"She works with her hands in delight" Proverbs 31:13

Lavender Picking

I would have to say that lavender is my favorite herb, and I have really enjoyed being able to grow it each year! This morning, Mom had found this great idea for lavender potpourri using dried lavender, white rose petals, and red rose petals. We have small red roses growing by our sidewalk in the front yard, plenty of lavender, and I will have some white rose petals when my flowers fade.  I thought I would go ahead and get my lavender drying and try this in the future!

I grabbed some scissors and a basket...and the camera (?) and cut down most of my lavender. I left some for the bumblebees since they were nice and didn't attack me while I stole their flowers. :)

 I have found another use for my ragamuffin garland. :) Hey, why not? I can't wait for the lavender to dry up. I actually  think lavender is prettier when it's dead because it turns a deep purple. :) My whole room smells like lavender now! That's one of my favorite smells...it's supposed to be very calming and relaxing. :)

 I was reading this morning about the meaning of flowers and discovered that lavender represents devotion. I have always wondered just who came up with all of the meanings for the different types of flowers. I think it's neat though. :)

Well, off to la-la-land! I'm going to be very calm and relaxed for the next week or so. :)

I love flowers :)

           

I love it when these flowers bloom in our front yard each year. Isn't the Lord amazing? You can truly see just how much He loves us through even the smallest details of His creation! 

Musings in the Garden

          

Hello Everyone! Sorry for the lack of posting...I have been quite distracted as of late *ehem*. ;) I wanted to share a picture of our vegetable garden that has been really taking off thanks to Dad's green thumb. Sorry for the foggy picture. :) It is so humid here!  This year we're trying something different with our cucumbers...we're growing them on trellises. I'm interested to see how they do. It will definitely be a lot easier to pick them if they do well!   Dad has also planted green beans, and hopefully the deer won't discover them. Last year...they did. :)

                           

This is a random picture of Kitten. Sometimes she thinks she's a frog (notice the legs :).

                          

                           

Speaking of amphibians...I think I will name him Henry. :)  He scared me to death almost as badly as the giant mutant spider  that I found in my garden a while back! He's very photogenic though. :) Is he smiling?

                         

Okay, I think a plague has struck my herb garden! A couple of days ago I discovered that all...and I mean all...of my chives looked like this! I do not know what on earth happened! They were fine the day before. Hmmmm...I just don't know? I don't think they will grow back...so I'm probably just going to pluck them. :( Oh well!

Well, it's getting late so I must turn in! I have to get up early tomorrow and go with Mom to help Granny organize and update her files (she and Papa have their own business) and do some cleaning. I also have some more skirts that need sewing this week and a dress that needs altering, so I'll probably work on those a little bit tomorrow too. Busy busy! Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Garden Update

                     

The master gardener (Dad) has been quite busy these past couple of weeks...getting our garden ready and planting its first seeds. I always love to see what Dad and Mom decide to plant each year in our garden and can't wait to actually start using the vegetables! I managed to slip outside right before it started pouring down rain to snap some pictures of our garden in its early stage. I really enjoy keeping track of the plants growing and thought I could just post the progress on here!

                     

For the past couple of years, we have really enjoyed planting our own potatoes. And they're so easy to grow...which is nice. :) I love having to dig them up when they're ready to be harvested, although it's not the cleanest job in the world.  My little cousins enjoy that part too. :) When the potatoes are ready, they each take turns helping Dad dig them up. Behind the potatoes, we have two rows of corn that are already sprouting up really well. We have enjoyed planting corn each year too...and the deer have enjoyed it also in the past. :) Thankfully, we haven't seen any deer around lately!

                     

One new vegetable that we're trying to grow this year is spring onions. So far they're doing well...we just aren't really sure how to tell when they're ready to be harvested. :) Hee hee. Dad has also planted squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, and lavender. Mom loves lavender. :)

                      

Here is an artsy shot with my clematis in the background. :) I was having too much fun with my camera this morning.  Honestly each year I keep thinking that I have officially killed this plant! In the fall it gets all shriveled up into a little wad of mess...which I guess is normal for plants in the cold weather. :) Anyway, it always comes back! It has been the easiest flower to maintain! I plucked it in the ground about 3 years ago...and I really haven't touched it since. :)

                        

Okay, this is not very garden related...but rainy days always make me want to bake something. :) Again, we had some leftover bananas that needed to be used up. I decided to make a new kind of banana bread...with chocolate chips. :) I found a really easy recipe in my...ehem...chewed up/ slightly half-eaten Taste of Home cookbook. Haha! Thanks Bud. The recipe said to bake the bread for 1 hour, but it took mine around 1 hour 30 minutes to bake.  I think the humid rainy weather might have had something to do with it. Seriously, I thought the top was going to burn to a crisp! It's a great recipe though. I'll post the recipe for y'all if you want to try it...

Herbs and a Tarantula

This morning while Mom, the boys, and I were on our way to do some grocery shopping, we decided to stop by a local nursery to price some herbs for my garden. :) In the herb greenhouse, Mom and I made a little mental list of what we wanted planted in my garden this year (the boys stayed outside...boring!). There were so many to choose from! Then, Mom surprised me by saying that she and Dad would buy me a flat of herbs today for an early birthday present! I'm up for that! She and I stuffed loads of parsley and basil into our plastic flat container, along with a 4-pack of thyme and 2 4-packs of cilantro. I was so excited to be able to finally get some fresh herbs growing again!

                        

Herbs to the rescue! I already had a couple of herbs growing throughout winter (oregano, rosemary, thyme, chives, mint, and lavender), and they are still alive after all of that cold weather! I'm happy to see my clematis coming back again on my trellis and can't wait to see those big, purple blooms soon. :) Now the hard part: where to plant the new recruits. The left bed gets more sun during the spring, so I decided to plant the full-sunners over there (parsley and basil). In the right bed, I planted the cilantro and thyme because they needed partial shade.

Oh my...this is really random but while I was planting my basil, I saw the hugest spider had ever seen in my entire life! It was the size of a tarantula...and I'm not exaggerating! :) I was going to drop my spade and continue planting another day :), but instead I just buried it with a pile of mulch and prayed that it would take a nap and leave me alone! I'm telling you...it was watching me out from under that mulch! From that point on, I was very careful with where I put my hands. :) Sorry...off on a rabbit trail!

I dare say, I believe I see living plants! I am so happy about my new herbs! I can't wait to see them grow and get to use them every day. We planted tons of parsley because we love fresh parsley in our supper dishes...it makes a wonderful garnish too! Oh yes, and tons of basil for our summer tomatoes, pesto, soups, and spaghetti sauce. Mom loves fresh cilantro in homemade salsa or as a garnish on soups. We love using fresh herbs in everything, can you tell? If I'm feeling very Martha Stuart-ish, I may even try to dry them this year. :) Thanks Dad and Mom!

                                           

In the Garden!

 

Well, it's that time of year once again- time to get ready for spring planting. As you can see from this picture, my herb garden has been overtaken by dead leaves and looks a little dead itself. :) I always get so excited around this time of year when the weather warms up from winter because I can start planning out what herbs and flowers I want to plant!

Since today was such a beautiful, warmer day, I grabbed some rakes, shovels, clippers, and a couple of  very kind brothers for some major garden cleaning!

Eric wanted to use the clippers, so he was in charge of removing all of the dead stems leftover from last year off of my chives. He also had the task of keeping Buddy entertained and away from trampling through our hard work!

Philip helped me with some clipping too. I had tons of dead stems where my lavender had bloomed last summer, so he was in charge of clipping all of those off. Ah, the blessing of willing helpers!

Ah, yes. My tasks consisted of raking, weed plucking, and bed shaping. I couldn't believe how many leaves there were! We ended up with pile after pile! While I was raking the beds, it was neat to see the new little growing herbs that were suffocating hiding under a layer of dead leaves. :)

So far, I have new growth on my oregano, thyme, roses, clematis, and chives! When I was raking, I found several sprouts of lemon balm, and mint. Every year, those plants grow like crazy and spread like a wild fire! Last year, I thought I had pulled all of it up...but I guess not! Well, they are pretty herbs and attract bees and butterflies, I just wish they wouldn't take over the garden every year. :)

Much better! Now I just need some plants and mulch!