Spring is flirting with us!

Spring is flirting with us in Michigan these past few days. The weather has been unseasonably warm in the 60's. I took the 'girls' for a walk yesterday - today we just played in the backyard. They ran through the crocus I planted last fall, only a few were broke. I'll have to come up with an interesting fence. Today I am planting my leeks and 'Green Zebra' tomatoes inside. I am a little late on the leeks but the seed just arrived today. My neighbor tried starting the 'Green Zebra' tomatoes last year with the other tomatoes and they didn't have enough time to produce. So I thought I'd start now. I am trying a few seed trays that I had in the garden shed.

I decided to start a variety of heirloom tomatoes, leeks, Nicotiana alata (flowering tobacco) and a few French vegetables (Rouge d'Hiver Romaine lettuce, Merveilledes Quatre saisons, and Quadrato d'Asti Red Bell Pepper). This is a wink to my education of all things French. On the Michigan side of my garden, the garlic I planted last fall is coming up. I caught the 'girls' checking it out also. I think they were checking to be sure it was coming up because a few hours after I planted it - they were digging it up. (They only dig where I dig in fresh soil and never dig undisturbed soil. Interesting....) But both the hard-neck and soft-neck garlic varieties are coming through nicely. Here is Paige by the hard-neck garlic.

The soft-neck garlic is poking up also.

Here are a couple of my favorite books on garlic - 'Growing Great Garlic' by Ron L. Engeland and 'Garlic is LIfe' by Checter Aaron. The 'Growing Great Garlic is linked to a good source for both types of garlic. I do need to share two last photos of our early spring. The day in the yard with the sun shining was fun for all. I got the birdbath up and Paige has claimed it as her outside water dish...

...Bubble and Paige looking around for a ball or squirrel to chase...

As a final word for the day, 'Welcome Sunshine!'

March

Wow! It's March and I'm sorry I haven't written. Life had a detour planned - menopause. I do not want this to be a sad journal this is just a bump in the road since my total hysterectomy. So it is a new element to life to be navigated. So let's celebrate this journey of life! The snow is still on the ground so no outside gardening but indoors - the amaryllises are blooming their stalks off. (OK bad pun.) But see....



this doesn't show their true color so here is a better one - up close...

Sorry about the forgotten mail on the table. I was just so excited to show off the beauty of these bulbs. I ordered them from http://www.johnscheepers.com/. I also ordered miniatures that are just starting to bloom. I'll share those soon. I am dreaming over his garden seeds for spring planting, so many kinds to choose from. What will I do? Off for now - the sun is starting to shine and the girls (my precious greyhounds) want to romp outside. I promise to be better with my writing, the next one all share March's goals, lessons and adventures with you.

New Year Resolutions...Hmmm...

OK. It is a big list of resolutions. But it all boils down to a New Year, kind of a new home and again kind of a new life. We just celebrated our one year anniversary and have sold my home and decided to stay here. So this year is to combining homes, lives and business. How do you create a home? As an interior designer I have helped many people with their homes - even won awards for it. But how do you create a HOME? I have always admired grand homes from the South, France and England. So this year my thoughts are to explore creating a home with a history - our history. So each month I'll break down and explore 'home-making'. This month I'll work on organizing the office and kitchen. Why? If the office is organized bill keeping will be easier therefore financial goals can be worked on. Also if the kitchen is organized (especially getting rid of the third blender from merging the houses) eating healthy will also be easier. So this month lets explore offices and kitchens....

The other resolution is for me to grow to be well rounded. So I joined the 2010 Happiness Challenge. This week is focused on getting enough sleep. This is an area I need to work on, I push myself to keep getting more done. I am setting a bedtime and sticking to it. I also thought as I wrote my thank you notes for the holidays that I was weak in this area. I went and borrowed a few books from the library today - 'The Art of the Handwritten Note' by Margaret Shepard and 'Words to the Rescue' by Steve Fadie. So my goal is to write one handwritten note a week and to learn more about this 'art'.

To make this week fun in these resolutions I am giving myself an artist date to find some fun ink pens, markers and/or pencils to write with. In my local town there isn't a stationary store but Arnie's Arts & Crafts may work, if not I looked up and found a stationary store, Papers Plus, in Grand Rapids. Maybe a road trip....Also as a treat for organizing the office this weekend I'll make some fun note cards - rubber stamp, watercolor, paper scraps. I'll post them soon.

OK places to start on the resolutions, let's get going on them.

Labor Day's gardening

This weekend has been time well spent in the garden. I finished the shrub bed for this year. I planted a tree peony Paonia 'Shimanishiki' and five shrub peonies (white supposedly - they came from my mother's garden). My hope for this garden is to be a scented border that also provides privacy. I'd like to put up a clothesline/hammock spot on the other side of this border. Years ago in Martha Stewart magazine they had this project described and I have wanted one for myself. Next year will be the year! On this side of the border I'll plant lavender type to be determined. But I do need to plan bulbs to order for here.



I also added to the hosta border. The golden leaves have added great interest - I added a Sum & Substance 36"+ tall, 5 August Moon 22", and 5 Hanky Panky (golden variegated shades) 13". I also added some variegated white/golden varieties 3 Dream Queen (no other info) and a Northern Exposure up to 36". These will be nice with the ones I planted last year shortly after my move. Over the winter I figure out varieties of this area plus some for height. It is bland vertically.



We had a couple nights of frost last week and I lost the tomatoes. This is odd because I did cover them but they still got hit. The dahlias, basil and pineapple sage are still beautiful. They were right beside the tomatoes. So I didn't cover the tomatoes well enough or I took off the covers too early but still the others? Perplexed. So I brought the dill in and froze it and the opal basil in and am steeping it with vinegar. I am getting worried about winter and the pantry so I am making Rhubarb Shrub as I write. Time to go finish that until next time...

Fall Plantings

30 August 2009. Today I started planting for my HOME. I add that because today is the day I am laying claim. I haven't been here a year in this home. I've watched what is blooming here, where the sun shines and the shade dapples and where the dogs love to roam. Last month I took out a very thorny shrub I believe was a barberry or berberis. (I am sorry about the spellings - my garden books have not been unpacked yet. The new bookcase just arrived and needs to be stained before I can unpack.) I just planted 3 Summer Sweet 'Ruby Spire' in its place. They smell heavenly. I choose them because of this (they are by the bedroom window), the sunny location and that they bloom in August. I am zone 5. The previous owner must of been a fabulous gardener the bones of this yard are wonderful. Unfortunately the yard has been neglected so I'm trimming slowly. I planted my mints at the feet of the Summer Sweet. I know they will be a bit of a nuisance but I use them so much that I will keep vigil. I am adding to the existing shrubs in this bed- burning bush, bridal veil spirea, forsythia and a mountain ash tree. I moved the poppies out of here, today, because the lily of the valley was choking them. They will go in the perennial bed. Today is also the first day of my blog. This is where I'll track the garden, the weather and our home. I'm not a strong writer but I hope this will help. Today the sun keeps popping out of the clouds and the high will only be 68 degrees a little cool for August.