Gardening 101...

Dill, Greek oregano, purple basil, sweet red peppers...just getting started!

Emptied last years' soil...that was alot of work!!

The gardeners glove...already blew through 1 pair!

Rather large earthworms...love them!

Rows, watered and ready for planting!

The all important 'spacing'...

Let the games begin!

Palette and glass brick (thank you Dad) planting area...

Finally, after a very cool start to Spring, the weather is saying 'PLANT'! I had to empty out most of last years' soil, as the nutrients are gone and nothing would grow. Edward helped me load up the garden beds w/ the new compost, soil to mix in w/ soil, and the huge sized bag of MiracleGro. One for each garden bed. I bought earth worms. Last year I had the little guys, but this year, they only had the really big guys, like you see after it rains. So they have been officially, earthed. I bought some purple basil, Greek oregano, dill, lavender, sweet red peppers. I have some Roma tomatoes in the wings. Sounds like alot, but looks very sparse once everything is in. So, today, hopefully, we can find some more goodies and flowers for out back to brighten up all the stone work. I created a palette potting area, which is a step up from the little bench I was using last year. I still plan to put a piece of flooring wood on top of the palette to cover the slats...moving right along. Now, if only the grass would grow!!

As a real bonus, we have sparrows nesting in our wreath out front and as of today there are 3 eggs. Very exciting! Will save those pics for another post....

Everyone have a safe Memorial Day 'weekend'!

You Know What This Means...

Great burlap coffee bean bags, full of 'fresh' compost...thank you Whole Foods!

50 lb. bags of Whole Foods own compost!

Raised garden beds, after the long Winter...

Last years garden yielded so much in joy, and herbs, and color and the wonderful hum of bees...looking forward!

Well, this week was riveting to say the least. Edward made his way to Boston on Thursday, and much to his surprise, wound up on lock-down with the rest of the City on Friday. The stories of healing and heartbreak keep rolling in all in the same breath. Sweet Caroline. I have stopped watching for now. Edward flies back in tomorrow night.

Last year, I 'happened upon' a 50 pound bag of compost, a gift from Whole Foods and my garden was happy happy happy. I was not going to miss that opportunity again! Following the Colorado Springs Whole Foods on Facebook, I saw that yesterday was the day! Jimmy high tailed it over there, and we picked up 3 bags of, might I add, free, compost of their own making. So, you know what this means, this is a great sign, a hopeful moment, that re-planting is in the air, that I can start playing in the dirt once again. Planning a new garden is always exciting and this year is no different. I am wondering if the earth worms I bought lived through the winter, do they need to be replaced. Maybe I'll go digging later and see if I can spot any. Will the Greek Oregano actually come back, will the Honeysuckle bush start to sprout? They should. The work will be easier, as we will not be building the raised garden beds, although I did enjoy the process. I did discover that you can go to Home Depot or Lowe's and purchase wood pallets for about $15, and they are multi-purpose, multi-functional, already nailed together pieces of wood. I might make a potting table with 1 or 2 of them. We'll see. In the meantime yesterday was a start, a joyful, hopeful moment, exactly as Spring should be!

The 'Big' Experiment...Update!

Remember what everything looked like 2 months ago...

Four varieties of basil, honeysuckle, sweet red peppers

Greek oregano, sweet green peppers, purple basil, dill, cilantro, honeysuckle, clematis

Beautiful, plentiful basil

Greek oregano growing low and spreading out, purple basil, sweet peppers, dill, cilantro, honeysuckle, clematis

One of 4 lavender plants..in big terra cotta planters..

A MOST welcomed guest...

Look @ him/her!!!!

It was an experiment. I was compelled to plant, to grow things, to somehow replicate 'a garden'. I had no soil to speak of and it bears repeating, (as I still can hardly believe it), we are 6000 feet in the air. The discovery of the raised garden bed was my only hope. So, w/ a 50 pound bag of mulch from Whole Foods, many many many many cubits of soil later, earth worms (yes, I actually went to Petco and bough a container of about 50 earthworms...no laughing), full sun and water, I would say that the garden has been 95% successful. I now have 4 kinds of basil, and have been enjoying the flowerettes this year as well. There is nothing like fresh dill on baked salmon. Cilantro...I have found that w/ the cilantro as well, the flowerettes are not as strong as the leaf. Add the cilantro (leaf or flowerettes) to some roughly mashed avocado, chopped tomatoes, a pinch of Kosher salt, a dash of lemon juice and some olive oil...oh my goodness, what a burst of flavors! My Greek oregano is a gift which keeps on giving. I had enough from last years' garden in Rhode Island to bring to Colorado, and now, I can see that I will have my fill once again...hopefully to taking me right through the winter and into next years' planting. I have planted red and green peppers which are now starting to blossom, along w/ tomatoes which are also starting to flower. The honeysuckle vines are growing up the trellis, along w/ the clematis, which has blossomed. I did loose one clematis and the strawberries just whithered. I also have 4 lavender plants growing which I will cut back when the weather cools and dry for their calming aroma. It is wonderful to wake up every morning to the sight of all this green, to touch the soil, to see how everything has grown overnight. Next year, maybe 2 more raised garden beds...in the meantime, 'whew'...really grateful!

In The Garden...

The garden, my garden, my personal little jungle, has been a source of great solace for me this summer. With all the bad news we hear on a daily basis, I am so blessed to be able to go outside, and garden. I have tilled the soil and fertilized, I have planted many Roma and Cherry tomatoes, the most aromatic Greek oregano, I have watered and waited impatiently for everything to start to grow. I have put in bamboo stakes, I have gently/firmly tied the growing vines with hemp string (many levels of tying), I have given them plant food. I have lovingly tended to the garden everyday that I have been home. It is just within the past week that I have picked eaten my very first Roma tomato and the very sweet Cherry's are also being plucked off the vine...already making an appearance in some tomato sauce. I have cut, tied, hung and dried a couple of bouquets of the oregano, which I added to what was left of last years' haul. Right now, it is pouring rain outside, and I am grateful for all that water, as I look from my window at the garden, my garden....

'Awake, north wind,

and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere. Let my beloved come into his garden

and taste its choice fruits.'

Song of Solomon 4:16

Good Pickings!!

And, they are here. The tomatoes are becoming ripe and I can literally see the life in them. The Greek oregano dries so well and, happily, I already have a jar full! Even though the Japanese beetles are having a field day with my basil, there is still plenty for the picking and I have begun to bag the leaves and put them in the freezer. I'm still using last years' haul!!!

Let us remember it is just mid-July...I'm going to have a ton of tomatoes!!!!

Week #2 in the Garden!!!

It has only been 2 weeks and the garden has really changed!! I've already been putting in stakes to hold up the tomato plants, the Greek oregano is filling in, but I find I am fighting off the beetles, who love to eat the basil. I've put coffee grounds around each plant along w/ some chopped garlic...apparently, they don't like either, so I'll see if it works.

The potted flowers on the stoop in front of the house are so pretty. I have to remind myself, that it is still May/June, and that the foliage will be filling out ALOT over the next couple of months. (Next time, I'll have some pictures of the window boxes.) I put the 'red' mulch in the front of the house and it has made a huge difference in the appearance giving it a 'finished' look and the 'red' is a wonderful addition to our color scheme. I see a huge difference in the newer hostas from all the moisture the mulch provides.