Spring At Last!

Spring has finally arrived and everything is blooming and putting out new growth. In the last week or so, the trees have really greened up and the air is so sweet. The mornings are comfortable, but not hot or muggy feeling and I'm so happy that the cold seems to be behind us now.
I've not felt too good over the past couple weeks, but I've slowly but surely started cleaning up the yard and have been planting a few things, and even got most of the bushes in the front trimmed and shaped as best as I can do. It's amazing what a bit of color can do for a yard. It just makes you feel good!

There are a half dozen wrens that hang out in the back yard and this one was sitting in the drizzling rain, waiting to see if it was safe enough for it to mill around under the birch tree for something to eat.

When I took this picture, a few more wrens showed up and were happily foraging under the bird feeder.

If you look at the upper left-hand corner of this picture, there's a speck of red.......that's actually a rose. You can see the cane to the right of the tree. I'm guessing it must be about 12 feet tall!

Here's a closer look at that rose. Isn't it gorgeous?! 

This is a hosta that was here when we moved in last year. I planted another one a few feet away, but it isn't up yet. I'm trying to fill in this area at the corner of the house and I'm off to a good start!

A nice bit of color peeking over our fence from the neighbor's yard.

We're getting some much needed rain today. Nothing hard, but a nice drizzly rain and something to wash the thick coating of yellow pine pollen off of everything. The pollen counts are really, really high right now so the rain is a welcome relief. I don't really suffer with allergies myself, but my nose and throat still get a little irritated when I'm outside. I'm thankful it's not any worse because I know how some folks suffer during spring.

It's good to be back blogging again, and will be posting more pictures as my yard progresses and more of what I've planted comes up.

Hope you're having a wonderful day today and wonderful weather wherever you may be!

Waiting Impatiently!

If you're anything like me, this time of year is probably the most difficult because it's not quite time to be outside planting and having to wait nearly two more months seems like an eternity. The new seed catalogs have been arriving in the mail for the past couple weeks (making me all the more impatient), and the first of the spring bulbs are popping their heads above the ground. Birds cluster around the feeder in the birch tree busily feeding, and a pair of house wrens just started re-building last year's nest for a new batch of babies.
Well, I may not be able to plant outside yet, but I can get a step closer by starting seeds indoors so they'll be ready to set out after the last frost. I bought this seed starter at Walmart a few days ago for only $5.00, and will sit down this afternoon with my seed packets and get them going. There are 72 peat cells to work with so I must say, a great beginning to this year's garden!

Some of the things I'm going to start are lemon balm, chamomile, thyme, rosemary, stinging nettle (a great medicinal and nutrient-packed plant), marigolds, and calendula. I'm not going to start any tomatoes because I can get them cheaply at Walmart, as well as a few other things and they'll generally start setting things out in April.
Another project is to brighten up both the front and back yard. I went outside yesterday afternoon and took a long look at everything, making a mental picture of where I wanted to plant flowers and where I want my vegetable garden to be. I always think it's a shame when yards go untended or planted, but I realize that not everyone wants to, or has the desire to, be a gardener and so I have my work cut out for me because it looks like no one has ever done much around here.

 The back yard, left of the patio. That's our Yorkie, Clairee

Center of the back yard, and the birch tree with the bird feeder

This is looking off to the right of the patio. 

The ground is covered with a lot of moss, a variety of weeds, and the occasional patch of grass. It's also quite hard and rocky, but I love a challenge and can't wait to dig in and get my hands dirty! You'll have to agree though, that I've got plenty of room for vegetables and anything else I'd like to plant, so you know I've looked through the seed catalogs at least a dozen times each.......sigh.

Well, that's the start of some of my plans. What kinds of things are you planting this year? Anything new or different? Big garden or small? Be sure and let me know how your's is coming along and as my garden gets going, I'll be posting pictures and regular updates as well.

Happy gardening!   :)

Spring Cleaning & Thoughts Of Gardening

We're only in the first week of January and my mind is on getting some spring cleaning done around the house and of course, planning my garden. I had hoped to be able to get outside and work on cleaning up around the shrubs in the front yard so I could start amending the soil in a new flower bed, but it's been raining all morning and it doesn't look like I'll make it outside today. But that's ok. I've got plenty to do inside, AND I've got a new seed catalog that came in the mail the other day that I'd really like to take my time to go through. Hmmm.......sounds like a good cup of tea is in order while I'm browsing!



Just a bit of rain.......

So, my day will be a bit of cleaning, getting the laundry caught up, and maybe a nap later on (only after I go through my catalog!). Rainy days make me so sleepy and lazy, and sometimes it just feels good to snuggle under the comforter and doze off to the sound of rain falling outside.
I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday wherever you are and thanks so much for stopping by!

Straw Bale Gardening.......More Planning!

As much as I love gardening I was really disappointed that I wasn't able to do as much as I wanted this year, especially now that I have a back yard and plenty of room. Although I was able to plant a few rose bushes, basil and tomatoes, my knee was bothering me a lot so getting down on the ground and back up again was a little painful and I worried about injuring my knee even more so I didn't press my luck.
I happened to come across an article about using straw bales as a type of raised garden and I was intrigued. This isn't anything new and while I never gave it much thought, this is the perfect solution for a gal with a bum knee!
Anyhow, I continued reading through a few different articles gathering information so I'd be ready next spring. If you haven't ever grown anything like this before there is a bit of preparation with the bales before you can actually start planting, so here's what I've learned so far.......

• Use tightly strung straw or rice bales, not hay, as they contain seeds you don't want growing in your garden. Know where you want to put the bales because you won't be moving them.
• A good suggestion if you have moles or other such critters, is to put some hardware cloth or chicken wire down on the ground under the bales to keep them from digging underneath.
• Wet the bales for the first three days---it was suggested once in the morning and in the evening.
• On the fourth through seventh days, do nothing. The bales will begin to heat up as they decompose.
• After the seventh day and the bales have cooled off, add a good inch or inch and a half of a good weed-free compost/potting soil mix on top of the bales.
• Push aside enough of the soil to set your plants; or plants seeds as usual and mist in gently.
• Since straw doesn't hold water as well as if you planted in the ground, you need to water your garden at least once a day during the heat of summer.
• Use a good organic fertilizer to supplement your soil at first, then maybe once a month or so after the first couple weeks of growth.

Another great thing about using bales to grow in, is that in autumn after your last harvest you can add them to your compost pile and start out with new bales in the spring.
As far as how much you can plant in each bale, I read that four tomato plants or four pepper plants will grow nicely in one bale. Maybe with something like squash, I'm guessing one plant since they do spread out and can get rather large. If you're using the bales in a square, you could grow carrots, parsnips, or other root vegetables in the center, truly maximizing the growing space available.
I really wished I read about this earlier this spring, but this will give me time to find out where I can buy the bales locally, plan where I want to put them, and what I want to grow, so there's plenty to look forward to until next spring rolls around.
My goal with my garden is to grow more and buy less, maybe even having enough to put in the freezer to have throughout the winter. It's just one more little step towards becoming more self-sufficient and putting healthy, homegrown food on our table.
I'm really excited about this and please, if you have any tips or hints to share about straw bale gardening, I'd love to hear from you!

Planning For Next Year

There was a time when just about everyone had a garden and big or small, harvest was a time when everyone helped to ensure that nothing went to waste and all that hard work meant plenty of food on the table throughout the winter months. During World War II, people were encouraged by the government to grow their own vegetables both because of rationing, and because commercially canned goods were sent to the soldiers, so it was a patriotic thing to grow your own garden and help support the war effort.
After the war was over and things returned to normal, convenience was on everyone's minds. Grocery stores had produce shipped in, making it more and more available to customers year round. Soon, folks began to realize that buying was much easier than growing it, making home gardening less and less of a necessity.
Well, we don't have rationing or victory gardens today but we can still have a garden and provide our families with good-tasting, pesticide-free produce. There's a certain pride that comes when you put food on the table that YOU planted, tended, and harvested and honestly it's a really good feeling! Not only that, but homegrown produce just TASTES better. I've always tried to have a garden no matter where we've lived, but there were a few years when I didn't have a garden because we were going to be moving in mid summer and I wasn't about to put a lot of work into a garden I was just going to leave behind before I got a chance to harvest it. But now that we're somewhere that we may be staying for a while, I've already started planning next year's garden and the ideas are flowing!
In today's busy, busy world we need to take time to get back to the basics and enjoy the simple things life has to offer and remember that gardening is a joy, not a job. To be outside in the fresh air and sunshine, listening to the birds singing and getting your hands in the dirt is fulfilling and I believe, makes the quality of life just that much better.

A Mother's Passion

For me, being outside and having my hands in the dirt is great therapy. It's a wonderful feeling to take a piece of bare ground and turn it into a lush vegetable garden or maybe planting a new flower bed in front of the house, and no matter where we've lived I've always tried to plant something.

This year I didn't get to do much gardening because I injured my knee somehow, but I'm already planning what I want to do come next spring. I have a small front yard I want to plant flowers in, and there's a perfect spot in the back yard for a nice little vegetable garden so I definitely have a lot to look forward to!
I owe my love of gardening to my Mother. I can't ever remember a time in my life when we didn't have veggies growing and flowers everywhere, and over the years she's given me a lot of wonderful advice and ideas for my own gardens and I love her for passing on her passion to me.

This post is part of the "On My Mind" feature over at Down To Earth .