Herb Garden

I have had a small herb garden for four years. I only planted what I knew I'd use. I have rosemary, chives, dill, oregano, thyme, basil and sage. I planted it right in the middle of our vegetable garden and have used it regularly. There is nothing like fresh rosemary and oregano marinade on grilled chicken. My sage plant was several years old and met an untimely demise being trampled by a neighbor's horse of a dog. Today I went and bought 2 new sage plants, some lemon thyme and Greek oregano. I trimmed back the existing plants and planted my new ones. I also planted some garlic. It takes awhile to mature, but well worth the wait. I had to replace the sage. What would Thanksgiving be like without fresh sage in the dressing?

There were some decent sized green tomatoes left in the garden, so I picked four for fried green tomatoes tonight with our dirty rice. And then again this Saturday, when I'm in Kentucky for the Glendale Crossing Festival, I can get a plate of fried green tomatoes from the Whistle Stop Cafe!

I Love Surprises!

Our yard is full of flowering plants and shrubs that I have planted over the years. The other day I saw a cluster of spider lilies that had popped up in the flower bed by the sidewalk. I had totally forgotten about them because they don't have leaves and only bloom in late August or early September. My grandmother used to have them and I always thought they were pretty. They are hard to find now and not cheap, but they multiply quickly so it's definitely worth it. I had even forgotten I had stuck some of the bulbs out in the bed by the mailbox when I relandscaped this spring.

Butterflies in the Garden

Since I have been making stained glass suncatchers, I have made some on copper stakes to put in my flower garden and pots. I have birds, flowers, rabbits and butterflies. Recently I made two 3D butterflies and listed them on Etsy. The blue butterfly is the most awesome shade of blue, like the sky on one of those absolutely crystal clear days. The other butterfly is orange with streaks of yellow that shows up beautifully in strong light. Plant stakes look especially nice in green plants. I keep some in my houseplants all winter.

Vegetable Garden

The garden is finally starting to look like a garden. I was checking the squash and cucumbers yesterday and there are quite a few that are about 2 inches long by now. There are a few eggplants that are about the size of a ping pong ball and we've already started picking some of the grape tomatoes. I planted extra tomato plants this year for fried green tomatoes. We'll have some tomatoes and bell peppers soon. The resident rabbit has stripped the broccoli, but it's just about too hot for it to produce now anyway.

Produce prices are ridiculous at the grocery store and the Farmer's Market is far enough away that it's not practical to go very often. I think at this rate our garden is going to get larger every year.

Smell that Mimosa!

Our Mimosa tree started blooming last weekend. Since the rain yesterday the blooms have really come out. We were sitting on the deck this evening and it smelled fantastic! It is right behind the patio beside the pool, so you smell it the whole time. My youngest son and I planted it in 1991. It was just a twig about a foot tall that I paid a dollar for. We never dreamed it would end up becoming such a beautiful tree.

Poison Ivy!

This shade garden looks great this year, but deceptively so. I was cleaning out some wild strawberries and hackberry seedlings and must have gotten into poison ivy. The underside of my left arm made pretty good contact, and it is still in the itchy stage. Liquid Bandage works pretty well until it starts peeling off.

My columbine has reseeded very well in this bed. My red trillium has mulitplied this year, but my pink bleeding heart didn't come up. There are 2 lavender azaleas that I just planted to replace the old ones that died due to the drought last year. My 5 goldfish survived the winter in the pond. One is pretty fat, so I'm hoping for babies!

I have spent the last week planting the garden and shrubs and opening the pool. I am dog tired at the end of the day, but I really don't care. I am thrilled to be outdoors and doing what I love. Poison ivy won't stop me.

Spring Planting

Spring is finally here! I bought a flat of Calibrachoa (Million Bells) for hanging baskets. I also bought some Better Boy and Early Girl tomato plants, bell pepper plants and some annual herbs. Our garden hasn't been tilled yet, but I can't wait to try out the new mini-tiller we bought. I plan on expanding the garden this year to include eggplant, yellow crookneck squash and Italian green beans.

My pink tree peony has lots of buds ready to bloom. Hopefully they will get to bloom this year. Last spring we had a hard freeze in late April and it ruined all my peonies and irises. After the drought last year, I was afraid that there wouldn't be many blooms, but so far it has been beautiful and lush.

I have been enjoying getting my hands into the dirt. I have transplanted several azaleas and rhododendrons from our front yard to the shade under the oak trees so we can redo the front yard. My muscles ache from digging up shrubs, but I am extremely happy to be outdoors and gardening.