Gardening Day...

So, I've graded everything I need to grade for the moment.  I have some papers coming in tonight, but today was a "free" day.  I worked in my gardens.

I'm what you might call a "haphazard" gardener.  I'm not a big planner.  I plant what I want, and just try to fit it all in.  And, yes, I planted before Easter (gasp!), so I might have to replant, but the Farmer's Almanac said today was a good day to plant anything that bears above ground (well, I planted onions, too).

So, here are some pictures of my gardens--the one for the veggies and the herb garden.

It's hard to see the tomatoes in this picture, but I planted three today--two bush tomatoes and one that's more viney.

 

 

 

This is the Greek oregano, the lemon thyme and chives in the herb garden.  The chives have been here for two years; the other plants are new.

Those are just two pics.  I could upload more, but they would be a bit redundant!

But here's a view of the bottle border.  I need more beer bottles, which my friends are working hard to get them to me.

I'll keep you posted on how the garden does, since I planted early.

Better Late Than Never...

but my students can't use that excuse!







My last post was eons ago, the day after that surprising and wonderful snow we had. So, to balance that, I want to show you what's going on in my yard, now that spring is nudging into the landscape. I took some time today to go out and snap some picks of what's coming up and/or blooming around my house.

This first picture is of the wild violets growing at the edge of my firepit. They're some of my favorite flowers. If I could gather enough of them, I'd try to make violet jelly--if such a thing exists.





The second picture is of the camellia bush. I love camellias, but this is the only camellia plant I have. Waxy, beautiful. When the petals fall, the ground seems snow-covered.





I only have this plant because, when my neighbor resurveyed his property for sale, he moved the property line over, giving me more land. I also added a second Mayhaw tree in the resurvey--which is good, because I love to make Mayhaw jelly.



The third picture is of one of the Japonica bushes on my property. I love the word "Japonica," but you may know this plant as "Flowering Quince." It doesn't have a smell, but the flowers are just the right shade of pink/rose, and the bees love it. I have to be careful when I cut from these bushes, or I might get stung.

I also took pictures of the paperwhites, the daffodils, and some little yellow flower that resembles a paperwhite, but is smaller and smells sweeter. But I won't upload those in this post. I'll do that in the next one.


I need to ready the mower. The grass is beginning to pop out in places under the leaves. The yard seems covered in white and blue flowers--I don't want to mow yet. I want to encourage the honeybees, and they love all these flowers.


I'm enjoying these first harbingers of spring, but not the oak pollen! If I have to put up with the pollen to have all these georgeous flowers, that's a price I'm willing to pay!