Grass seeds are down, manure is spread on top, and the weather provided several days of rain. No fun weather to be outside in, but it is sure great for the garden.
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Planting Veggies? Of course I am!
Christmas is now long gone, which is both sad and fun. Sadness of not having the Christmas tree anymore, but so happy that it is time for outdoor gardening projects. I got tons of different colored tulip bulbs from my father-in-law for Christmas this year and I have planted almost all of them. Some straight in the dirt along the fence, some in dirt of the front yard, and some in pots. The good thing about pots is that you can move them around and place them wherever you want to, and if you change your mind about the location you can just move them again, and again, and again. I love planting things, and have always done. My parents had a big garden when they just had me, and my favorite thing to do was to crawl in between the potato plants and dig in the dirt. Or, crawl to the fridge, open the door and go nuts over all the freshly picked tomatoes that was located on the bottom shelf. I have seen pictures of it, and I look ecstatic among all the plants in the garden, and that is how I still feel about gardening. Like today, when I rather would have stayed at home from work working in the backyard raking up leaves, cutting branches, talking to my new, small, sweet peas coming up from the dirt for the first time, and pulling up some of the green leeks that should be cut up used and eaten. I might even give some to my dear neighbor as she loves organic foods too. Hopefully I have more time to do this tomorrow when I only work morning in second grade.
The weather here in Southern California has been almost too nice lately, and this weather is not common for this time of the year. It feels more like May or June, than January. Here I am sitting in a beige, cotton skirt and red tank top hiding in the shade, as the sun burns too much in the middle of the day. The birds are outside in their cage chirping away to the sound of the wild birds, who are having a blast in the breeze and sunshine. The cat is diving in the fallen leaves and the hubby is doing laundry in the garage with the doors open… it simply feels like summer.
“Snorre” – Super helper and wannabe catcher of flies.
It wouldn’t surprise me the slightest if the weather switched and we got more perspiration, clouds, and cooler winds. What ever nature brings is, I guess, what the nature needs. Hopefully. When the plants now are up from hiding in the dirt as small seeds, some rain would not hurt at all, I would almost welcome it. For a day or two at least. More than that and I think I might start complaining.
Happy Early Spring to you gardner out there!
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Christmas is really on its way…
One of these are now starting to grow in a flower pot located in the kitchen. Hopefully it will grow fast in the inside heat and the light from the lamps in the kitchen. Ours is pink, and I can’t wait to see what it will look like!
I really enjoy gifts that grow. Yes, I am talking about plants – nothing else! For a thoughtful gift that lasts, start with just the right pot, add the perfect plant, and voilà: a perfect personalized gift that will grow and change for the time to come. Who could say no a plant? I sure couldn’t, I love love love everything that grows from the ground. One new tradition that I started last year is the one where I go to VONS’s flower department and buy their mini evergreen plant decorated with something glittery adding on the holiday spirit to the plant.
On our front porch for the holidays…
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Still Nice Fall Days
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Yes it is true, I have a thing for succulents. You acn do so much with succulents and they are not craving much water or care, they just simply grow in the own speed and they are fine with being left along. Still they are green and colorful and grow almost anywhere and in anything. Just look at these fantastic photos. It is living art.
This last creation is my favorite one, as I like clean lines and not too cluttery things.
Next time I build a bench, or my dad that is, I am going to try to add this to the architecture of the bench.
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Magical Succulents
I did not get into succulents until this spring when my mother-in-law gave me a couple of cuttings of her plants. Theu are easier to grow than I anticipated so as a result I try to create cuttings as often as I can. (My new little front yard succulent and sea shell planting arrangement as well as the backyard table arrangement)
But this is what I really want to create (from Sunset magazine 2010):
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Planning to transfer my summer garden into a cool-season vegetable garden
(Current summer garden)
I start most of the seeds outdoors during different parts of the year. It is a sport to see what will come up and what needs to be seeded in a pot first. One thing that I’ve had in the ground since spring, are my spring onions. I harvested them once during june but now some of them seem to start up again. Hopefully I will be able to harvest them once more before winter.
