Tomatoes

I finally ate my first home grown tomato of the season.  These are some of the tomatoes my grandparents shared with me, they make gardening look so easy!  I love eating them sliced with salt and pepper, but my favorite way to eat them is here.

 

Saturday

After spending hours in one of my gardens today, I am hoping to see a lot of this by June:

I planted around 70 Gladiolus bulbs and a dozen clumps of mixed Dahlia today.  I have a gaping blister to prove it but I while spare you a picture.  We found the bulbs when my mom and I were at Sam's Club last weekend.  I bought a box of Phlox too that I will put in on Monday along with the wildflower seeds my husband bought for me!  I wasn't really sure which end of the Dahlia tuber was supposed to face up since it was in big clumps.  I hope everything turns out okay.  On the packaging, it says that the bulbs have to be dug up, dried out, etc in the fall.  Is that true?!  I don't dig up my Daffodils, Tiger Lillies, or Irises and they come back every year.  


Josh and I stopped at an estate sale this morning.  Estate sales always make me kind of sad.  I was feeling sorry for the sweet little old man who had lived there, wondering what his life had been like and if the people running the sale were his children.  And then Josh spotted something peeking out of a box on the top shelf in one of the closets.  Being a foot shorter than him, I persistently said "what...what?" until he moved the box closer to the edge so that I could see.  A DVD cover with a pile of people in positions I have never heard of.  Foul.  I have never come across porn at an estate sale before!  Josh rushed me through the house and I managed to grab a few cloches along the way.  And then I went home and washed my hands.  


PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:  Dear Family of the Deceased,  Please remove all porn, playboys, and other paraphernalia from the home before proceeding with a sale.  No one wants to know that your dad, uncle, whatever was a dirty old man.  Thank you.

The Makings of a Gardener

As some of you may know, the old house that Josh & I purchased last year sits on a 1/2 acre lot filled with gardens.  At some point, there must have been an avid gardener living here because amidst all the dried up organic debris and 5 years worth of leaves, we had tons of flowers popping up last spring and summer.  I imagine it like the Secret Garden, dead and decrepit, and I want so badly to see it all come to life again.  Last year we cleaned up the leaves and tore out a few overgrown bushes and 20 yucca plants.  We transplanted our roses (the poor shocked little things) and played with a few flowers, mostly annuals. 

This week I have started cleaning out the garden beds.  I pulled weeds from the long bed lining the side of the house.  I cleaned up my circle garden in the front yard and mixed in new dirt after discovering that my mounding perennials were poking through the ground. 

Here's a picture from last year:

We raked lingering leaves and picked up the seed pods from my magnolia tree.  

I'm so excited that the weather has warmed up.  I've been working through my lunches all week so I can rush home and dig in.  I'm hoping that we can finish the clean up this weekend so we can tackle our lack of curb appeal.  

We have garden beds lining every nook and cranny of our yard.  We also have a massive rectangle of dirt from where the previous owner's pool used to sit.  The plan is to turn that into a veggie garden with the assistance of my Grandpa.  Confession:  I'm totally overwhelmed.  I don't know what to put where or how much sun each plant needs.  What kind of dirt do I have?  Heck if I know.  Which part of my yard faces south?  Good question!  

If anyone has any tips or advice, I would love to hear it!  I am going to put some ideas on paper, and if it doesn't turn out how I hope this year, there is always next year.  Right?

Saturday Shots

My mom and I went saling on Saturday and found some great stuff. I found a lounger for my patio and a light fixture for my bathroom. I purchased a few sets of vintage table linens for $1 a piece and other knick knacks I couldn't resist. Here's a sneak peek, all for $2.75! In the background you can see what my walls look like after stripping the wallpaper. Those walls will be my project for the next 2 weeks!

Here's a shot of my magnolia tree, it's starting to bloom!

And a picture of one of the flowers in my circle garden...can't think of the name...

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend as much as I did :)