Victory Garden, Freedom Garden, Front Yard Garden, Whatever

I'm putting in a vegetable garden. The back yard is dog space and too shady so the front yard gets the tilling. I have ideas of how I want to put the beds in and how to plant the seeds I've purchased but just like everything else, we'll see how it looks when it is all said and done.

I bought Broccoli, Carrots, Corn, Cowpeas, Lettuce, Okra, Onion, Spinach and Tomato seeds. They are all heirloom so I hope to plant the following year's crop from seeds that come off of these plants. I'm also looking to add in Garlic, Pumpkin and Zucchini but I haven't found/purchased those seeds yet. I need to find the garlic ASAP since it is a bulb and needs to go in the ground this fall.

I'm really looking forward to doing this. If I weren't headed out of town this weekend I'd be spending it measuring the areas I plan to plant and researching how I'm going to build the beds. I want to make it look as nice as possible but of course be functional as well.

I know there will be much trial and error but you have to start somewhere! I figure in a few years’ time I'll look back at the beginnings and laugh at the silly noobie mistakes I've made. Feel free to point me in the right direction if you see photos or read comments about what I'm doing that don't seem quite right. I don't mind folks passing on knowledge!

Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll post an update on this project with photos of sad little brown beds, ready and waiting for seeds and plants.

Also, I'd like to suggest that if you aren't doing something similar, contemplate it. It's a good thing to do for many reasons. It's better for you health wise, money wise and better for the environment since you won't be contributing to shipping in foods that you'd normally buy at the store.


Photo found at www.nebraskastudies.org
Just something to think about. Times are a changing, and in my opinion, they really ought to be.

brighterplanet.com

You may have noticed my 360 Challenge badge in the left column. It's for a website that "is dedicated to helping you take charge in the fight against global warming and build a clean-energy future.

They're currently holding a Climate Matters video contest that was developed to inspire the next President to take action on climate change.

This is one of the video submissions.


This Lawn is Your Lawn from roger doiron on Vimeo.

Climate does matter. What can you do?

The Back Patio

I blogged back in July about adding on to the back patio. It said that we'd add the 16"x16" pavers "in the next few weekends." Well, it was more like twelve weekends, but, we started the next step!

We needed to add 7 rows to extend the porch to where we wanted it and we were able to get down 4 of those rows.


Before


After
With a little bit of adjusting and three more rows the porch will now run the length of that wall of the house. What once was an 8'x8' patio will now be an 8'x20' patio.

It has a very hodgepodge look for sure though. We found 25 gray pavers in the lot of a house that is going to be torn down. Since they were a different style and size than the ones that were already there, we had to get creative with the layout design. Also, to reach the 20 foot length we wanted, we had to buy additional pavers but I wasn't able to find them in gray. I only found them in red, so the design took on a whole new look.


September 2007


October 2008
It turns out that we're going to need 2 more gray ones however, but I'm pretty sure I know where to find some. Otherwise we'll have to rethink our design and do some additional work to move around what has already been laid.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting those last 3 rows down and organizing the items we have out there in a nice and inviting way. We hope to use the space in cooler weather for friend and family gatherings.

I Have a Smart Dog

Well I have 2 smart dogs but this post is only about one of them. Milo is his name. He's awesome.


In the Snow
Anyway, a year ago we didn't have dog doors and the pups were new to the house and still learning how to go outside for potty business. They weren't quite learning how to let us know when they needed to go out so I hung a bell on the door.

The dogs were of course interested in what I was doing by the back door so I figured I'd go ahead and show them. I leaned over, said "Potty outside?” rang the bell then opened the door. Later when I took them out again I did the same thing.


At the Dog Park
The next day I was hanging out on the computer and I heard the bell ring. I thought, "No way... I only showed them twice, one of them must have bumped it." Then as I was headed toward the back door I heard it again. Milo was standing there at the door, looking at me expectantly. I was shocked and excited! So I praised him like mad and let him out.

Shortly after that we had doggie doors installed so the bell method fell by the wayside and I took it off of the door. It stayed tucked away on my desk for probably 6 months. In that time the cats figured out how to get out of the doors and over the fence so we had to monitor the dog doors again. I thought, while they are closed we'll just revert back to the bell method. I didn't expect him to remember the bell but he did. I heard it one day and just started laughing.


We actually have two back doors and two dog doors. One leads from the house proper to a closed in back porch. Then the porch one leads outside. The bell hangs on the outside door. The other day both doors and dog doors were closed. Milo barked at the inside door and as my Honey opened it for him, he ran to the other door and rang the bell! I guess he really wanted out!


Super Happy at the Dog Park!
In April I purchased a dog training kit that focused on clicker training. The book said to get the dogs to connect the clicking sound with good I needed to give them a food reward. After several clicking sessions over a few consecutive days the dogs will learn the pattern. Within the week of buying the book I did this multi day acquaintance test. After that I totally dropped the ball and have yet to teach them a trick. It is on my list of things to do.

Well some months later, let’s say July, I found the clicker and thought "I wonder if they remember what this does?" I should have known due to the bell training that they would but I was still surprised and excited when after just one click they both came to full attention and waited for their treat. I of course gave them one.


Silly Boy
Now fast forward to last weekend. Milo got out of the house. When these darn pups do that they do not respond to my calling them. That has yet to be trained. Their noses get the better of them and off they go down the street. So Milo took off. I immediately thought "Get the clicker!" I ran in the house and tracked it down then went out on the porch and yelled "MILO!" and clicked. That little mutt turned and bolted toward me like lightning!!


Milo Loves his Tennis Ball
I jumped up and down, hollering praises at him, clapping my hands, let him in the house and lavished him with treats and petting and all sorts of verbal praises.

So now I know, basically, that he is trained to come to me by the sound of that click. Fabulous smart dog!


Grassy Tongue


He was Chewing


My Sweet Boy Milo

More Walking?

I thought I did this part already. Well I did but...

My friend over at Nothing to see here turned me onto a 6 week walking program she started a few days ago.

Since I have a pedometer and recently bought a new battery for it, I figured I'd join her. Also, since I'm already climbing stairs, I figured counting those steps along with a few others wouldn't hurt the size of my keister and it will most certainly make my pups much happier!

If you're interested, check it out at America on the Move.

The cool thing about the interactive website is that once you register (for free of course) you get to choose a trail to walk, virtually. As you log your steps for the day it moves you along the trail. It's neater than it sounds. Check it out for yourself if you want to see. My friend chose the Iditarod Trail and I chose the Oregon Trail.

We'll see how far I make it down the Oregon Trail in the next 6 weeks!

The Stairs

You may or may not have noticed the little rabbit hopping along in the tall green grass there on the left hand side of my blog. I put that there to keep track of how many stairs I'm climbing.

But why is it there?

Well there is an answer and an explanation:

Answer - I'm a nerd and I like to track things.
Explanation - Without all of the long winded details, I'm backpacking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon next year.

*GASP* "That's a big deal Sarah... are you sure you can? I mean, I'm sure you can but you're going to have to work for it you know."

Yes I know. Hence the stairs.

Anyway, so the plan is this, I work up to walking 3000 stairs (up and back down again) 3 days per week. That's 9000 steps in one week. Huge, I know. Pretty scary really and I'm not looking to beat myself up if I never reach that many, however, you have to start somewhere.

So I started with 1 set of the 6 flights in my building PLUS 2 sets of 4 flights (because I work on the 4th floor).

The routine goes like this, 4 up in the morning, 4 down at lunch, for back up after lunch then 4 down again when work is done. Those are given. No matter what, I'll do 8 flights every single day.

Now the build up comes in on adding in the 6 flight routines. Last week I just put in 1 set of 6 for 3 days. This week I'm doing 2 sets of 6 for 3 days. Next week I'll add in one more and do 3 sets of 6 for 3 days.

The number on the cute little rabbit counter represents 1 day's worth of stair stepping for each week. So I'll update it weekly. As you can see it is at 384 now. That's how many steps 6 flights + 4 flights + 4 flights equal. Have I bored you yet?

Except for a couple of weeks that repeat the pattern (such as 6 sets of 6 for 2 weeks) I'll be adding one set every week. The plan is to be at 3000 by the end of March 2009. That's the earliest we can go. We may go in October '09. But if we go in March, I'll be ready.

Step, step, step, step, step. It’s hard but when I'm climbing and sweating and huffing and puffing and I think "Holy crap!" I envision the Canyon and think, "Oh this is so worth it."

Plus my ass is gonna be like POW!

Mini Vacation

I spent the last four days with my Honey and his parents. The parents were visiting from New Hampshire and we filled the weekend and days around it with things to do and see in the area. We went to a rodeo, the botanical and Japanese gardens, a museum and an Omni show plus we took the train to Dallas and went to the Dallas World Aquarium.

I'm pretty tired from my 4 day vacation and am looking forward to a quiet weekend coming up. Other than a baby shower on the 20th I have no other plans and I aim to keep it that way.

I've used a Kodak EasyShare DX4330 for about 5 years and it has been very good to me however I recently played with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi and am forever spoiled. The point and shoot just isn't going to cut it ever again but since that is all I have for now I took it out and about with the visitors and shot what I could.

Here are a handful of highlights.










I'm glad it was a bright and sunny day. This camera has always done better with outdoor photography. I have to say also, the dragonfly picture is the crowning jewel if for no other reason than it is extremely difficult to snap them. They normally don't sit still long enough, and certainly not when you only have a point and shoot and have to lean in within a foot to capture it!

I was so excited that it turned out. Now all I have to do is save my pennies for the camera I REALLY want.

Oh one more thing, I don't believe in touching up photos so what you see here are original from the camera.

Do Over

As I mentioned in my previous post, I spent some time over the last 2 weekends replanting the front beds. I originally added them this past spring. Since then I've learned some things and also I've paid more attention to how the sun hits the area. I've come to the conclusion that I didn't put the right plants in there initially.

So I pulled them out (mostly all dead) and put in new ones.

Lets just take a little picture tour down memory lane.


April 27th 2008


April 27th 2008


May 3rd 2008


Sept 7th 2008


May 3rd 2008 - Torenia, Polka Dot Plant, Coleus


Sept 7th 2008 - Variegated Lilyturf, Mexican Petunia, Dianthus
I'm confident that the plants I've put in now will do very well in the spot and in my opinion they look better too. :)

Random Crap

It has been a week and I don't have much to say really but I bet you anything by the time this blog is finished it'll be quite long. I do that sometimes.

The Cowtown Classic is off for me. I'm not ready. It was a sudden and eager decision; this year is just too soon. I do want to do it though, so expect me to bring it up again next year. I'm also going to continue riding my bike. I'm really looking forward to cooler weather so those rides will be more enjoyable.

The 3 day weekend was good. Leading up to it was hectic but since then things have been laid back. We had friends coming in Friday night for a visit so I freaked out and worked to get the house in order the couple of weeknights before. Other than 3 boxes, everything finally has a place in the house and it is CLEAN! That just isn't the norm, but now that it is, I like it and have kept it that way since.

After the friend visit we spent the weekend relaxed without any pressure from unfinished projects. Sure there are things to be done, but almost everything is in order now and the general maintenance of the home has been easy. It was nice to realize on Saturday that I didn't have a pile of boxes in the living room to deal with.

So I went plant shopping and bought a bunch of things to fill in the front beds around the boxwoods. I had purchased plants earlier this year for that spot but they didn't last the summer. I've learned a lot since then and bought new plants that WILL last our long hot summers. I spent some time Monday morning putting some of them in the ground but not all of them have been tended to. I'll get the rest of them in this coming weekend.

I also spent some time painting. I whipped out 2 watercolor paintings just for fun. I haven't drawn or painted anything in a very long time. Years. I'm pleased with them only because I didn't set myself up to do something fabulous, I just wanted to get some color on paper for fun and it WAS fun.

Yesterday I came to the conclusion that I need to reign in my fast food consumption (again). I go through phases and it has been getting increasingly worse to the point that I'm starting to see how much money I'm just throwing away on garbage. So I promised myself that when I got home last night I'd put together 3 bento lunches for the remainder of this week.

Now a lot of the time I have the grand plans of what I'm going to do when I get home and by the time I DO get home I'm so tired from the long ass drive (46 miles) that all my dreams and motivation for the evening projects is gone. So last night I allllmost bailed on the lunch making but I stopped myself and said, "Nope. You promised!" So I got out all my bento bits and dug a bunch of food out of the fridge and built myself 3 little bentos!

I was so proud. I even made peanut butter hummus and cooked some rice to incorporate into the lunches. By the time I was finished putting them together it was time to cook dinner. So yea, maybe I did prepare food for over 2 hours last night but I tell you what, it sure was nice to be able to spread everything out all over my perfectly clean kitchen counters and have zero stress while doing it.

I guess the whole point to this brain dump is this, after a year of being in this house; things are finally starting to come to a place where I feel normal and settled. Life is good. Really good.

I told you it was going to be a long post. ;)

Visual Oxymoron?

I’m pretty sure I saw an oxymoron this morning while driving to work.

It was a vanity plate.

It said:

“2 CLASY”

What do you think?

First Biking Update

Friday night I hurried home and put myself together to go out on my first bike ride in almost 2 years. I dusted off the camelbak, unearthed my bike shorts and brushed off my helmet and headed out right after work.

It wasn't too tough but it wasn't easy either. There were several hills to climb and I had to dig deep to get up a few of them. I thought my heart might beat right out of my chest!

I rode 6 miles in 50 minutes and I was tired. In my mind that isn't good enough to do this 20 mile ride in 2 weeks.

So what I'm going to do now is ride more this week and see how I feel about it by the end of the week.

Regardless, I'm glad I'm riding again and it is nice to have a goal to work towards.

The Cowtown Classic

Call me crazy if you want but just today I decided to see if I can do the shortest distance in the Cowtown Classic this year. Its 20 miles. I haven't been on my bike in at least a year. The ride is 2 1/2 weeks away.

I spent a few minutes looking at the info on the website, printed the cue and route maps along with the registration form. Then I ran to Target and picked up a Bike Computer. I've been wanting one anyway as I anticipate bike riding will commence this fall when the weather cools. We live too close to a NICE trail to not be riding.

Anyway, so over the next couple of weeks I'll see how far I can ride without too much trouble to gauge if I can even pull off a 20 mile ride in this short of a time.

I think I can. Actually I know I can so really the question is, can I do it and still enjoy it. That's the part I think I can do.

We'll see. I'll update how my first ride goes soon.

Feeling Accomplished

Wow I got a lot done this weekend. Alas there are no pretty pictures this time.

It is all a blur really, I can't remember everything exactly how it happened but the weekend felt long and although I got a lot done I also felt like I had plenty of time to relax and goof off, which I did as well.

Firstly, Honey and I were able to get some regular maintenance things done. The whole house was swept or vacuumed, the dishes were done and some laundry was taken care of. I even washed the dog blanket and the dogs! They got their nails clipped too. Milo doesn't like it but he holds still for me but Mina hates it. The poor thing is terrified so we wrapped her in a towel and Honey held her while I clipped as quickly as possible.

She also killed another squirrel and brought it into the house while we were out grocery shopping. She was barking at it wildly and it hit me funny that she was in the house, barking her head off at a dead squirrel. We also picked up a stray dog and brought him home. It was a little Scottie dog who turned out to be named Bogie. My Aunt and Uncle (they live next door) found his owner while we were off shopping.

I was able to finally get my winter clothes washed and put away for the summer. You may think it is a little too late for that, and although they could have easily gone into storage several months ago, they'll be in there several months still before it cools off again. The laundry process isn't finished. I need to de-wrinkle all the clean warm weather clothes and put them away properly. I think laundry is the bane of my existence.

On Saturday I mowed the front and back yards and Honey edged the driveway. He had gone to get his haircut and jumped in on the lawn maintenance action when he returned.

Yesterday I finished my plans for cleaning up the backyard. Due to the hot summer weather we've had some leaves falling and the yard actually needed to be raked! I was happy the temperature was cool because raking in mid August is just ridiculous. After that I got the hoe and rearranged the dirt around all the holes the dogs have dug. By rearrange I mean I turned the mounds around the holes back into the holes to fill them and level out the ground as best as I could. It isn't perfect, but it is better. I think we'd have to bring in a tiller to level the whole yard now. I'm sure they'll dig more, but the old holes are now filled instead of hidden by tall grass. It's dangerous out there!

After that I went into the shed to get the spreader to spread some grass seed in the bare places but was sidetracked by the messy shed. So I also cleaned and organized the shed as it had gotten cluttered and out of control. Just as I was finishing it started to sprinkle so I grabbed the spreader and got the grass seed down quickly. Perfect timing!

Before all of the hole filling but after the raking I also paved a 72"x24" area with bricks and pavers for our garbage, recycle and yard trash bins. The 3 pavers that were there were used as part of the expanding porch project but we didn't want those bins to sit on the bare ground, plus we had a surplus of free bricks to use so I made a new spot for the bins to sit.

Somewhere in all of this I managed to watch about 6 hours of TV and play World of Warcraft for a few hours as well.

It feels really good to get so much done.

Making Plain Bagels

I work with some people who are from the New England area. When they first arrived they used to go on and on about how much better things were up there than down here. One of the things they've still not gotten used to are the bagels. Apparently bagels from the north are much better than this "hard round bread" we make down here.

So one of these guys comes back from PA last week and in hand he has some northern bagels. He says to me "Hey, come try this." So I did. They were right. Northern bagels are really good. I've never been a big bagel eater anyway, so I've never been offended nor do I care to say that southern bagels are crap beacause compared, they are.

Then I had the idea that maybe I could make good bagels too. So I did a little searching and came up with some recipes to try and set to the task this past Tuesday evening. This is what I came up with.

Step 1

Dissolve 2 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast in 1 1/2 cups of warm water in a large bowl.

Step 2

Add 2 Tbsp of granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt and 4 1/4 cups of flour the stir to form a soft dough.

Step 3

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until it is smooth. It takes about 10 minutes. (This photo was taken after about 7 minutes of kneading. The initial consistency is more dry and broken apart, just keep at it.)

Step 4

Cover the dough with a lint-free towel and allow to rise for 15 minutes.

Step 5

Flatten the dough, then roll it out to a thickness of one inch, and about 12 inches long and 6 inches wide. Cut it into strips 12 inches long and one inch wide.

Step 6

Roll the strip between your hands into a cylinder about one-half inch thick.

Step 7

Cut each cylinder in half crosswise so you have 12, 6 inch pieces.

Step 8

Form each 6 inch piece into a ring, and fold one end over the other pinching it tight to form circles.

Step 9

Cover the bagels again with a towel and allow to rise for 20 minutes.

Step 10

Place the bagels, four at a time, into 16 cups of boiling water.

Step 11

Reduce the heat and simmer for 7 minutes. I turned the bagels over about halfway through the simmering.

Step 12

Remove the bagels and drain well.

Step 13

Place them on baking sheets.

Step 14

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown in a preheated 375° oven.

Step 15

15 minutes through the baking.

Step 16

Voila!
They're not half bad. They aren't northern bagels though and the only thing that makes them southern are the fact that they were baked from scratch in my Texas kitchen by myself who is born and raised Texan.

So whatever, they're good. I can't impress my work friends with them though I'm sure, but they're feeding me and my honey well enough this week and that's good enough for me.

Saturday

Developers have bought several lots and old houses in our neighborhood and plan to demolish them and build brand new "better" homes. 2 of those houses have already been demolished, one of which sits right behind our house. Since they've torn that house down we've had a clear view of the main, busiest road that runs through the neighborhood. That clear view of so much activity has set our little Mina to barking. A lot apparently.

So we were informed of this, since we don't hear it much being gone all day, and a suggestion was made to put up a fence. We pondered the idea and decided, "Yea, we don't much like seeing that traffic either, and we certainly don't want a building crew to see all of our backyard business plus we of course don't want to bother our neighbors with our little barking dog."

The suggestion also came with information about cheap bamboo fencing that would easily be installed against our existing chain link fence. So we setout yesterday to acquire said fencing and the work commenced.

Most of the work involved clearing all of the English Ivy and Honeysuckle off of the existing fence, not to mention other sundry plants.

We did most of the clearing in the morning and then I got a wild hair and drug us out there at 5pm to start putting up the fence.







We put up the first section and took a step back to see how it looked and to see if you could see through it easily. We were disappointed to notice that yes, you can see straight through it as if it weren't even there. So the whole reason we bought the damn thing in the first place was immediately thwarted.

However, we decided we liked the way it looked, so we continued the installation. The 4th section is much longer than we need to finish the length of the fence so our plan is to cut the remainder off and then in half to install a second layer across the bottom. That should help and prevent Mina from seeing through. We may back that second layer with a more opaque material to make sure she can't see through.

Regardless, we're happy with the fence. We think it looks cleaner and eventually we hope that the English Ivy will grow back and cover it more fully so we'll have more of a plant life fence than a blank bamboo fence.

A Cool August Day

When I went outside for lunch I thought, "Oh it's kind of cool today." When I was able, I checked the temprature and found it was 96°.

That's pretty bad when you feel "cool" at 96°.

It is nice, regardless. Now for more rain!

Sweet Glorious Rain!

I went outside at 6:25am this morning and it seemed a bit darker than usual. In my foggy state I just thought "well, the days do get shorter" but then I heard thunder. I looked up to see a nice coverage of gray rain clouds blowing around in the sky.

I went in to watch the news and saw this wonderful line of rain working it's way across the west side of 820 and toward my house. By the time I left for work the ground was wet and there was a light sprinkle.

HOORAY!

It pretty much rained on me all the way to work but the coolest part was as I merged to a northbound route from eastbound I realized I was centered between big bright sunshine on the right and super dark rain clouds on the left. It was quite a site to see the buildings all lit up in the sunshine with the dark cloudy backdrop.

Then I saw a full arched rainbow shining colorfully against that dark background.

It was wonderful!

Long Vacation

Well I've been on vacation since the 19th and I'm back to work today. I spent last week at my parents' house on the lake and I am SORE. It's all good though. Being sore from tubing is awesome. I have at least 7 bruises too. As Dad said, "Living on the lake is hard." :)

I feel like I need to get back to business now. My head is full of projects, to-do lists and ideas. I'm going to write it all down to make more sense of it so I can empty my head a bit and get more organized.

There is still a lot to do in the house:

* It occurred to me this morning that we have a ton more storage space in the kitchen than I realized. There's a space on top of the cabinets where my grandmother kept her cookie jars. We've got lots of dishes we don't use everyday, along with smaller appliances that will fit up there nicely. So the kitchen will need some reorganizing.

* The bedroom needs to be finished in regards of painting. I also need to thin out my clothes and pack away the winter things. I should have done that months ago but it will be hot for many months more so I still think it will be a good idea to get those things put away.

* The hallway needs some major touchups. The paint peeled really badly when we pulled the tape off of the molding.

* The dining room hasn't even been started even though we have the paint colors chosen and bought.

* There are boxes in the living room that still have stuff in them that need to be dealt with. I'll be weeding through those again to donate some things that I thought I wanted to keep a few months ago when we went through them the first time.

* The closed in porch area is looking ratty again too. Things get stashed in there too easily. I want to make that room nicer. To brighten it up, I even thought about painting the wood paneling. We also need to finish the laundry area. The pipes are and dryer duct is an eyesore and we have plans to add shelves in there to hide them and also be useful for laundry needs.

And then there is the yard. This is all just stuff that needs to be done. I haven't even gotten to all of the things I want to do for me. There are a myriad of things I want to learn, I'd love to get a real garden going, install a rain water collection system and start a compost pile. I also just bought a bunch of patterns to make clothes, some for everyday wear and some for belly dance costuming. I've also got the urge to start being creative again with painting and drawing.

Oh yeah and I'd also got to find the time to loose 70lbs and change my entire eating lifestyle.

Some days this all overwhelms me and other days I'm glad I've got the energy and passion to want to do so many things. This is where the list and good planning comes in so I can take things one day at a time and eventually I'll get some things done that need to be done and along the way, do other things that I want to do.

No wonder I'm so tired at the end of the day. My brain is full tilt.

Update

We got a couple of things done this weekend.

First, I remembered that my Aunt told me she had an abundance of Lily Turf next to her garage. She said I could have as much as I wanted, so I returned the 5 I bought from Lowe's earlier last week. I'm thrilled to be able to use free plants!

Secondly, I went ahead with laying the small pavers and planting the Mexican Petunias. I'll transplant the Lily Turfs in the near future.


Thirdly, we spent an hour outside laying the first row of extension we have planned for the existing porch. This row is made up of 4 2'x2' pavers that match the porch that my grandmother had laid many years back. The rest of the pavers to follow are 16"x16". We have them but it'll be a few more weekends before we're done with that project.


Slowly but surely!

Gardening

Oh holy cow. I thought the gardening bug already bit me but I was wrong. Earlier this year I bought a book about garden designs in Texas. I looked at it initially and thought it was a great book with great ideas but for some reason none of it really stuck.

I picked it up again this week and man oh man do I get it now! I've realized that most of the plants I bought at last year's plant sale (at the botanical gardens) are perfect for Texas. Most of them are used in this book's layouts and most of them are perennial. That's what I wanted! I bought stuff willy nilly last year and this year I'm learning that they are exactly what I should have bought. Also most of the bulbs that were existing in the yard that need to be thinned are mentioned in the book too, so I've got an abundant supply of the perfect plants to transplant and put in new beds.

You'd think that I would already know that the plants that have done great in my yard are great for Texas, but to be validated by this book just lights me right up. I've got garden designs flying all over my brain and I'm already trying to figure out how to adjust my budget for the fall sale that I know is coming.

In the meantime though, I did buy some plants for the bed I started earlier this year. I had to get those irises in the ground but after I did, I didn't mulch and other than watering, didn't do any more tending to them. So this past weekend I cleared out all of the weeds and mulched the hell out of it.


So far this week I've bought 12 long skinny pavers to put between the mulch and the curb so if it rains the mulch won't wash away. I also bought 5 Lilyturfs and 4 Mexican Petunias. The Petunias will go around the front of the light post and the Lilyturfs will go around the back side. I'll adjust the existing irises back and more clumped together.

I'll update with pictures after Sunday!