Friday Foto Fun with Christmas Plants

Sorry it took me so long to get back. Our power went out Tuesday night and came back Wednesday night. Losing 24 hours in the busiest season but me waaaaay behind.

But, I trudge on because t's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun! This week: my Christmas plants. If you recall last year, I struggle with getting my plants to live and bloom. May I present, my Christmas cactus:



and my Poinsettia:


It's not the most beautiful thing but by golly, I brought it back!! This year, I win:-)

Indoor Garden Clean Up

My indoor garden was getting a little out of hand:

What a mess!!

So, I did some housekeeping and this is what it looks like now:

AND...just in time for holiday cooking...the triumphant return of my herb garden:

I used my Thyme in a recipe earlier in the week:-)

Harvested Lettuce

Today, some of the lettuce that I planted in my indoor garden on September 16th.

Not a bad haul, right?

Welcome Back to the Jungle

It's getting cold out there so, I had to bring all my plants inside. Every year, my husband sings along with Guns N' Roses to "Welcome to the Jungle".

You are welcome for putting that song in your head again this year:-)

Hello Fall

Hello Mums:-)

Save Those Tomato Seeds

"Gardening is a way to say that you believe in tomorrow." If that saying is true, than I believe! And if that is true, I need to save some seeds to have tomatoes tomorrow...or in this case, the spring.

Saving seeds is easy if you follow these steps:

1. Seed a tomato

2. Place said seed into a very fine sieve:

3. Rinse the seeds gently. The goal here is to remove the gelatinous material that the seeds swim in and the thin membrane around each seed. This takes longer than you think because those membranes can be really stubborn. For the really difficult ones, you can gently rub them between two paper towels. This is what it looks like before and after:

4. Dry them on a paper plate. See how many seeds I got from a half of a tomato?

5. Once they are dried, wrap the seeds in a paper towel and place them in a labeled food storage bag.

6. Store them in the refrigorator until them at ready to plant in the spring.

Happy Saving:-)

Tackling a New Indoor Garden

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . It's time for me to start my indoor garden again. If I start it now, we will have lettuce and herbs for the winter:-) The light table took quite a hit this year so, we needed to rebuild it. I didn't take before pictures but here are some afters:

And this table is all ready for the summer plants to come in when they are ready. I have 4 ferns, 5 impatiens and one marigold to bring in. My seedlings will be big enough to come out by then:-)

Friday Foto Fun with More Goodbyes

It's time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-) Today, we are saying a heart-felt goodbye to...

...our pool. You served us well this summer. I had both my girls home all summer and we spent hours with you this season. Thank you for the fun and the cooling and the relaxation! See you next year:-)

Bye Bye Marigolds

...see you next year:-(

Grape Fest

This:

Turns Into This:

And then Results in This:

A Ladies Garden Lunch

Even though it was raining outside, we still had a great garden party. I served my Grilled Chicken Oriental Salad , watermelon and raspberry white iced tea. Yummo:-)

Look What I Did With My Pears

Check out more stuff at Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-) And, I have added Mostly Wordless Wednesday over at Ordinary and Awesome to my list too!! Go check them all out:-)

Pears

Check out the fruits of my pear tree!! Yummo:-)

Soon There Will Be Jam

You See This...

...this is a plan for our grapes.

After our harvest this year, we are tearing down the arbor and putting up a pergola:-) Yippee:-)

No Gardening Today

No gardening today because we are traveling. I leave you with this cute little plaque I got from my MiL for my birthday.

My Boxes Behind the Lilies

Happy Lily

Since the critters are eating my beans in my veggie garden, I am posting a picture of my lily because it give me hope:-)

Friday Foto Fun with Lilies

Its time for Carrie's Friday Foto Fun:-)

A couple days ago, Janice at 5 Minutes for Mom said goodbye to June . Today, I want to say hello to July with this:

The lilies are in bloom in July and this is a beautiful sample from my garden! Happy July Everyone:-)

It's Back!!

Remember my dying rose from last week? Well, I took some of your advice and look at it now:

It's coming back!! My Grandma's roses are back! Thanks everyone for the tips because I think it is going to make it:-)

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Help!!!! I transplanted a rose bush from the house I grew up in to my house last year. I get free plants all the time but this one was my grandmother's and it's the only thing I really, really wanted to survive. This is what it looked like in early June:

Now, it looks like this:

It's still alive but barely:-(

Too much sun?

Too much water?

Too much fertilzer?

Any suggestions? If you can help me save my grandmother's rose bush, you will be my new best friend:-)

Leaning Tower of Grapes

I think our grape arbor will need to be replaced this year:

What do you think?

Peonies in Bloom

I have a lot of catching up to do in reporting all of my gardening activities to you. My lilacs have already come and gone:-( However, the peonies are about ready to explode!


So, enjoy this for now and stay tuned from more reports from my garden:-)

One of My Favorite Things

I love the month of May. Partly because my birthday is in this month but mostly because of this:

I love my Flowering Crab!!

Gardening Thursday

I don't have any garden pictures today but, I did get some work done this week:

• continued to do spring clean up in the yard.
  
• continued adding to compost pile.
  
• brought all my plants outside to harden.
  
• planted some peas, beans and corn.
  
• deheaded some fading bulbs.
  
• surveyed my irrigations system (such that it is).

I don't know how much work I will get done with rain predicted for this weekend and Mother's Day on Sunday. I guess we shall see next week at this time:-)

Tulips Tulips Everywhere

Spring Cleaning the Compost Pile

This weekend, we cleaned out our compost pile. It was full of beautiful black gold for the vegetable garden. And, there were a ton of leaves from fall that hadn't broken down. So, we crunched them all up and used them for mulch on our flower beds. I love how the trees in our yard produces mulch that matches the French brick on our house:-) What do you think?

We have enough mulch left over to cover the vegetable garden once it's planted and refresh the gardens throughout the season. And, I have a new pile of raw materials started for next year. If I continue to feed and turn this new pile, I will have wonderful black gold for next year's garden! I love how my compost bin is nature's recyle bin:-)

The Daffodils are Finally Here!!

Yippeee!!!

What's Going on in Susie's Garden?

It's Thursday and that means all things gardening. I have a couple things going on today. First, check me out on Happy to be at Home . I wrote a neat post about the herbs that I planted waaaaaaay back in November. The second thing is this:



I thought I would give you an update on my seedlings. Everything seems to be doing really well. My lettuce, cucumbers and pumpkins need to be repotted like yesterday. All of my pepper varities could probably go a little bit long before heading up. Either way, in a couple weeks, they are all going outside to start acclimating. I can't wait!!

Not That Much Going On...

This is the only gardening we got done with week:-)

Getting Ready for the Show

These are my plants for the boxes on my patio and they are all getting ready for this year's debut in the sun.

First, my impatiens got a hair cut by pruning most of the long legs.

These Marigolds were started from seed. They are dressed and ready to go.

And finally, these are my German Ivy. I just woke them up from their warm winter's nap and they are getting their grove on too.

In a couple months, these will all be in their full glory and ready to adorn my patio for a Memorial Day cookout!! I can't wait!!!

Gardening To Do

I am still recovering from the Spring Fling. No pictures today:-( Just another to do list:

1. Turn compost.

2. Sow more seeds.

3. Transplant seedlings.

4. Clean yard tools.

That should keep me busy for a while:-)

Gardening Progress Report

Ok, a month ago, I started a list of gardening projects I needed to get done before spring hits. Here is my progress on that list:

Force spring bulbs: Not done.
Test seeds: Done
Repot houseplants: Done
Repot seedlings: Done
Start watering German Ivy: Done

Ok, in all honesty it took me a month and not a week to get this list done but, so far so good right? I decided not to force bulbs this year. Not a big deal because I have enough going on in the indoor garden.

The next thing I need to do is keep planting and repotting my seedlings and clean up my outdoor tools for the coming season. It's getting closer everybody!! I can feel it!!

My Nemesis Plant

Check me out at Happy to be at Home . I am writing about taking care of my mom:-)

You see this:

This is new growth on my poinsettia plant! The one plant that I have not been able to keep. The one plant I was not going to try. And here it is with new growth!! Yeah me:-)

Now, let's see if I can keep it alive. Cross your fingers for me (or your green thumbs:-)