PLANT-ies!

As promised, I come bearing new pictures of greenery! I have really enjoyed several days in the past week, sitting out on the front porch, digging in potting soil, and dreaming of our future garden at our new (FIRST!) house.


OH! we have an official closing date: APRIL 30! Crazy, right?? It's still not really "real"... I think they told Aaron that the granite countertops should be in by either yesterday or today?! Based on the time frame the guy at the design center gave us, I don't see how that is possible, but I'm very okay with it! :) I think we may go by tonight to take a look at the house just to see if anything has been done since we picked everything out at the center about a week ago :) If things have changed, rest assured, I will share pictures!

These first couple of pictures are preparing for my Planting Fest that I had the other day. I had some herbs, bulbs, and seeds that I wanted to get started, as well as some bean sprouts that I needed to transplant so that I could bury their stems a little deeper. I'm starting a LOT earlier this year than I did last year, but I still feel like I'm late! Luckily Spring was late this year, too. LOL:

Our dear friend Anna Davis (Jen's Mom!) sent some Purple Bearded Lilly bulbs to us the last time the Holms went back to Lindale. I took some time to plant them, temporarily, into a couple of pots so that they can start rooting before transplanting them at the new place in a few weeks. This picture is before I got them planted. They are still a tangled mess of bulbs, here... I'm so excited to see them bloom!!

-Pots of dirt ready to be the new home to beautiful flowers/veggies:

My sweet mother-in-law sent some seeds home with Aaron the other day, so I was able to get those started this week (morning glories, zinnias, and petunias!):The middle three containers have some daisy seeds that should be a beautiful white color (also from the "Mother-in-Law Seed Collection" :)
This is something I am actually VERY excited about: Last year, I attempted to grow some Butternut Squash from seed. I am sad to report that they never even sprouted. I was SO dissapointed, because I think it was about a year and a half ago when I first TRIED butternut squash and FELL IN LOVE with it. It is SO DELICIOUS!!!

Well... THIS year, I decided that "Maybe those seeds were just bad... I should at least TRY for some this year!" and, Ladies and Gents, I am proud to say that we now have about FIVE Butternut Squash sprouts!!!! Here are the first two, poking their little heads out to say, "HELLO!"

I recently read in a magazine (maybe Martha Stewart Living?? I honestly can't remember...) about some really great homemade teas made with a French Press (which I conveniently got as a Christmas Present from my sister-in-law this past Christmas!!!). Homemade teas were one of the original reasons that I wanted to grow a lot of my herbs, and I'm very excited to try it soon. I'll have to post about it when I do! Maybe this weekend... :)

Here are some of the herbs that will be featured when I DO make those teas:
Peppermint, Grapefruit Mint, and Chocolate Mint. I need to get another Chammomile plant... my first one, last year, did not fare too well... Oh, and you may have noticed one of our three different Lavender plants in the "dirt pots" picture above:

I have also come to a conclusion this week: I will definitely need some sort of gardening center/countertop/workspace/greenhouse when it comes time to start our seeds next year...our poor front porch has gotten a little out of control! :) It does make me really happy to come out and see them all just growing away as I leave for work in the mornings and come home to them in the evenings.

And, last but certainly not least... I thought I would share this with you... I was in the kitchen the other day, and noticed something swaying in the window... I went out to find that the asparagus plot (bucket?) that we got from the in-laws' garden about a year and a half ago (and that I thought was completely DEAD) is actually NOT dead, but THRIVING!!! that is an asparagus that I didn't realize had grown (obviously...since I thought it was just dried up remnaints of asparagus root in a bunch of dirt...). It is HUGE! I've let several of them grow up and go to seed before, but we've never had one so tall or THICK! I put my size 8 Crocs shoe in the pot so that you could see just how huge the thing is! I was shocked to find it!! Can't wait to have a whole plot of asparagus at the house :)

p.s. don't mind all the dead plants next to that pot... consider that the Power Plant Graveyard... (lol) Poor Aloe...

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! WOOOOO!!!! :)

love, denisie