“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” –Annie Dillard

Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts

Monday, April 11, 2011

What a beautiful spring day...

Just wanted to share a few photos I took today in the yard...it's the warmest day yet and I've been outside as much as I can be!

Buds and a bird's nest...spring has arrived in my back yard!



              
my adorable new 'fairy door' from Collections, Etc.




One of two crane statues that just came yesterday, also from Collections, Etc.
 I'm hoping they might scare the birds away from the fish in the pond!


I'm also very encouraged that my sun porch is full of seedlings I've started; I'm very proud of myself. It's my first foray into the world of seed starting.  This is what I've got so far:
  • cherry tomatoes
  • big boy hybrid tomatoes
  • cucumbers
  • cauliflower
  • broccoli
  • bell peppers
  • watermelons
  • blackberries
  • strawberries
  • dahlias
  • delphiniums
  • hollyhocks
I've also started assorted herbs- lemon balm, spearmint, oregano, parsely, cilantro, chives, lavender, chamomile, rosemary and of course catnip for my three kitties.

Hubby is making me vegetable trellises to go along the fence, so that I can grow the vined plants vertically and save space. Pictures to come when it's all finished!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Happy Spring!

It's official, Happy Spring!!!

The seeds I planted last Tuesday are starting to grow. I bought Burpee and Jiffy mini greenhouses and so far between the two of them and a few planters, I've started cucumbers, bell peppers, big boy hybrid tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, garlic chives, dahlias and delphiniums in my sun porch. I still have more to plant- maybe I'll do that this afternoon. I've decided that this summer I'm going to try my hand at vegetable container gardening. Hubby is going to build me a raised bed underneath the trellises so our three rowdy dogs can't trample my flowers, but I don't want to put a raised bed where I'm planning on putting the veggies. So- I'm going to try a group of large containers. This is my first time planting veggies, so I hope they turn out! This has all been inspired by the 'urban homestead' trend I've been reading about. The economy's been so miserable and I love the idea of a modern day 'victory garden.' We have a small backyard and we are constantly entertaining so I'm not about to put a chicken coop back there or anything, but a vegetable garden...that's something I can do.

I also really like the idea of vertical gardening- we have a six foot wooden privacy fence around our entire backyard, and I think this would be a great way to beautify it. I saw some really inspiring pictures when I searched the term in Google images.

I've been really motivated lately in the home improvement department. About two weeks ago I used a steamer and removed what felt like a million layers of wallpaper from our upstairs hallway, pulled off the crown molding and painted all of the trim and doors a few coats of glossy white. Hubby's patched the old plaster and lat walls, I'm just waiting on him to finish sanding them so that I can give them a good coat of primer.


The new color I've picked for the living room, dining room, stairway and upstairs hall is "Cloudless" from Behr. It's such a refreshing blue. I love it, can't wait to get it all done!