making of grier groceries + OXO gardening tools GIVEAWAY!

Today, we’re gettin’ dirty.

Um, not that kind of dirty. Wowzers, my peeps.

Today, we’re escaping from the four corners of the CGM kitchen and venturing outside into the great outdoors. Okay, really we are just walking nine feet outside to our iddy biddy patio. Or if you would prefer a fancier term, “urban garden.” Ooooooooh……aaaaaahhhhh.

Living in Denver proper does have it perks – zero humidity, being able to walk to fabulous restaurants, and a 20 minute car ride from any mountain activity. But! The one thing we don’t have is space. Grass and dirt when you live in a condensed, urban area are hard to come by. So, in order for “Grier Groceries” to become a fully operational store, we rely on pots and boxes.

We were a little behind this year…..ahem…..almost a month in planting. I blame the snow in May. And travel. But mostly the snow. Even though we were late to the gardening party, it actually worked out because my good friends at OXO sent us a few of their tools from their gardening line to try.

Um, check out that garden booty!

First up, getting rid of the nasty weeds around the patio. I used the transplanting trowel and I must say, the weeds didn’t even know what hit ’em. There was zero time for them to send out a retreat memo because I had all the weeds pulled in less than 15 minutes. Fact.

Next, we “staged” our pots and boxes to make sure they aligned with our water irrigation system. By the way, if you can’t keep plants alive, invest in one of these automatic water timers. You can pick them up at the Home Depot and trust me, you will look like a green thumb god. We still had leftover dirt from last year, but were able to quickly remove the crusty dirt by using the trowel.

Then it was time to fill up the pots and box up with dirt. Using the garden scissors was such a breeze and a great tool for an OCD person where straight lines are crucial for pouring.

We planted Roma, grape, and golden tomatoes. Poblano, Thai, and jalapeno peppers. And a great spread of herbs – parsley, Thai basil, Aristotle basil, mint, sage, lavender, chives, and rosemary. So small right now, but hopefully they will grow to be big and strong!

Besides planting rabbit food, we did plant some flowers. Purple and white to represent the alma mater (Kansas State University) and a nice arrangement on the front porch so people find us approachable.

Now, since these flowers aren’t hooked up to the automatic hose, we are using this indoor pour’n store watering can. Isn’t she a beaut? What I love most about this watering can; the sprout conveniently rotates back towards the body for easy storage! Cool, right? I’m so easily amused.

And just like that, Grier Grocieries was open for business!

GIVEAWAY!!

If you are looking to plant a garden or if you have a garden and need to upgrade your tools, the awesome folks over at OXO are giving away a set of gardening tools valued at $113 to three lucky readers! All you have to do is enter your information via the PromoSimple widget below!

And don’t forget to check out a few other gardeners’ gardens today!

Jennifer Lee @ Kirbie’s Cravings
Betsy Haley @ BetsyLife
Winnie Abramson @ Healthy Green Kitchen

Conclude your exploration at Grier Groceries and enter our exciting OXO gardening tools giveaway. Experience the making of superior quality and variety.