Tilling

For years, I've dabbled in gardening. I enjoyed my flower beds at my old houses, and even grew flowers on the balcony of our apartment.

Our new house has 3 acres. Some of it is level. So in spite of the fact that there are at least 6 rabbits living in our yard and deer in the vicinity, just for starters.... I am attempting my first large vegetable garden. It's about 25x30 feet. My little 4x4 and 4x2 square foot beds at my old house were fun, but this is a new territory for me. OH, I remember picking tomatoes, crimes, or green beans off the plants in my parents' garden and snacking. But in all honesty, my little square foot plots yielded a few tomatoes and peppers, a few herbs, and some leaf lettuce. I even had okra one year. But this...

Our neighbor brought over 5 or 6 scoops of old manure in his tractor over the past 2 months. My husband tilled the first batch for me, and I'm hoping my improved soil will help the rest of my crops.

to post or not to post?

I think I've posted pictures of my glads, asiatic lilies, and callas for the past 2 years. Well, they are back, taller than ever, or in the case of the callas, thicker than ever. My stargazers that I bought really cheap at wal-mart last year are also on their way.

I love bulbs and all plants similar. Especially summer-blooming ones so far, because just when it's getting hot enough that I don't really feel like planting new things to withstand the heat, they come back and tell me that past years' efforts were worth the investment of time. One of my asiatic lily stalks has over TEN buds on it!!!!! I have a feeling I'll be staking that one back!

My camera is downstairs, so I'm not posting the pics right now, but I am wide awake after falling asleep with my little girl at bedtime... and waking up right at 11:30.

Should I post pics of the same types of flowers you've seen on here in years past?

Playing in the dirt.....


I might make a flower bed around the whole bay window before summer comes.
"blue girl" rose bush and spot where I planted an echinacea root.

same bush, last year:

.... and then there's the begininning of my butterfly slope... look carefully to find the butterfly bush in the distance.

gold-glow rose bush surrounded by glads and daffodils
same bush, last year:

mystery irises from Katrin, planted last Spring, waiting on first blooms

pink columbine & irises

sleepless in Nashville

Yep, that's me. I slept a good solid 3-4 hours before Buddy awoke from his sleep for a 3 a.m. diaper change and bottle. I'm glad I appreciated his big sister's sleeping through the night when I had the chance, because he is not so consistent so far. After 30 minutes of tossing and turning, I came upstairs. I turned the monitor on only to hear him crying in stereo... so now he isrocking in his swing, finally asleep, while I am still sleepless. I love the swing that was a hand-me-down from his older cousins. It reclines, so his neck does not roll forward. He seems to like it, too.

Yesterday was warm enough to go outside and enjoy the beautiful sunshine. Bear helped me plant echinacea roots, shasta daisy seeds, and my butterfly bush. And some cherry tomato plants. The last 2 were gifts from Tech Mom and Dad. Thankfully, they did not die in the last week. Now to keep them alive outside.

My hill is still a far cry away from being my butterfly garden, but it's nice to have things growing on it. The forsythia and creeping phlox are doing well, and the butterfly bush is about 15 feet back, 3 feet up from the wall... just down the hill from the water spicket. It's by itself right now, but I figure since its from a fast-growing family in full sun, it won't be long before it expands. I planted some of the echinacea (coneflowers- pinkish purple-daisies) between the forsythia and the phlox, so that when the phlox blossoms fade, there might be some color popping out of the slope. 4 roots were $5 at the superstore, so I planted one up next to the patio and bay window, one by the mailbox, and two above the phlox (aka thrift, here in the South). I also planted a couple of gladiola bulbs that I had pulled up last fall and did not give away... this should extend the bloom time of my firecracker red glads a bit.

Oh, when I dropped my hostess packet/order back off at gina's, I was pleased to see that contrary to her belief that she has a brown thumb, she has not killed her day lillies, hosta, OR her calla lillies which I transplanted from my flowerbed last May. My callas are not directly under the gutter spout like hers are, so they are not poking through quite as tall yet. Anyway, it's always nice when perennials are in fact perennials.

If you have ever wondered if you should by the $20 rose bushes from the catalogs or fancy nursery, my answer is "no." Wal-mart has them for $6. They might not be as big, but give them a year or so of TLC, and nobody will know the difference. By TLC I mean pruning them back every so often to encourage bushing versus growing a few long straggly stems with leaves just at the top. If you cut some to enjoy inside during the summer, you save your hubby money at the florist or wherever he gets flowers for you (or you get them for yourself), and you naturally tend your rose bushes a bit better. I plan to swing by my local coffee shop for a fresh batch of grounds for gardeners (free used coffee grounds) soon. Last year I put the bag in the basket of our stroller and pushed it uphill... that's not gonna happen this year with both kiddos on the stroller. Buddy weighs a lot more now than he did last April in my belly.

Hubby is off today, and I am trying to convince him that it's worth attempting to take the whole family to the free Sara Groves concert at our church tonight. Well, he's sleeping at the moment. Our church has monitors in the hallway, so even if we have to leave the auditorium, we might still be able to enjoy the show. I suppose I should find a babysitter. But I don't want anyone to see my house in it's normal state, and that would mean I have to clean up for the babysitter. What a travesty. anyway, if you live near Franklin, TN and need something to do, tonight is a great chance to get out for some inspiring and worshipful music!

my "vision"

I'm not talking about some kind of mystical, philosophical goal. OR my eyesight. This is, or should be, much simpler and attainable than that. After almost 6 years in this house, 3 since we finally got the wall up, give or take a year (I've lost track), I think I know what I want to do with the cliff. I want a butterfly garden. Now, the plants I put in today are not really butterfly friendly. But we have all this slope, it's a pain and an eyesore because we can't get the grass to grow nicely on it. And while I am pleased with what I did today, in my mind it says, "just the beginning."

If I were to admit that aloud to hubby, it would translate something like "be afraid, be very afraid." (I could go crazy buying plants.) Although I think it SHOULD mean, "less to mow."

See how the grass STILL hasn't filled in very well along the retaining wall? Hubby has worked very hard to make the grass grow every year. It already looks better this weekend than it has since last July or so. But I can't help but want to try to grow something else there. I planted what I bought yesterday in the worst patch; lots of slumping going on there. My hope is that the roots from the plants will help reduce the slumping. Eventually, the phlox should grow closer together, ast the instructions said to plant them 15-18 inches apart. The forsythia should grow to be 6-8 ft. Eventually.

My vision is still a bit cloudy, but it includes a big butterfly bush placed down the hill from the patio. And butterfly-attracting flowers, grasses, and/or ground cover of some type in between. Perhaps some cascading petunias or ivy hanging over the wall.

I haven't told hubby about my vision yet. I think I'll just suggest that he read the blog.

Spring shopping

Last week, Bear and I visited a nursery down the road. Fortunately for our bank account, they only take cash and checks, and I only had my cards on me. I loved some of their flowers, but decided it's a bit early to plant annuals. We could still have a frost.

I had some time to kill while waiting for our prescription to be filled at the grocery store's pharmacy. They had some pretty spring plants out front. I bought a forsythia bush and 3 lavender carpet phlox, much to hubby's chagrin. The forsythia was at least 30% less expensive than at the nursery. The phlox were reasonable, too... 3 for $10. I tried planting seeds last year, they never took. Hopefully we won't kill these.

back to life...

so, i made it 12 days on the wii before going away for a retreat this past weekend. i've exercised about 30 minutes since i returned. the jeans are feeling a tad tighter already. :(

i'm anxious for Spring to arrive. Flower catalogs which I ordered have come from Breck's and Spring Hill Nursery, and I am trying to decide what to order so I can get my 50% off or $25 off. I figure if we can't get the grass looking decent, I might as well strive to have pretty flowers all Spring and summer. The hyacinths are peeking up in front of the mailbox, but we are still waiting for something to bloom other than the crocus. Some of the daffodils were frost bitten and never bloomed, and the tulips are a bit behind the daffs (aka "buttercups" here in the South). I'm wondering if I transplanted some of the daffs in my friend's flowerbed along with a calla lily last year, because one area which normally has several daffodils has one lone plant sticking out, and it's very close to my calla lily patch. Or maybe I just killed them.

Southern winter

Feel free to throw a snowball at me if you are in a part of the world that has snow! I mean REAL snow.the cute black-capped chickadees flew away. of course.

i wonder if we'll have more crocuses than this, or the rodents ate the rest? i knew i should have bought the ginormous bag of bulbs at costco...

my poor, confused daffodils think it's spring.
so far i have counted 16 of them peeking through the mulch.
(most without buds, yet)

nesting

our mama bird is back. these photos were taken about 10 days apart. hubby had removed the old nest after the hatchlings flew away, but about 2 weeks ago i noticed one of the bird couples (wren) hanging around. the mama bird built the nest, the papa bird sat perched on the nearby windchimes as he supervised or protected, i'm not sure which.

since then, i think mama is working on laying her eggs. it's too high up to see if they are there yet, but she is acting like that's what she's doing... laying them or keeping them warm.

you didn't really think this would be a post about pregnancy nesting, did you?

well, in case you did...

i have the space next to my bed cleared and clorox-wiped the baseboards and night stand. the nook is ready for the mini pack n play which will serve as a bassinet for little guy. (which is sill packed away. the sheets are in a closet. not sure which one- bear's or the linen closet.)

i swept and swiffered the kitchen floor.

not what i call a nesting frenzy, but when have i ever had one of those? still, my medication seems to be helping significantly, so perhaps there is hope for the domestically challenged....

blue girl?

Here's what my 1st blue girl bud looked like yesterday. Unfortunately, it looked a little brown around the edges after last night's rain showers. It might have something eating it, too...
I'm glad I captured it yesterday. I may have to do some research on rose TLC.
"Caslon" can correct me if I am wrong, but I think I see a little hint of blue in it's shade of pink. Or perhaps it's the name of the rose that makes me think I see blue undertones.
Anyway, it WAS pretty... I hope the future blooms turn out pretty and it's not infested or infected by something!

I don't feel like taking pictures of my mundane chores for Tackle It Tuesday, so here's the visual update on my flowerbeds:

salvia, impatiens, irises, scabiosa, columbine, clematis, stargazer lillies, acidanthera, sea pink...
not all blooming at once

gold glow rose and soon-to-be firecracker red gladiola (it's taller than my 2 1/2 year old!)

pink calla lillies- 1st blooms of 2008

asiatic lily buds, holly bush, hosta buds in background

Wouldn't you agree that these pics are better than photos of laundry? I did save a neat picture for tomorrow's Wordless Wednesday post... unless I get a better shot before then.

Progressive Tackle: Flowerbed around the mailbox

This tackle began over 3 weeks ago, when hubby sprayed grass and weed killer around the base of my mailbox per my request. Ok, nagging.

The weed/grass killer did not quite do the trick, so I sprayed straight white vinegar on it about a week ago. This past Saturday, after yet more begging, hubby tilled the patch using his Mom & Dad's Mantis:


So this morning, as the sun peeked out, y'all know I became rather stir crazy. I had to give Bear a bath to get her finger paint off of both of her forearms and hands. I did not wash her hair, knowing full well that we would be headed outside and another bath would be inevitable.

First I donned my trusty garden gloves which were a stocking stuffer from my parents at Christmas. Next, I dumped a previously purchased bag of compost over the area and roughed it up with a hand cultivator (rake-looking hand tool, for the non-gardeners). I pulled out clumps of grass/roots as I could, using the weed poker tool thingy (long pointy tool with two short fork-like prongs on the ends). I also chucked rocks onto the sidewalk as I encountered them.

Yesterday, a dear woman at our church who had taken us young Moms under her wing decorated our Mom's fellowship with flowers (along with the decorating coordinator for next year, I believe). I was able to take 11 impatien plants home, and they were the first flowers to be put into the flowerbed. I lined the street and driveway with them. Next, I dug up 3 of the acidanthera bulbs that I planted a few weeks ago. I had decided I did not like where they were placed. So I transplanted them to a new home around the mailbox, and planted the remaining 5 bulbs nearby. I also transplanted 4 or 5 daffodil bulbs, with greenery still attached to feed the bulbs with sunlight. I hope they take well. They were at LEAST 2 inches in diameter!!!! After the daffodils, I planted the iris rhizomes which a neighbor had dug up from her flowerbed well over a week ago.

By this point, Bear had grown tired of being outside and was not listening to anything I said. She picked off all the pansy flowers (thankfully they'll rebloom).

She kept playing hide and seek by running to the back patio. She refused to obey when I asked her to clean up her chalk that she had dumped all over the sidewalk. I tried a time out on the front porch, where her reflection occupied her for a bit. She finally helped me pick up the chalk, but then she refused to carry the box back to the garage where it belonged. So I stuck her inside the house, cleaned up as much of my mess as I could, and went inside to deal with a hungry little Bear. I put some Dora chicken noodle soup to simmer on the stove, then convinced Bear to help me water the newly planted flowers. I'm not sure if any of the water from her watering can made it to the flowerbed, but she was happy to "help", and stayed out of my way.

After lunch, Bear took another bath and got ready for nap time. I turned on her piano music CD (Jim Brickman), and she settled right down.

So back outside I went. I had one last little task. Well, three tasks, I guess. First, I planted some cosmos seeds in between the irises. I marked the seed locations with wooden toothpicks. Next, I planted a row of shasta daisy seeds along the sidewalk. I marked those with toothpicks as well. FINALLY, I sprinkled the remaining top soil (which I had mixed in with every plant, bulb, and rhizome I planted) over the flowerbed, mixed a final batch of fertilizer into my watering can, and watered my newly planted bed. The only thing left to do is mulch. If the HOA complains that it's not mulched yet, I'll ask them when they plan to have the landscapers mulch the front entrance to our neighborhood.

I really hope the irises are not planted too deep, and all the vinegar is out of the soil by now. It would be a shame to kill my plants after all this hard work. Hopefully the almost 80 lbs I added of compost and top soil will make up for any bad dirt.

The highlight of my day? While I was outside with Bear, a neighbor stopped by and asked if I wanted anything from her husband's deli across town. She gave me a few options, and I chose.
As I was planting the seeds after lunch (if Dora chicken noodle soup counts as a valid lunch, anyway), enjoying not having a toddler under foot, she returned with my order.... a chicken caesar wrap in a Spinach tortilla and a mango smoothie. I asked how much I owed her. "Nothing. You're our best neighbor." Now that's a way to make a pregnant woman cry. And I did not even have to share my smoothie with Bear!!!

growing before my eyes...

yes, baby bear is growing before my eyes. but today i decided to water the daffodil bulbs i transplanted a couple of weeks ago. plus, a few more had sprung up in the back, and i decided to put them in a pot of dirt and see if they'll bloom for me. the bulbs are pretty tiny, so i'm not holding my breath, but i have this pretty urn/flower pot thing that held the birdseed packets at our wedding, and the only things its held recently are baby bear's rocks. anyway, i decided to mix some multi-purpose plant food in with the water (yes, i wore gloves to keep the chemicals off my skin). and i decided to water the whole bed and the transplanted daffodils under the birch tree. i didn't feel like connecting the hose, dragging it out, etc., so it meant at least 10 trips to the faucet and back. the daffodils were also peeking through the ground at the biltmore, but none had bloomed yet. there was a really pretty purple flower that looked like a miniature iris... unfortunately i did not see it in the conservatory, where many plants were labeled.

anyway, i could swear some of my previously sprouted daffodil and tulip bulbs looked higher and i know for a fact a few more pushed their way through the mulch so i could see them in the 30 minutes i spent outside. there's a grand total of 16 tulips sprouting... out of 30-ish tulip bulbs planted. (if i remember correctly).

hello, my pseudonym is a wandering heart, and i am obsessed with my flower bed. my hubby wishes i'd take half as much care inside. but hey, he'll have clean gym shorts and khakis for work when he gets home, so he can't complain too much. today, anyway.

heavenly sunshine and good clean dirt

it's 47 degrees here right now. sunny, clear blue skies with some fluffly clouds. in addition to the bulbs that have peeked through after being planted last fall, some old daffodil bulbs were poking though the grass underneath our bay window. i decided that this would be the year to move them. while underneath a bay window sounds like the perfect place for flowers, it's not when there's no flower bed there. the fronds get mowed with the grass, which makes it difficult for the bulbs to get the nutrients they need to bloom again the next year. anyway, there appeared to be 9 or 10 narrow leaves poking through the ground, so I grabbed my spades and knee pad and dug them out. the bulbs are pretty small, but you never know... maybe, just maybe they are big enough to actually bloom along with the others... as long as we don't get a deep freeze to stunt their growth.

i moved them under the birch tree, which is one place i didn't plant bulbs last fall. i covered them with extra starbucks soil (more coffee grounds than dirt) from my handy-dandy earth-pots, which tech dad handed down to me and will house my cherry tomatoes and whatever else i decide on when spring comes, and replace the mulch that i had cleared out of the way. i should probably go sprinkle some grass seed over the disturbed spots from which i uprooted them.

i thought about taking pictures, but i felt like i might be jinxing myself.

anyway, even if the transplant is not successful, i got some fresh air whie baby bear napped. and i didn't spend more money on bulbs. now to take care of some of the indoor chores i've been neglecting. maybe it will help if i crack open the windows and let some fresh air in along with the sunshine...

I need professional help.

(with photography, that is. )

I stepped outside in the warm-ish drizzle to check the mail, and notice my garden's first crocus bud peeking out through the mulch. So of course, because of the odd fascination I have with capturing my meager flowerbeds' life processes, I present to you the next additions to my garden "family." Perhaps I'll get better at using the macro feature on my new camera, but these were the best shots I could capture today.

The spikes had surfaced last week, but I hesitated to photograph them for fear they could have been a stray clump of grass.

See the yellow tip of the bud, at the base of the green grass-like spikes? That's a crocus on its way...


Then I peered around the corner and found a few daffodil spikes shooting up in the flower bed extension I added last fall:



They COULD be tulips, but they look like daffodils to me. Time will tell. Let's hope they actually bloom, and the rest of the bulbs do too.

Welcome to a glimpse of the Southern USA, where contrary to what the calendar may indicate, Spring comes in February.

here we go again....

our yard was aerated today. the problem is, it has been so dry that the ground is really hard. so it doesn't look as much like cows have trampled through our yard as it did last fall. we gave up watering the grass when the summer heat continued to be too stifling, so the lawn is in need of some TLC. the lawn guy came and did the work for us for less than it would have cost to rent a push-aerator from home depot. that's a no-brainer. hubby's going to seed and fertilize. i spent 20 minutes picking up rocks after laying bear down for her nap. she has decided the retaining wall makes a fun balance beam to walk on, and i opted not to tempt her today. i picked up 5 gallons of rocks of all sizes which were dug up by the spikes on the aerating tractor. then i dumped them where the sidewalk ends.

it's a breezy day, but still far too warm for this time of year. i prefer crisp fall air. this feels more like a midwestern summer.

you can call me the airport shuttle... i've been there twice so far in the past two days, and will be heading back tonight to pick up someone and thursday to pick up someone else. bear loves looking for the airplanes and going under the runway bridges (aka "tunnels").

ok, after playing outside with bear this morning, then picking up rocks, i think i should shower before hubby gets home.

p.s. i forgot to mention that i get to see jackie and meet her kiddos tomorrow! we're meeting halfway betwen her parents' and our house. yay!!! we graduated from high school together way back when. she is one of my blogging buddies and friends irl. :)

rock pink on the cliff...

it's not much, but there is hope for the Spring.... BTW these were taken when I posted about it a while back. It's rainy and gross outside today.

are we being bribed?

when baby bear and i got home from having lunch with hubby and his coworkers, the development crew was out. apparently they had just reseeded next to the new sidewalk. we still have a nice big cliff. baby bear was sound asleep in her carseat, so i walked over to the bulldozer driver, who was friendly enough.

"can i help you?" he asked.
"i was just wondering if you know what they're planning to do to fix the drop off. you know they can't leave the cliff like that," i replied.
"i don't know, but i can ask him to come talk to you," (he nodded toward someone, who was nowhere in sight).
"that would be great," i replied. "i just need to go put my baby down for her nap."

well, whether or not whoever-he-is comes to share the developers' plans has yet to be seen. but as i walked back toward my house, i noticed extra seed on the front sidewalk. and yard. which is very far from the new sidewalk. it kind of reminds me of when i was in mexico, and the incumbent mayor of the pueblo i was in had put fresh dirt on the streets for his constituents. exxcept we got the leftover grass seed. i'm not complaining; our lawn needs all the help it can get. however, we don't want the side yard to slump down, sending our house with it. i had to call hubby and tell him about the "generous gift."

a few minutes later, i spoke with the supervisor, who said he doesn't know what the plans are, but he'll try to find out...

i'll keep y'all posted....