One opportunity I didn't miss!

In the past I have been one of those people who misses opportunities when it comes to potted plant gifts. I love receiving potted plants--even more than cut flowers because I have the opportunity to replant them outside and enjoy them when they grow and flower the following year or growing season. However, I normally don't take the time to do it. When the plant dies, from too much or too little watering or not enough light, I throw it out and sigh heavily because I know I missed an opportunity to enjoy it later. I think, "If only I had taken the extra time to replant."

I now have something to be proud of because last year I received an Easter lily and later planted it out of doors at the end of my driveway with marvelous results. It looks wonderful and it is now a waist-high beauty with at least ten blooms on it. Best of all, it took virtually no work to make it beautiful!

It did seem to take some time to establish itself and I wondered if it would actually bloom again, but to my delight it is so pretty.

I can't say that I will never miss another opportunity but this has certainly taught me a lesson. I will keep how pretty this plant is in my mind and hopefully will not miss the opportunity to add to my landscape the next time. This present from last year is one that just keeps on giving.

Garden Update

When I look at my garden this week, I just can't get over how much better it look. I was beginning to worry about six weeks ago because it was way to hot and we were having a bit of a drought. Now we have green beans that are almost at the top of the poles.

We decided to try rattlesnake beans this year rather than our usual Kentucky Wonders. We may be sorry but I like the looks of the pink blossoms.

We have some nice red cabbages that are a bit more green than red. I don't know why.

And we already have peppers. This is a chili. I am ready for some great Mexican home-cooked meals. I also have a number of cilantro plants.

The squash I am guardedly optimistic about. It looks good but I know we have to really watch it to protect it from pests.

So far the pests are quite as bad as I expected. Of course we are now in our fourth year of organic growing and trying to encourage beneficial plants and insects. At some point the beneficials could help but we will have to monitor very carefully.

We do have wild blackberries this year. I am very excited to have them. I know I have to fight the birds for them but I hope I can get my share.

My husband surprised me a couple of days ago with fresh lettuce and spinach from the garden.

And we are now on the third picking of Oregon pea pods. They are yummy--so sweet that I can't help but pick them and eat them straight off the vine.

My husband also brought home some squash.

We cooked them and ate them the same afternoon. Right out of the garden. That is the way to eat vegetables.

Spring squash

We actually have some squash! I have been battling squash bugs for several years since we first started our garden. This year things look promising. We planted straight neck squash rather than our old faves the crookneck. The crookneck is supposed to be the favorite plant for squash vine borers when they hatch out of their eggs and bore into the centers of the squash vine where they basically eat the life out of the plant.

This year, we covered our squash with row covers, then uncovered them when the squash needed the blooms pollinated. I did try to pollinate with a brush but quickly realized that it was a lost cause. I decided to take a chance and see how the plants grew and spray them with BT to kill worms.

So far, so good. As I said, I did plant some straightneck squash and the vines are a bit larger than crookneck so they might fare slightly better.

I also have some Ronde de Nice squash. They are zuchinni squash that are nice and round like little balls. I really like how they look on the vines. These are really putting on fruit and are looking good so far. I have read that they are an Italian variety and also a French variety. I can't really say but they are supposed to be a good squash for stuffing.

We will be watching very carefully and inspecting for vine borers. We may try injecting the plants with BT and we may also plant a second crop right away and cover them with row covers. That way they have a chance to mature a bit before the second wave of the vine borer attacks begin.

We are taking nothing for granted and I must say I am very thankful for each and every squash we havest!

My first terrarium

The other day my grandson and I made a terrarium. We made it from left over plants we used in a previous project and so far it looks pretty good. It looks good after almost a week and I haven't done a thing to it other than moving it from place to place. Right now it is in my kitchen which is the worst place in my house to grow and nurture flowers. It may be the only kind of plant that will grow there--at least I hope so.

It WAS a very easy project. This one is made from a large glass jar, pebbles, potting soil, plants (leftovers), rocks, moss (from my mom's yard) and a small wild violet from my yard.

The idea to make one was from my friend Charlotte who makes beautiful terrariums and sells them at the old Fairgrounds in Newnan on Market Days. Hers are exceptionally beautiful. She told me that "anyone could make a terrarium." Because of this I decided to give it a try.

A terrarium is supposed to be a little enclosed ecosystem of living plants (and sometimes animals). It should be self-supporting and shouldn't need any care at all. I will have to see it this is true but if it works like I think it will, it should be practically care-free.

You also can grow a terrarium in almost any glass container, from a mason jar to an old unused aquarium. I like what I have done so far and I want to say thanks to Charlotte for turning me on to this easy project.

A teacher's gift

Tomorrow is the last day of school for our little grandson and he and I decided to make one last project for the school year. This one was for his teacher. Actually he has two teachers and so we made two potted plants.

It was a simple thing to do. We found the pot on sale a couple of weeks ago and just bought the plants, some potting soil, some small rocks and then after we re potted all the plants together, we made a sign of thanks for the teachers and taped it to a dowel with double sided tape.

We also added a little turtle with a small turtle on its back. A sweet little extra cute thing we added. This was our favorite thing. The pebbles will hold the dirt in place and hopefully the plant will make a nice houseplant for some time for his teacher.

I think the sentiment is perfect, "Thanks for helping me grow." I know his teachers deserved this and much, much more because they have been great inspirations for out little guy.

My squash this week

 It has taken several days but I finally got up the courage to uncover my garden squash. I am hoping they are  now large enough and have the strength to fight off the usual vine borer attack. We are also working hard to keep BT sprayed on the leaves and stems.

I tried taking a paint brush, dipping it into each blossom and swirling it around but that wasn't working very well. I thought it was time to let the bees do their magic and pollinate them. We did have some small squashes on a few vines but I really think the vines needed the sun and more air.

At some point I knew I would have to uncover them. I am happy that they do look really good and I have protected them through this part of their growth life. I just hope the "adult phase" will be as good--or better.

It has been several years since we planted them in this same space. Maybe they will like life in the last row from the fence. We noticed that as soon as we took the cover off a honeybee flew up to pollinate a squash bloom. It was a good start.

Christy's cute message boards

Yesterday my friend and co-worker, Christy Hill said she had something I just had to see and she emailed these photos to me. It seems that over the weekend she had seen a message board at a gift shop that she decided she just had to replicate.

Christy is very modest about her crafting and gardening, but she has done some really remarkable things lately (maybe all along but I just found out about Christy's "crafty" side, and I just love her ideas). She has made things like headboards from pallets and she inspires me by rooting shrubs from friends to add to her growing gardens.

This idea is a particularly good one because it is simple, useful and very pretty.

She just took a frame, backed the photo insert with a pretty fabric, cut wire to fit the frame, painted the frame a nice color and then painted some clothes pins to hold the notes. Voila! You have a perfect message board!

This could make a great board for messages, photos, things you want to keep up with, recipes and just about anything. It is perfect to send with college kids so they can keep up to date with schedules and appointments.

I am definitely going to make one for myself to go in my kitchen to remind me of all the things I need to remember, especially parties, showers and weddings. I am always rummaging through my cubbyhole to make sure I don't forget a date. If I had a board like this I wouldn't have a problem because it would be at my fingertips and I hopefully I wouldn't forget. It would be in plain sight and I would look at it all the time. This would make a great gift, too!

Thank you Christy! This is a wonderful idea and I hope my message board looks as good as yours!