While sitting on my patio today and watching the rain I started to ask myself, why the heck am I outside? This downpour and the heat together makes perfect weather for ruining a girl's hair and I'm tired of using the flat iron when I'm kinda sorta trying to go natural...so why in the world am I watching the raindrops?



Well, I'm watching my plants…

We are into the third week of the garden being moved to the backyard, and last weekend was the first weekend that I really grasped how much work this whole garden thing is. When my dad came over with the garden beds he made, we just had to…

Are you a gardener? I'd love for you to stop by and read my post about what's blooming in my garden and share what's blooming in yours!

What's…

Confession: I am completely over all the Easter candy. You would think the Easter bunny lived in my house based on the amount of chocolate bunnies, chicks and carrots currently residing here. Enough already. I love sugar as much as the next girl, but for the most part, I really try and limit giving sugar to my kids. My children have already dug into the stockpile of chocolate disguised as an Easter basket that was dropped off a few days ago by their loving Grandparents. This year the Easter…

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted any notes from the garden but not to worry, things are greening up just fine!

Okay, so I might have made a teensy mistake with the Miracle Gro…I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to spray the leaves!  I was completely distraught when all of…

^{_{Freaks of Nature}}

Well, I have just returned from my weekend in France, and my head is spinning with all the crazy stories I have to tell.  Regardless of where I travel, I seem to bring my own special brand of bad…

^{_{Freaks of Nature}}

Well, I have just returned from my weekend in France, and my head is spinning with all the crazy stories I have to tell.  Regardless of where I travel, I seem to bring my own special brand of bad…

As I have mentioned numerous times, I have a rather large garden this summer.  Besides growing tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and basil, a quarter of my garden is being taken over by watermelon.  A small part of the watermelon patch was planned, but the rest is all due to volunteerism.

There are two varieties of watermelon in my patch, black diamonds, and the old fashioned striped variety…all with seeds.  I love watermelon and I frequently buy melons in the summer, but I don’t like the…

Recently, Colby told me I had planted an “overambitious garden.”  He may be right, although I am not complaining…yet.  In my second year of vegetable gardening, the list of things I am learning continues to grow.

One thing I’ve learned this year is that one year might produce a bumper crop of zucchini and the next year might be a bust.  This is a bust year for zucchini.  If a bloom forms, it ends up falling off before a zucchini forms.  But, last year was a lousy year for tomatoes,…

There are few kitchen appliance that I love more than my Food Saver, affectionately know as the Suck and Sealer (S&S).  I love to cook and I make dinner for my family, on average, six days a week.  So, kitchen toys are a necessity…and just plain fun.

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I started my garden about a month ago. I am now just updating. It’s been keeping pretty tired at the end of the day.  But, I’m getting a killer tan. All my hard work is starting to pay off.  Everything is coming up so large and beautiful.

We planted: tomatoes, jalapenos, bell pepper, cucumber, yellow squash, butter nut squash, zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkin, cabbage, broccoli, bok choi, lettuce, cilantro, basil, rosemary,  and chives.

The boys started plants in…

I love a beautiful garden. I love flowers, trees and butterflies. But I am coming to terms with the fact I might be a virtual gardener.

It pains me to admit it. But I think that when it comes down to it, I only like the idea of gardening. See, even though I've been really, really trying, I'm finding I'm not wild about being out there in the great outdoors. You know, with the bugs and the dirt and the worms and the, well, garden.

I have a picture window right outside…

My life has been reduced down to the level of a bug.

Bugs.  Lately, it seems to be the topic of every conversation we have.  What types of bugs do have?  What harm are they causing?  How to eradicate them?

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Gardening is not just a hobby; it is a full-scale war with battalions to lead, enemies to conquer, multiple fronts to manage, and the unpredictable weather that can make or break a battle plan.  It requires, skill, strategic acumen, luck, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

I, of course, am the Supreme Commander of the Allied Gardening Forces.  My army of corn, tomatoes, radishes, zucchini, and other equally important divisions fight daily to produce the most beautiful and luscious…

The spring is progressing nicely.  We have managed to dodge the Toto-like weather, and my garden is planted and starting to grow.  The mixture of rain, humidity, and sunshine has contributed to my green thumb abilities.

Everything has come up except for the spinach and Swiss chard.  Well, a singular spinach plant has sprouted.  One.  I never had any luck last year, so I’m not holding out much hope for this year.  I’m not really sure if the Swiss chard is up yet, because I’ve never…

The day has finally arrived I have been anticipating for eight months.  Planting day!  The planning started in February when I ordered sweet corn, and every time I drive in the driveway, I wistfully look at the barren, brown patch of dirt counting the days until spring.  A few weeks ago, Colby tilled my garden with his tractor and expanded it by 50%.

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The transition time between the frigid, wet winter (yes, it gets cold and wet in Southern California too!) and the heat of the summer is, by far, my favorite time of the year. Growing up on the East Coast, spring came in spits and spats with the crocus bulbs blooming through patches of snow and the first robin spotted on the front lawn that looked like it had not seen the sun for months. But once the snow was completely gone and people braved the outdoors wearing only a t-shirt (even though…

It rained last night and when I stepped outside this morning, there was a wet, loamy, spring smell in the air.  My heartbeat accelerated with excitement because it is almost garden time.  I planted my first garden last year and I loved every second of it.  I went into the season with no expectations except to prove my mother wrong when it came to my ability.  I surpassed her expectations and I realized I am a gardener.

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