shots to an early Spring listing as it REALLY sets the home apart from the competition.  Why leave your yard to a Buyer's imagination when you can advertise the beauty that they are actually shopping?

Plan to list in 2020 and you would like to discuss photography?  Email me at Carrie.Nenonen@cbgundaker.com or call at 314.298.5275.

If contemplating a move in 2020, the time to start interviewing Realtors is now.  The time to start preparing and planning is now, as well!  I would love to be considered. Let's connect...

A peek in my garden...

Casa de Nenonen serves as a bus stop to a pack of littles for 9 months of the year. I love hiding whimsical surprises in the nooks at the base of the large shade trees along that corner...

The scenes are so teeny that they go easily unnoticed, but kids always seem to spot them immediately. Who couldn’t use a little magic to start a brand new school year? 

Too fun. ✨🌳

Hidden Gem: A new Eckert's in Manchester!

Hey, hey fellow West County friends...

A trip to Eckert's just got a lot easier for you!  My haul. 😊

At Manchester and 141, in the abandoned Office Depot, now sits an Eckert's seasonal pop-up market...

I apologize for the dark photos!  I stumbled up the store yesterday morning under stormy skies.  

While nothing beats a fun day trip to Eckert's mega store in Belleville or their fun farm in Millstadt, this location does carry the best of the best:  Fresh and juicy in-season peaches, fresh farm-grown veggies and fruit galore, ciders, homemade baked goods and pies, gift items, select meats and cheeses, and a selection of their lovely condiments from apple butter to salsa...

Nitty Gritty:

ST. LOUIS SEASONAL MARKET
79 NATIONALWAY SHOPPING CTR
MANCHESTER, MISSOURI  

Open 9-6 every day until late-August.


(618)233-0513

More Info: https://www.eckerts.com/st-louis-seasonal-market

→→→ See some of my other local "Hidden Gems" HERE.←←←