A Prime Solution and Envelope Upcycle for a Basket Buzzing with Blooms!

Upcycle an Amazon Prime Envelope and create an arrangement buzzing with blooms in honor of National Pollinator Week.

Happy Thursday and National Pollinator Week!

Long time readers know that I love all things *bee* and that includes those that buzz and bumble around the garden!

“The hum of bees is the voice of the garden.”

 – Elizabeth Lawrence

I filled a basket with some garden blooms to hang in welcome on the door of the Potting Shed and to celebrate the bees!

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I was buzzing with excitement over this galvanized bee door basket I found at Hobby Lobby at 50% off a few weeks ago.

I loved the hexagonal honeycomb cutout design with bees as well as the combination of the rust with the galvanized finish. To use it on the door as a vase for flowers, I needed a liner of some type that would hold water and conceal the flower stems as I didn’t want the stems to detract from the honeycomb detail.

The Amazon Prime van pulls in our driveway at least once a week, so we always have envelopes and boxes to recycle. Using an Amazon shipping envelope turned out to *bee* a ‘Prime solution’ ;) serving as a waterproof liner to hold flowers!

I placed the envelope inside the basket, trimming the top a couple of inches to fit, while keeping my fingers crossed it would hold water without leaking. . .

Yippee, it was watertight!

I used Rust-Oleum Universal All Surface Spray Paint in Antique Nickel, leftover from my Whimsical Garden Flower Stakes, to cover the front of the envelope.

It dries to the touch in 30 minutes and covers plastic, metal, wood, fiberglass, concrete, wicker, vinyl and more.

Three light coats of spray paint later, the blue lettering and white background of the envelope were gone, now blending with the galvanized finish.

Once the envelope was dry, I placed it inside the metal basket.

I used my bee magnets to add some additional *buzz* to the wall basket!

The magnets were originally gold so I gave them a 2-minute makeover, adding some silver highlights, HERE, transforming them with Rub ‘n Buff.

These magnets are currently unavailable but there are some similar ones, here.

Now it’s ready to hang and fill with water and flowers!

I used some hydrangeas from the garden and from my Monday Morning Blooms arrangement for the wall basket.

Cut hydrangeas are notorious for wilting, so here’s a handy tip:

Keep cut hydrangeas from wilting with Alum!

This works for grocery store hydrangeas, as well as ones from your yard! If you’re using hydrangeas from your garden, cut them in the morning with they are fully hydrated and not stressed from the heat. Cut each stem again at a 45 degree angle for maximum water uptake and dip 1/2 inch of each cut stem in alum powder, found on the spice aisle at the grocery store. Place your dipped hydrangea stems in your vase of room temperature water. For best results, remove the leaves from hydrangeas since they cause evaporation loss and take water from the head of the flower. Hydrangeas are heavy drinkers, so check your water level frequently and top off as needed.

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia), Verbena Lollipop and Chaste Tree (Vitex) provided some additional blooms and are pollinator favorites. . .

From Pollinator.org:

National Pollinator Week is a time to celebrate pollinators and spread the word about what you can do to protect them. Many pollinator populations are in decline attributed to a loss in feeding and nesting habitats. Pollution, the misuse of chemicals, disease, and changes in climatic patterns are all contributing to shrinking and shifting pollinator populations.

Somewhere between 75% and 95% of all flowering plants on the earth need pollinators. Pollinators provide pollination services to over 180,000 different plant species and more than 1200 crops; responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat. Pollinators also support healthy ecosystems that clean the air, stabilize soils, protect from severe weather, and support other wildlife.

Most pollinators (about 200,000 species) are beneficial insects such as flies, beetles, wasps, ants, butterflies, moths, and bees. About 1,000 of all pollinators are vertebrates such as birds, bats, and small mammals.

Gardeners are encouraged to create pollinator-friendly habitats with native flowering plants that supply pollinators with nectar, pollen, and homes. Select old-fashioned varieties of flowers whenever possible, since breeding has caused some modern blooms to lose their fragrance and/or the nectar/pollen needed to attract and feed pollinators.

 Bee Kind to Pollinators:

🐝 Reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides. If you must use them, use the most selective and least toxic ones and apply them at night
when most pollinators aren’t active.

🐝 Plant in clusters to create a “target” for pollinators to find.

🐝 Plant for continuous bloom throughout the growing season from spring to fall.

🐝 Select a site that has shelter from wind (by trees and shrubs), has at least partial sun, and can provide water.

🐝 Allow material from dead branches and logs remain as nesting sites; reduce mulch to allow patches of bare ground for ground-nesting bees to utilize; consider installing wood nesting blocks for wood-nesting natives.

🐝 Make a Safe and Easy Bee Watering Station for Pollinators

Bees and other pollinators all need fresh water to drink. Honey bees use water to regulate the temperature of the hive, feed young bees, and dilute stored honey. A deep water source like a creek, lake or even birdbath puts bees at risk of drowning or being food for other predators, as they can’t swim. Providing a safe water source is simple and fun way to help pollinators. You put together a watering station in just minutes in your garden, making it as simple or as decorative as you like!

🐝 🐝 🐝

Find helpful tips for attracting Hummingbirds to your garden, HERE,

along with an easy nectar recipe to slow down spoilage and the best way to clean your feeders.

You’ll also find a method to revive a tired feeder and give it a refresh.

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 Between Naps on the Porch