April (& May) Showers, bring beautiful flowers!

I've been so busy playing in the yard that I haven't stopped to take pictures or journal a thing! Just livin' in the moment!


What an absolute blessing my yard has been to me. It's the best divorce/starting over/learning to be old and single/finding myself therapy money can buy. And I truly believe it's all Biblical.

God says we reap what we sow. And, though I can't quote the exact scripture, He talks about the importance of working the land, working hard, not being lazy, and the importance of having a quiet time to get closer to Him. All of these things are directly part of gardening! I work hard to till the soil, add fertilizer and admendments to make sure my plants get off to a good start. Then I watch them every day to make sure they are doing well. I keep the harmful bugs off, treat them for fungus and rust if needed, fertilize and water them regularly. If I do my job right, I'm rewarded by beaufiful flowers and vegetables.

When I'm working in my flower beds, I'm not thinking about anything other than my plants. I'm not thinking about work. I'm not stressed over any personal issues. I'm just thinking about my plants. Yep. God knew what He was doing when he created beautiful plants and taught us to love and respect them.

Funny Onions

Here's a n unexpected onion experiment!

I moved some green onions into a long window box planter with the idea that green onions don't need much depth to grow. Well, here's what happened.

The long, normal looking onion was pulled from my big, deep container of onions. The short, stubby onions, with the VERY long roots were from the window box planter. These onions have been growing for about a year.

Very Interesting!

It's March! Hooray!

Sure couldn't tell it yesterday, but March is finally here. I am so glad. That means a few more weeks and Spring will officially arrive. Well, at least on the calendar. But although we had snow yesterday, we'll have warm, sunny 70+degree weather later this week and the weekend. Hooray! And yes, the snow is all gone. It snowed steady for several hours. The pic on the right was taken early. Before it quit snowing, all the plants were pretty much covered. Once the sun came out, it was gone within an hour.

Hard to imagine these bare little beds having pretty flowers in them, but they will soon.

I know. You folks up north are laughing at our little dusting of snow. But for Alabama, this is a big deal! We broke out everything and anything we could find to slide down the hills. I watched college students sliding on trash can lids, cookie sheets, shower curtains, boxes, clothes baskets, and plastic storage bins. It was hilarious!

I planted some seeds indoors a few weeks ago. They came up pretty well, but I have very poor lighting in my house, so they are long and scragly. If I try that again, I MUST invest in a light for them. Better to wait on warmer weather and plant outside. I'm learning.

4/30/08

The Backyard

Here's the backyard with lots of changes already made. Should have taken pictures prior, but didn't. We have removed several beds and planted grass in it's place.

My little veggie garden! Small, but it's a start. Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

5/18/08

The Backyard

Back right corner bed.

Here's the Nandena moved from the left corner. I was able to plant the one, but not the other, so I stuck it in a pot until my son can plant it for me. The ground was hard with layers of shale. Hoping to plant these along the fence to deter the dogs from barking at each other.

All kinds of weird things coming up in the bed.





Left Corner Flower Bed

Things are looking good. Slowly but surely. However, the hydrangeas I think are getting too much sun. They really need some shade. Hmmm.. The Hostas, as well. Maybe I should rearrange again.



Middle Bed


Not much here except the wierd tree. Some garlic came up, but hasn't done much. It doesn't get any sun. I set a few potted plants out just testing the shade/sun combo. The red mulch is pretty! And the new grass is SO pretty!










The Front Yard

Coming up nicely. I have never had Hollyhocs before, so I have much to learn about caring for them. They are my favorites. I just love them. And so do the bees and butterflies!