what do you think? i spent a week in florida with the family and my hands got almost clean and mostly smooth once more. i thought to myself that i might just leave them that way. you know, be careful and all and wear gloves. yes, well. i had them in the dirt and pulling weeds the morning after we got home and now they are in bad shape. my index finger is actually all raw and blistered and i'm hoping it doesn't get infected from all the imbedded dirt. i did pour alcohol on it, but that hurt like the very devil. the neosporin wasn't as bad.
what can i say? the garden sings a siren's song and once i'm in it, i'm consumed by it. it rewards me tenfold. we had fried green tomatoes with our scrambled eggs and bacon last night. so delicious. and i am content knowing that i am doing the right thing for myself, my child, and the earth. and you know you all are contributing to my dirty hands and tan skin. the more gardening blogs i read, the more i realize that the world needs more gardeners. i am doing my part to spread the word and share the joy.
the nasturtiums are finally blooming. i know what i said about
the zinnias last week, but goodness these are stunning. and edible!
surprise! the clearance clematis is not a clematis at all. what is this? does anyone know? it's pretty, but now i must scour the clearance racks again for a clematis.
the sunflowers are also blooming! mammoth indeed!
they now measure 11'8"! to think that these giants came from such
tiny beginnings. these are the boys who planted them, and i knew them when they were babies too.
the clearance raspberries continue to astound me. g finds one or two ripe ones every day.
this is what has my hand in such a sorry state. i am reclaiming the side flower bed. this is about a fifth of the way done. so four more days, right? i must at least wear a couple band aids when next i weed it.
another gorgeous shade of vinca has bloomed. i counted six different colors and two that i had never seen before. i hope the high school ag department sells this color mix again next year.
my clearance blueberries. these were causing me great stress. i knew that if I planted them straight into my tennessee soil they would just die. apparently they do not like our ph. i have no tiller (yet, but it's on my wish list) and could just not get my mind wrapped around how to make them happy in the ground, so i finally ended up with these big pots and a 50/50 garden soil/peat moss mix. fingers crossed that this works well for a year or two until i get my gardening act together at least. ironically, i spent $11.25 (75% off) on the blueberries and then spent almost $75 potting them. oops!
the extremely shocked strawberries are now putting out runners!!! success!!!!
happy wildflower patch.
love this one.
and this one is a complete mystery. last year i planted this seed mix in a smaller plot close to the house. i guess there wasn't enough sun for everyone and so the zinnias and cosmos squeezed everyone else out of existence. in the new location, the plants are getting sun from all sides and so they are all thriving. this one is taking forever to bloom and i don't know what it is. the suspense is killing me! anyone know what my mystery flower will be?
i found this sweet thing growing wild in my lawn. i have been mowing around it until i have the time to transplant it in hopes it will return next year.
our first little harvest. g picked these to show his papa in florida.
and a bumper crop of raspberries this morning. totally worth it, yes?
linking up with manneskjur and "
how does your garden grow?"
Totally worth it, band-aids and all!
ReplyDeleteThat sunflower is smashing, I've not seen any ready here yet, I've only just planted some spare sunflower seeds we had left over, a last ditch attempt at getting some more colour into our garden before the builders come in with their muddy boots and start the carnage.
Such a fruitful garden - I love it to bits, I wish I lived closer so I could see it for myself!
Thanks ever so much for joining in again Doris x
hehe i love your hand comments i bet your like me picking soil out from under your nails, love your harvest and i bet it is just the start of what is to come
ReplyDeleteThis is a really nice post. I think the world needs more gardeners too, sadly most (but not all) people my age think gardening is for old people, which is sad! This is the first year I've grown nasturtiums and I'm amazed how bright they are. Like the tomato in your little harvest.
ReplyDeleteYep. Worth it. I love your wild flower patch, but I know that I've said that before:-) The nasturtiums and sunflowers are awesome and it's nice to see the gardeners too. It's so hard not to pass by a weed and pull it, regardless of gloves. I do like having them on when I need to rummage round the areas where the frogs, snails and slugs hang out as an added layer of protection.
ReplyDeleteWhoa those sunflowers are massive! Your have a giving garden and i think that getting your hands dirty is a small price to pay considering how much you are harvesting from it. And more so the happiness it gives you when you are tinkering on its soil and leaves =) #hdygg
ReplyDeletegosh that sunflower looks amazing against the blue sky. I can't wait for my nasturtiums to flower. (I don't wear gardening gloves either, just lots of hand cream after gardening!).
ReplyDeleteTotally worth it - that sunflower is stunning! And yay to free plants for next year from the strawberries.
ReplyDeleteTotally worth it - that sunflower is stunning! And yay to free plants for next year from the strawberries.
ReplyDelete