Plaid + Dots

zucchini..already (oh my!)

Earlier I went out to check on my tiny veggie garden and was quite surprised to see that something (other than herbs!) was ready for harvesting.  My very first vegetable... a small single zucchini was hanging out on the plant basking in the sun asking to be picked.  So, I plucked it from the plant and admired it.  I felt a sense of pride as I picked my first veggie.  Now, I really understand why people love vegetable gardening- it’s so rewarding.  I cannot wait to taste this zucchini!

Here's a pic of the zucchini hiding under the leaves...

And here's the picked zucchini..

garden is growing!

My garden has been planted, weeded and mulched.  Hopefully the fruits of my labor pay off with a nice yield in a short time.  Here's some recent pics of our little raised bed.

The entire bed contains: basil, cilantro, rosemary, green zebra tomatoes, grape tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers.  I've also planted some marigolds to help with natural pest control and pollination (it should attract our friends the bees and butterflies).

My basil is doing very well... so far we've had two caprese salads off of these tiny plants.  I keep thinking about the wonderful pesto we'll be able to make once this basil really takes off!

In the right corner is my zucchini which looks a little leggy and like a weed.  I am going to train it to climb the trellis so hopefully it won't take up too much of my garden.

And, finally, here's a pic of my rosemary plant.  I've had little success growing (and over-wintering) rosemary in my pots so I am hopeful that this plant grows well in the bed.  So far it's alive but we'll see as the days go on...

making a salsa garden

We eat A LOT of salsa and guacamole. So much so that every week I stock up on avocados, peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, limes and cilantro so that we can do our Mexican feast on Thursday nights.  Well, fresh produce can be a bit pricey these days and with our penchant for organic, our salsa and guacamole habit will cost us about $7-10 a week (not including the chips and margaritas!).  Yikes!  That's a lot for a snack!

A few weeks ago my husband and I set up our raised garden bed and we're ready to rock some homegrown staples.  I am going to grow a "salsa" garden full of sweet peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes (3 varieties!), and cilantro.  We've also thrown in some family favorites like cucumber, zucchini, basil, and rosemary. I'm hoping that my "salsa" garden will reduce our grocery bill while  providing us with healthy homegrown food.  Plus, it'll be fun to teach Miss N about where our food comes from and how yummy it tastes fresh off the vine (well for tomatoes at least!).  

So far, I've started the seeds and I am hoping to have lovely produce in a few months.  Here's some pics of my seedlings starting to grow - only a couple more weeks and they should be ready for transplanting into the raised bed.

 

Stay tuned for adventures in kitchen gardening... I am sure there will be some successes and failures but it'll be fun and if I am lucky we'll have some damn good salsa at the end of it!

adventures with manure

Manure is gross.  It's icky.  It smells.  BUT, according to the local farm store it's supposed to be wonderful for your garden.  So, today as we were putting together the raised vegetable garden, my husband and I embarked on creating rich soil full of manure (and peat and compost too!).  I seriously hope this produces amazing vegetables because it really is unsightly!

dreaming of my garden

So it's January 22nd and I am seriously dreaming of my garden and wishing it was spring.  American Meadows (thanks!) sent a lovely email offering my 50% off perennials and they kicked off the thoughts of gardening.  It's really unfortunate that it's only January and we still have about three or so months until planting begins.  Well, on the bright side at least I can start planning, right?  Hmm.....I may have to use Pinterest to gather my thoughts and ideas on colors, plants and the likes.

Anyone else out there dreaming of their spring garden?  

What are you planting this year?

amaryllis: day 14

I think it'll bloom on time (if not a little early!)...

potted amaryllis

I planted my Christmas Amaryllis this weekend and seriously hope I got the timing right this year.  I am hosting our monthly neighborhood "Whine + Wine" in December and would love to be able to showcase these brilliant blooms.  Fingers crossed they bloom in time!!!

fall decorating ideas: decorating with mums

I love the fall.  I love the colors, the smells, and the tastes.  One thing that I look forward to the most is decorating for the fall.  There are so many natural items that you can use to enhance your home inside and out that you can really be creative and it doesn't cost a fortune.  Pumpkins, mums, gourds, and hay bales can all be found at your local market or farm stand. 

Fall decorating can be lots of fun!  Every year I put mums out on my porch and it just adds a nice welcoming touch to our entryway.  A few years ago I started using apple picking baskets to hold my mums and they really add a nice touch to my fall decor.

What do you use to welcome the fall?  How do you decorate for the season?  I'd love to hear some new ideas!

perfect nails.... while gardening?

So, my mom taught me the greatest little tip that I hope some of the gardeners out there will appreciate.  It's very simple but will save your hands from getting too dirty while gardening.  All you need to do is wear latex or rubber gloves (like the ones your doctor wears) underneath your garden gloves.  The gloves prevent your hands from getting too dirty and you can spend the day playing in the dirt without getting too much grime underneath your nails.  A great way to save a manicure! 

colorful window boxes

I love gardening in containers- it's fun to play with the color combinations and textures of plants.  So when my husband put up the window boxes a few weeks ago I was very excited about filling them with all kinds of cool plants.  

Empty Window Boxes   [NOTE: The boxes are from WindowBox.com and are lovely]

Here are all of the pretty plants waiting to be planted.  I used a plethora of color and texture found in my landscaping with the idea of tying the colors together to echo the natural design of our yard.  Some of the plants include:  purple petunia, superbells tangerine punch, electric lime coleus, english ivy, and begonias.

Here's a close-up photo of a planted window box.

And...  Here's the finished window box..  I love them!